Horsemen and Churchill Downs had not reached a deal by Friday afternoon that would make the track's signal available on account-wagering platforms for the 26-day fall meet opening on Sunday, officials for each side said.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - The racing season at Fort Erie concludes Tuesday, and the question on everyone's mind is whether live racing at this 111-year-old border oval is in jeopardy. There is still room for optimism, but a concerted effort by a number of interested players is needed for racing to return next year.
Management has not applied for racing dates for next year, but that option is still available. Fort Erie opened its gates in 1897 and has managed to keep operating through a number of economic downturns and now faces one more challenge.
The Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita ends on Sunday with a $66,214 carryover in the pick six and a $53,932 carryover in the super high five. Both bets will have mandatory payoffs on the final day of the meeting.
Neither bet was hit on Thursday. Because the Friday and Saturday program were Breeders' Cup events, the carryovers were not in effect, postponed until the next non-Breeders' Cup program.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it comes to racetrack topics, the man on the street usually doesn't care to get into the whats and whys of something as complex and frustrating as the account-wagering controversy that has hung over Churchill Downs and its horsemen for the last six months.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A win by Almost Time or El Sinaloense in the $100,000 Ascot Graduation at Hastings on Sunday would likely wrap up local juvenile honors.
Gotta Find Bubba, meanwhile, hasn't done enough to be voted the top 2-year-old colt or gelding in British Columbia - but he has a good chance of winning the Ascot Graduation.
Trained by Steve Henson, Gotta Find Bubba is coming off of a second-place finish behind Almost Time in the $106,000 Jack Diamond Futurity, and his breeding points to him as the most likely winner of the 1 1/16-mile Ascot.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Mark Casse, the leading trainer at the current Woodbine meet, will have a stable at Santa Anita this winter, he said Friday.
Casse said that approximately 15 to 20 horses will be sent to Santa Anita at the conclusion of the Woodbine meeting in early December.
"In the last few years, we've had more [Kentucky] Derby and Oaks-type horses," he said. "We've got better horses, turf horses and hopefully Derby prospects. To me, it looks like it's a place to come for those type of horses.
Trainer Kari Craddock has dominated the Oklahoma-bred stakes program this season at Remington Park. She won three of the eight statebred stakes run on the Oklahoma Classics Day program last month, and on Sunday will attempt to add to her statebred accomplishments with Steal Your Face in the $50,000 Osage Hills.
The five-furlong turf sprint for Oklahoma-breds is led by two-time defending champ Marq French.
Princess Composer held off the late-charging duo of Easy Tee and Lindas Lace to win the 14th running of the $100,000 Merrillville at Hoosier Park on Friday.
Jockey Jose Camejo had Princess Composer on the outside and back through quick opening fractions in the six-furlong Merrillville. The 6-year-old mare rallied into the stretch and had a clear lead late but began to drift in the final yards under right-handed urging and held on to win by only a neck.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Just Rushing and Ice Bear, who finished third and fourth in the $1 million Woodbine Mile, will meet again here Sunday in the $100,000 Labeeb.
The Labeeb, an overnight stakes a one mile on turf, is the supporting feature to the $250,000 Cup and Saucer, which will be run over 1 1/16 miles of grass on the final day of turf racing at the meeting.
Just Rushing and Ice Bear both have raced once since the Sept. 7 Woodbine Mile.