The owner of Assiniboia Downs, the Manitoba Jockey Club, is suing the provincial government, and a judicial review is scheduled to begin April 26.

The province contributes as much as $10 million annually to Assiniboia Downs, and the MJC claims the province could withdraw as much as 50 percent of those subsidies in its April 16 budget and remove the 140 video lottery terminals from the racetrack. Such a move would bankrupt the MJC and pave the way for a takeover by the Red River Exhibition Association, which is looking to take over the racetrack property, valued at $70 million.

Jerry Hissam, the agent who represented jockey Calvin Borel through three Kentucky Derby wins and a Horse of the Year campaign with Rachel Alexandra, said on Wednesday that he has retired. Hissam, 68, has been battling an infection in his pancreas since January, and said he has lost 71 pounds.

“I’m improving, but I’m still stuck at home,” he said Wednesday. “I’m retired.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Flashback, the beaten favorite in the San Felipe Stakes last month, and Hear the Ghost, who upset him in that race, drew the inside two post positions in a field of nine on Wednesday for the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – As happens every April in North America nowadays, the 3-year-old division is being described as “wide open,” with the consensus being that an indefinable number of colts and geldings have a so-called “decent shot” at winning the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old filly division often is addressed the same way in the run-up to the Kentucky Oaks.

ARCADIA, Calif. – In 2012, Nobilis finished second in a Group 3 race in France. That form has left trainer Simon Callaghan optimistic that she can become a stakes winner in California this year.

Friday at Santa Anita, Nobilis makes her U.S. debut in a first-level, optional $40,000 claimer over 1 1/4 miles on turf. Owned by Michael Tabor, Nobilis drew the rail in a field of eight.

“She has pretty good form,” Callaghan said. “She’s a nice filly. I think she’ll stay a little farther. She could run in the mile-and-a-half races against the boys as she gets older.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita officials were finalizing plans on Wednesday morning to conduct surveillance on the runners for Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Derby for the 72 hours in advance of the race, track president George Haines said on Wednesday.

The surveillance period was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the respective Santa Anita or Hollywood Park stables of the nine entrants, he said. Security staff will record the activity of those horses.

“This is similar to what we do for the Breeders’ Cup races,” Haines said.

All-sources handle for Laurel Park’s winter meet, which ended March 30, jumped 21.5 percent, according to figures released by the Maryland Jockey Club on Wednesday. Total wagering from Jan. 1 to March 30 was $117.4 million, compared with $96.6 million in 2012.

Average daily handle went from $1.65 million to $1.94 million, an 18 percent increase. Ontrack handle figures increased 7 percent from $485,500 to $518,900, while the export numbers increased 22.5 percent from $1.16 million to $1.42 million per day.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Christmas has come in April – specifically Friday, April 5 – for owners, trainers, and jockeys who have stuck it out to the very end of the 2012-13 Gulfstream Park meeting. Due to an underpayment in the purse account, Gulfstream will give away more than $560,000 on its 13-race closing-day card, with nary a stakes race on the docket. The biggest slice of that pie is the $62,100 up for grabs in the fifth race, an optional $62,500 claiming race for fillies and mares going 1 3/8 miles on turf.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It is the transitory nature of horse racing that when a meet opens, interest is sky-high in who will do what – but by the time the meet is over, yesterday’s news is just that, and it’s on to the next venue.

Keeneland Race Course’s live racing seasons are boutique meets, bringing out both lifelong aficionados of the sport as well as casual and novice fans for top-class racing.

Recognizing its unique position on the racing landscape, Keeneland has planned several fan education efforts and initiatives for its upcoming spring meeting, which will run from April 5-26, in an attempt to educate newer fans and perhaps turn them into longtime customers of the sport.