Wagering on Thoroughbred races held at U.S. tracks in March rebounded after several months of decline, rising 2.14 percent compared to wagering in the same month last year, according to figures distributed by Equibase on Thursday.

The gain reversed a trend stretching back to last October, when total monthly wagering on U.S. Thoroughbred races began falling for the first time in several years when compared to the same months a year earlier. The late-year declines pushed total wagering for 2022 into negative territory.

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Turfway Park reported a 62 percent gain in all-sources handle for its recently concluded winter-spring meet.

During the 48-day meet that began in January and closed on April 1 -- management counts the track's activity in November and December as a separate meet -- more than $145 million was wagered, according to a release issued Monday by the Florence, Ky., track, which is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc. That figure was $56 million more than 2022. The track raced nine fewer days in 2022, so average daily handle increased approximately 32 percent.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Senate on Thursday night mustered enough votes to pass a bill allowing racetracks in the state to offer sports betting.

The bill, which was given a slim chance of passage in a year in which revenue bills must achieve a 60 percent majority, will allow racetracks to offer sports betting at their licensed operations and partner with operators for mobile applications. Under the bill, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will regulate the business and will have until the end of the year to draft sports-betting rules.

After a disastrous start to its 2022-23 racing season, Fair Grounds rebounded during the meet’s final 10 weeks, though handle still declined significantly compared to the 2021-22 season. 

Total handle on the 79-day meeting that concluded March 26 was $207,324,229. Total handle during last season’s 80-day meeting was $232,534,689 for a season-to-season drop of $25.2 million, or 10.8 percent. That’s not rosy, but in mid-January, total handle was down 26 percent. 

A U.S. District Court judge in Texas has indicated that he expects to rule by the end of Friday on a filing from the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association seeking an injunction that would prevent the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority from enforcing its new medication rules, according to legal filings.

The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association has filed a request for preliminary injunction in a U.S. District Court in Texas against the enforcement of rules issued by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and asked the judge to issue a decision by Friday afternoon.

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday announced its approval of a tranche of new rules governing the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, setting in motion a new era of horse-racing regulation in the U.S. 

Bettors and racing fans may not notice much, if anything, different about the sport on Monday. The horses will race counterclockwise around the track, and the first one to the wire will be declared the winner. Payoffs will be based on the amount of money wagered on the various combinations available to bettors in a variety of pools.

Behind the scenes, however, much may have changed.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday approved an agreement to cooperate with the regulatory plans of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, but the approval came with several caveats.