The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved a motion on Wednesday to establish rules to test horses for erythropoietin, the banned blood-enhancing drug commonly known as EPO.
The rules would prohibit a horse from racing until its body is clear of the drug, according to Joe Gorajec, the commission's executive director. Similar rules have been adopted in New York, Delaware, and Canada.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the state's Thoroughbred horsemen have reached a tentative agreement on how to split up an $86 million subsidy from the state's casino industry over the next four years, officials for the authority and a horsemen's group said on Thursday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The $200,000 Melair Stakes on Saturday at Hollywood Park was not expected to be the late April goal for Yearly Report.
After Yearly Report won the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Breeders' Cup Stakes over seven furlongs at Santa Anita in January, she appeared to be a candidate for the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, coming up on Friday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Given that three of the nine starters in Saturday's $150,000 B. Thoughtful Stakes are one-dimensional front-runners, analysis of the seven-furlong race is really not that tough. A handicapper can start by downgrading the chances of the pacesetters.
"It's going to be very hard for us to win this race," said trainer Steve Knapp, whose Icantgoforthat will have plenty of company on the front. "She's pretty much one-dimensional. She has to go, we're going to go, and there's [other] lick in there."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Back from a two-month vacation, Valentine Dancer can pick up where she left off in the California-bred division in Saturday's $150,000 Fran's Valentine Stakes at Hollywood Park.
In January, Valentine Dancer won the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf for Cal-breds and Florida-breds at Santa Anita, her third stakes win in less than three months.
She was given a break after finishing fourth in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes in mid-February, and this will be her first race since.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The four allowance and maiden races on Saturday's California Gold Rush program at Hollywood Park feature the day's largest fields, and are key components for bettors chasing the guaranteed pick-six pool of $1 million.
Two $60,000 maiden races will be run at 6 1/2 furlongs - the Magali Farms Stakes for fillies and mares, which drew nine entrants, and the Pepper Oaks Farm Stakes for colts and geldings, which has an oversubscribed field of 16. Only 14 will start.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Conventional reason suggests world traveler Excessivepleasure is vulnerable Saturday, when he wheels back just one month after racing in Dubai. Trainer Doug O'Neill says, however, that skeptics should not write him off so quickly.
"His coat looks good, his weight looks good, and he breezed fantastic," O'Neill said. "He came back so good, almost like he'd run at Santa Anita, not Dubai."
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The more one looks at the past performances for Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 at Lone Star Park, the more muddied the race becomes - and it does not help that showers are in the forecast. Snorter figures to go favored as he attempts to win his fourth straight race, but cases can be made for most in the eight-horse field, including Pie N Burger, Mountain General, Kela, Taste of Paradise, and Supah Blitz.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Pie N Burger returns to arguably his favorite track for the Grade 3, $300,000 Texas Mile on Saturday. The horse of the meet last year at Lone Star Park, he is unbeaten in three starts over the main track, including in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap and the $60,000 Bob Johnson Memorial.
Despite his credentials, Pie N Burger could be a fair price Saturday, as he is coming off a third-place finish as the 3-5 favorite in the Grade 3, $100,000 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn on March 14.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Local 2-year-old champ Lord Samarai makes his 3-year-old debut in Saturday's first race, a six-furlong allowance race. Off last year's form, he's the one to beat. But it's hard to say how far each of the six horses entered have progressed over the winter.
Lord Samarai started five times in 2003, all stakes, and won three races including the Jack Diamond Futurity. He showed tremendous versatility as a 2-year-old. In his debut he forced the pace and won the Ladnesian Stakes. In the futurity, he overcame a poor start and made up over 12 lengths to win.