BloodHorse.com | Horse Racing News

No Rachel, But Zenyatta's Show Goes On

After throwing $5 million at racing's two female superstars to run in the Apple Blossom Invitational (gr. I), Oaklawn Park's president got half of what he and the horse racing world wanted to see.

New Hampshire Senate Passes VLT Legislation

The New Hampshire Senate March 24 passed legislation authorizing video lottery terminals at six locations, including Rockingham Park.

Barbaro's Brother a Step Away from Derby

Barbaro's full brother could be one strong run away from the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Massachusetts to File Expanded Gaming Bill

House Speaker Robert DeLeo reignited the debate over expanded gambling in Massachusetts March 4, proposing to build two casinos and add slot machines at the state's four racetracks to generate badly needed revenue.

Rachel Vs. Zenyatta Showdown is Back On

Oaklawn Park owner Charles Cella said the owners of both champions agreed Feb. 11 to run their horses in the Apple Blossom Invitational Handicap (gr. I) on a new date of April 9, for a $5 million purse.

KY Governor Pushes Budget With VLT Revenue

Gov. Steve Beshear is urging Kentucky lawmakers to take another look at legalizing video lottery terminals to avoid cuts in the state's next budget.

NJ Lawmakers to Consider Sports Betting Bill

Legislation that would allow New Jersey racetracks and Atlantic City casinos to accept wagers on sporting events will go before an Assembly panel the week of Feb. 8.

Zenyatta Could Run in San Margarita Handicap

Undefeated champion Zenyatta could return to racing in the $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap (gr. I) on March 13 at Santa Anita.

Pennsylvania Legalizes Table Games

Pennsylvania legalized poker, blackjack and other table games at slots casinos Jan. 7, upping the ante in the increasingly fierce competition among states for gamblers' money.

Oklahoma Commission Grants License

Global Gaming, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation, was granted a racing and gaming license Dec. 22 by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, the Associated Press reported.

Barn Fire Turns Deadly at Ohio Harness Track

A Dec. 5 fire ripped through a barn at a county fairgrounds in southwest Ohio, killing two people and about 60 horses.

Industry Closely Watches Dubai Debt Crisis

The debt crisis in Dubai was being closely monitored Nov. 27 by buyers and sellers of high-end Thoroughbreds, but there was no immediate indication Dubai's ruler would scale back his enormous financial ties to the industry in the United States and elsewhere.

Preliminary OK Given for Remington License

The Chickasaw Nation won preliminary approval Nov. 19 for a 2010 racing and gaming license at Remington Park, which expects to purchase the Oklahoma racetrack from Magna Entertainment Corp. for $80 million.

Churchill Downs Inc. Will Buy Online Wagering Site

Churchill Downs Inc. has agreed to buy online wagering site Youbet.com Inc. for $126.8 million.

Retired Racehorses Move to New Prison Farm Facility

Four retired racehorses from Suffolk Downs moved into their new home on Tuesday, stepping into sawdust-covered stalls built for them by prison inmates at a 90-acre farm not far from the rocky coastline where the Pilgrims first stepped ashore.

Breeders' Cup Drug Tests Return Clean Results

All horses that ran in the Breeders' Cup have tested negative for illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Polo Horse Drug Testing to Debut Next Year

Random drug tests will begin next year for horses in polo matches in the United States after the deaths of 21 elite horses in Florida that were injected with an incorrectly mixed supplement shortly before a championship match, the United States Polo Association said Wednesday.

Mullins' Attorney Calls Action 'Witch Hunt'

New York's top racetracks are off limits to trainer Jeff Mullins for six months in a case his attorney claims is a "witch hunt."

Michigan House Approves Bill for Racing

The Michigan House has approved a bill that would restore some funding for the state's horse racing programs.

Michigan Racing Resorts to Casino Referendum

Another showdown is brewing over whether Michigan racetracks should be allowed to open casinos in an effort to revive their struggling businesses. A group called Racing to Save Michigan wants voters to decide the issue in November 2010, and on Oct. 14, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers unanimously approved the form of a petition the group plans to circulate within the next six weeks.

Mountaineer Settles Birzer Lawsuit

A West Virginia racetrack has settled a lawsuit by a jockey who was paralyzed from the chest down during a racing accident in 2004.

OH Supreme Court: Racetrack VLTs Need Vote

The Ohio Supreme Court Sept. 21 gave opponents of installing video lottery terminals at racetracks the chance to ask voters to repeal the plan.

59 Horses Quarantined, Strangles Suspected at Hoosier Park

Fifty-nine horses have been quarantined because of a suspected contagious infection at Hoosier Park racetrack in central Indiana.

Hoosier Park officials placed the horses in quarantine Saturday after one Thoroughbred at the stable began exhibiting signs of Streptococcus equi infection, or strangles, a contagious bacterial disease common i...

Dutrow Agrees to Suspension in Settlement

Trainer Rick Dutrow will serve a 30-day suspension after reaching a settlement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

AP Report: Racetrack Deaths Down Slightly

The rush to improve safety since Eight Belles was euthanized at last year's Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) did little to curb the number of horses dying at American racetracks in 2008, The Associated Press found in a national count.

Fallon Gets First Win Since 18-Month Ban Ends

Jockey Kieren Fallon has his first winner since returning from an 18-month ban for cocaine use. The 44-year-old six-time champion jockey was aboard Our Kes at Wolverhampton in England Sept. 5.

New Lawsuit Filed Challenging Ohio VLT Plan

United States Sen. George Voinovich used biblical verse Sept. 3 to blast gambling proponents, including Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who is an ordained minister. Voinovich spoke while announcing a new lawsuit challenging implementation of racetrack video lottery terminals in the state.

Mine That Bird Back in New Mexico

Mine That Bird has returned to New Mexico, arriving Sept. 2 at Ruidoso Downs ahead of next week's $2-million All American Futurity.

Softer Whips for Racehorses at Del Mar

Del Mar is taking the sting out of its whips.

On Wednesday, it will become the first California racetrack to require riding crops that don't raise welts.

Darrell Haire, regional manager for the Jockeys' Guild, said the whips are made of softer leather or fabric. They're supposed to get the horse's attention with a popping noise rather than by...

Science Proves What Jockeys Know: Posture Matters

Over a century after a Yankee Doodle jockey revolutionized how racehorses are ridden, scientists are figuring out why a jockey's posture speeds up the horse.

Evans: Kentucky Derby Will Continue to Thrive

The Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) will continue to thrive at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. It's the rest of the year that's a problem for racing venues in the self-proclaimed "horse capital of the world."

Woolley's Brother Keeping Order in New Mexico

Bill Woolley is handling his brother's stable while the Derby-winning trainer is on the road with Mine That Bird

Commentator an Easy Winner in Whitney Prep

Commentator rolled to an easy win June 12 at Belmont Park, beating Stud Muffin by seven lengths in the $64,950 Kashatreya Stakes.

Kentucky Farm to Disperse 200 Thoroughbreds

The major Kentucky Thoroughbred farm that houses the great stallion Storm Cat announced Tuesday it is selling off nearly its entire stock of about 200 horses.

Overbrook Farm owner Bill Young Jr. explained he just wasn't cut out to continue operating a thoroughbred breeding facility with the same drive as his late father, William T. Young, who foun...

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Racetrack, Casino Case

The U.S. Supreme Court is staying out a fight between Illinois' casinos and horse tracks over a state law that cropped up in the impeachment and indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The casinos object to a law that forces them to transfer of millions of dollars to the state's horse tracks.

Last year, the state Supreme Court un...

Delaware Court Says Sports Betting OK

The Delaware Supreme Court said a proposed sports-betting lottery doesn't conflict with the state constitution.

Tampa Bay Jockey Indicted

A Florida jockey and two others have been indicted for what federal authorities say was a conspiracy to influence results at a Tampa Bay Downs.

De Francis Interested in Pimlico, Laurel

Joe De Francis, who sold two Maryland horse racing tracks to Magna Entertainment Corp., has expressed an interest in buying back Pimlico and Laurel race tracks.

Injury to Scratched Derby Favorite I Want Revenge More Serious

The injury that kept I Want Revenge out of the May 2 Kentucky Derby will keep him from racing for months and threaten his career if he doesn't respond well to therapy, the horse's veterinarian said May 5.

Foster Northrop, DVM, said swelling in I Want Revenge's right front ankle, once considered only mild, progressed over the weekend, and an ultras...

Overdose Could Miss Start in England

Overdose, the unbeaten racehorse who has become a national hero in Hungary, could miss his debut in England because of sore feet.

Musket Man Likely for Preakness

Musket Man, the third-place finisher in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), will likely run in the May 16 Preakness Stakes (gr. I).

I Want Revenge Injury More Serious

The injury that kept I Want Revenge out of the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) will keep him from racing for months and threaten his career if he doesn't respond well to therapy, the horse's veterinarian said May 5.

Desert Party Will Have Bone Chip Removed

Desert Party, who finished 14th in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), will have surgery to remove a bone chip in his left front ankle

Racehorse Stormalory Euthanized After Leg Fractures

Stormalory, a 3-year-old Thoroughbred colt, was euthanized after breaking down during the Crown Royal American Turf Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Churchill Downs May 1.     Stormalory, trained by Bill Mott and owned by Sheik Mohammed of Dubai's Darley Stable, was the favorite in the 1 1/16-mile race. He broke slowly under jockey Julien Lep...

Stormalory Euthanized After Leg Fractures

Stormalory, a 3-year-old colt, was euthanized after breaking down during the Crown Royal American Turf Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Churchill Downs May 1.

Tin Cup Chalice Euthanized After Injury

Tin Cup Chalice, the first horse to sweep the Big Apple Triple for 3-year-olds bred in New York, and another horse were both euthanized Friday, April 17, following a training accident at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack in western New York.

Lawyers Found Guilty of Diet Drug Scam

A federal jury in Frankfort, Ky., convicted Thoroughbred owners William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham April 3 of scamming their clients out of nearly $95 million in a diet-drug settlement.

State, City Seek to Protect Preakness

Mounting a defense for the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico Race Course, the state of Maryland and the city of Baltimore went to court March 27 to keep the second leg of the Triple Crown in the state because of uncertainties raised by the bankruptcy of Pimlico owner Magna Entertainment Corp.

Delaware Tracks Oppose VLT Tax Hike

The head of Delaware's gambling industry group said Democratic Gov. Jack Markell's proposed budget would be devastating to the state's three racetracks, including Delaware Park.

Montana House Supports Slaughter Bill

The Montana House of Representatives strongly endorsed a bill Feb. 24 that paves the way for construction of a horse slaughterhouse in Montana and aims to bring the industry back to the United States.