The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has hired Dr. James Hester, an orthopedic surgeon, to be its national medical director, focusing on jockey health and welfare, the organization announced Tuesday.
A New Mexico District Court judge has ruled that the New Mexico Racing Commission cannot deduct insurance premiums for jockeys and exercise riders from the subsidies that casinos in the state provide for purses at racetracks.
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A division of 1/ST, the racing company that owns and operates Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park, has reached a deal with a major sports-betting company that will result in the launch of a new account-wagering service and various cross-promotions, the companies announced on Thursday.
Total betting on U.S. races in September was up 2.7 percent compared to the same month last year, despite a 4.8 percent decline in the number of races held, according to data released Wednesday by Equibase.
Total betting during the month was $938.2 million, or $292,730 per race. The average race handle was up 8.0 percent compared to the average race handle of $270,936 in September of last year, when a total of 160 more races were held at U.S. tracks.
Dr. Michael Hardy, a former regulatory veterinarian who was recently appointed as the safety officer for Horseshoe Indianapolis, has been hired as the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, an industry funded medication and drug advisory organization.
Hardy will fill a position formerly held by Dr. Mary Scollay for the past three years. On Tuesday, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority announced that it had hired Scollay to be the chief science officer for the authority’s Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit.
A Texas congressman filed legislation on Tuesday that would delay the full-scale implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority until Jan. 1, 2024.
The bill, filed by Lance Gooden, a Republican representing a district in Texas that includes a swath of Dallas, would delay the implementation of HISA’s drug-testing and medication rules, scheduled to take place on Jan. 1, 2023, while rolling back the limited rules the authority has already put in place. Those rules took effect on July 1 of this year.
Dr. Mary Scollay, the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, has been named the chief science officer of a division of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the organization announced on Tuesday.
Scollay, who was the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for 11 years prior to her time at the RMTC, will begin in the position on Oct. 10, HISA said. Scollay was already a member of HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program, and she has resigned that position.
The racing company 1/ST has reshuffled its management lineup and created a new division that will be headed by Aidan Butler, the company’s chief operating officer, the company announced on Thursday.
The new division, 1/ST Racing and Gaming, will “continue to oversee racing operations at 1/ST tracks and training centers while working to expand the company’s gaming footprint” into sports betting and other gambling endeavors, 1/ST said in its announcement. Butler will serve as the division’s chief executive officer.
Churchill Downs Inc. has formally completed its acquisition of Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., from its previous owner, the Laguna Development Corporation, the company announced on Monday.
Churchill announced the $79 million all-cash deal to purchase the track and its two casino licenses on Sept. 15. Last week, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission sanctioned the deal.
Churchill immediately intends to begin building out a casino in Owensboro, Ky., that had been approved for Ellis’s former owners, Churchill officials said in a release.