The Oregon Justice Department on Friday issued an opinion calling the operation of historical horse-racing machines unconstitutional, a decision that could remove a potential revenue source for the state’s only track, Grants Pass Downs.
Rick Dane Jr., a harness trainer who was one of 27 individuals connected to horse racing to be indicted in 2020, has told a federal court he intends to change his plea of not guilty, according to court documents.
Dane’s attorneys sent the letter to U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on Friday, nine days after a jury returned a guilty verdict against a veterinarian and animal-products supplier, Seth Fishman, who faces 15-20 years in prison on two counts of conspiracy to adulterate or misbrand drugs. The jury deliberated for only four hours.
Randy Funkhouser, a breeder and the longtime president of the Charles Town Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association in West Virginia who was widely respected among horsemen nationwide, died on Feb. 4 of complications of diabetes, according to a son. Funkhouser was 70.
Jonathon Kinchen, the television racing personality and public handicapper, will be suspended from competing in any event on the National Horseplayers Championship Tour and its season-ending tournament for at least the next two years, the administrator of the tour announced on Tuesday.
Betting on Thoroughbred races at U.S. tracks in January dropped slightly compared to betting in the same month a year ago, according to figures released by Equibase on Friday, but the total and per-race average this year was up markedly compared to the same month two years ago, prior to the COVID pandemic causing widespread disruptions to economic activity.
NEW YORK – A federal jury heard opening statements Thursday in the trial of Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli, who were among more than two dozen people connected to horse racing who were indicted in 2020 on charges of misbranding or adulterating drugs.
Prosecutor Anden Chow began by telling jurors that the defendants had operated a black-market drug conspiracy for two decades. He said Fishman and Giannelli created hundreds of drugs that were used to secretly dope race horses.
Equine fatalities at California’s racetracks and training centers declined by 26 percent in 2021, California Horse Racing Board executive director Scott Chaney told the regulatory board on Thursday.
The data was collected from locations under the jurisdiction of the racing board. There were 96 fatalities in 2020 and 71 last year for causes ranging from injuries sustained in racing or training to other incidents such as illnesses or stable accidents.
NEW YORK - The process to select a jury began Wednesday in the trial of a veterinarian and his business associate charged with manufacturing and selling adulterated and misbranded drugs designed to enhance performance in Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses.
But only 37 of the prospective 75 jurors made it through their interviews, meaning the process was to continue Thursday morning in a Manhattan courthouse.
Westlink is in the midst of a 10-race losing streak that may discourage some bettors from considering the 7-year-old gelding as a contender in a six-furlong handicap at Cowra Racecourse in Australia on Sunday.
Westlink has not won since October 2020, but there are a few signs that the veteran could pull a surprise at Cowra.
