Democratic Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear signed an executive order July 3 reorganizing and renaming the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, which is now the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
A horse trained by Rick Dutrow tested positive for twice the allowable level of the bronchodilator clenbuterol.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Under an agreement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, Churchill Downs has agreed to pay a $15,000 administrative penalty stemming from actions involving an assistant starter at this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Monday, June 16, 2008
A committee of the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council is continuing to gather information on anabolic steroids and is not yet ready to make a recommendation to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.
Monday, June 16, 2008
A Kentucky state judge has denied a motion from trainer Patrick Biancone to block an upcoming Kentucky Horse Racing Authority hearing set to discuss whether his suspension should be extended or not.
Friday, June 06, 2008
State prosecutors in Jefferson County, Ky., said they can't investigate the death of the filly Eight Belles despite a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Friday, June 06, 2008
The complicated nature of regulating anabolic steroids in racehorses came to light May 20 when discussion among members of the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council and others seemed to indicate the easiest route is an all-out ban on the substances.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority announced May 19 that Dr. Mary Scollay has been appointed to the new position of equine medical director.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Eight Belles, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), tested negative for banned substances and steroids, according to test results from the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's official laboratory at Iowa State University.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Attorneys for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and Patrick Biancone appeared before a Circuit Court judge May 14 and presented their arguments in the latest saga involving the controversial trainer.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Attorneys for Patrick Biancone have filed suit seeking to block a hearing by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority into whether he violated terms of an agreement reached with the regulatory agency after the prohibited substance cobra venom was found in a cooler at the trainer's Keeneland barn.
Friday, May 09, 2008
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, at its meeting May 19, will consider forming a working group to review Thoroughbred health and safety concerns.
Friday, May 09, 2008
A spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which staged a peaceful demonstration May 6 in front of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority office near Lexington, said similar demonstrations are planned for upcoming Triple Crown events. Meanwhile, the organization said it may attempt to get cruelty charges filed against the connections of Eight Belles, who was euthanized after the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority released a statement May 5 regarding Eight Belles, who was injured and subsequently euthanized after the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). It followed demands by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals for changes in the horseracing industry.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed five state residents to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to fill a vacancy or expired terms.
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority is looking into whether suspended trainer Patrick Biancone has violated an agreement he entered into with the regulatory agency.
Monday, April 21, 2008
A Kentucky legislator plans to pre-file a bill for 2009 that would provide dedicated funding for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and create a new fund to supplement purses for all breeds at Kentucky racetracks.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has vetoed a provision in the state General Assembly's $19-billion budget that would keep smaller racetracks in the state from paying a daily assessment to support Kentucky Horse Racing Authority operations. Legislators on April 15 took no action to override the veto as the General Assembly session came to a close.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
By Dan Liebman - Wallace Wilkinson did what the voters asked him to do. Steve Beshear did not.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority intends to regulate use of anabolic steroids in racehorses but will wait until research into the testing for steroids in plasma is completed this summer before it moves ahead.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
At the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority meeting Feb. 25, John Vietch, the organization's chief state steward, reported on two major rulings that have taken place since the New Year.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium has funded a research project to study threshold levels and withdrawal times of four approved anabolic steroids. But the timing of the study, which should be completed by August, could make it difficult for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to implement steroid regulations in the state by Jan. 1, 2009.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Republican Sen. Damon Thayer announced Feb. 8 award amounts for the 2007 Kentucky Breeders' Incentive Fund.
Friday, February 08, 2008
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority supports the regulation of anabolic steroids in racehorses in the state, and took the first step toward drafting and adopting the revised model rule offered by the Association of Racing Commissioners International and Racing Medication and Testing Consortium during a Dec. 17 meeting.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority will form a subcommittee to investigate an incident in which wagering on a Fair Grounds race at Keeneland remained available while a race was in progress, officials said Dec. 17.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The year 2008 probably will bring some experimentation to Turfway Park, which has asked the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority for permission to switch from evening to daytime racing on Wednesdays and Thursdays during its three-month winter/spring meet.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Bernie Hettel has reached an agreement to settle a federal lawsuit with the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and others, based on an apology from the agency in regard to actions taken after his 2004 departure as executive director of the former Kentucky Racing Commission.
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority on Oct. 29 approved changes in its rules and regulations to prohibit the administration of cobra venom in Standardbreds.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Trainer Patrick Biancone agreed to a settlement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority that will prevent Biancone from training horses for one year. He will not be listed as trainer of record for any horses running in the Breeders' Cup Oct. 26-27.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Trainer Patrick Biancone, suspended for one year for possessing on the grounds of Keeneland three sealed vials of alpha-cobratoxin (cobra venom), a Class A substance under the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority Uniform Drug and Medication Classification Schedule, was granted a stay Oct. 10.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Kentucky racing stewards have suspended trainer Patrick Biancone for one year for numerous violations of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's medication regulations following a hearing Oct. 4. The suspension begins Oct. 15.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Kentucky legislators said tax relief for the horse industry and dedicated funding for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority will be prominent issues when the state General Assembly convenes in 2008.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Following the announcement of the five-year suspension of veterinarian Dr. Rod Stewart for violations of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's medication regulations, the organization has scheduled a stewards' hearing in the ongoing investigation of trainer Patrick Biancone, who was found to be in possession of cobra venom and two other prohibited substances.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Kentucky racing stewards have suspended veterinarian Dr. Rodney Stewart for five years for numerous violations of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's medication regulations.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Kentucky Breeders Incentive Program, which began offering financial awards for various breeds of horses in 2006, is poised to increase by 20%--to about $18 million or $19 million--next year.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Trainer Patrick Biancone has been ordered by Kentucky racing stewards to serve a 15-day suspension after a horse under his care tested positive for prohibited drugs. Biancone remains under investigation following a search of his barns earlier this year.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Dr. Rod Stewart has appealed a suspension order issued by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority in connection with the ongoing investigation of trainer Patrick Biancone.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council supports the regulation of anabolic steroids in horses at racetracks and auctions in the state but has requested further explanation of withdrawal times and other testing-related issues included in the model rule offered by the Association of Racing Commissioners International and Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Dr. Rod Stewart, a veterinarian for trainer Patrick Biancone, was suspended by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority for failing to comply with an order to turn over his computer and records to state stewards.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
A federal appeals court ruled Aug. 7 that a filly can't be named "Sally Hemings" after Thomas Jefferson's most famous slave and reputed lover. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled that The Jockey Club can legally bar horse owner Garrett Redmond from naming his 4-year-old horse after Hemings.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
By Ray Paulick - Racing has no commissioner, so when a substance, possibly cobra venom, was found in a trainer's barn a month ago, there is no swift and decisive action, only inaction.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A proposal to increase the length of time before a horse can race again after being scratched for veterinary reasons moved a step closer to reality July 23, when the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority approved a final draft version of the new regulation.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority has looked into the information provided by trainer Patrick Biancone on his license applications from 2004 through 2007, but at this time there is insufficient reason to further investigate the matter, according to state senior steward John Veitch.
Monday, July 23, 2007
The state veterinarian for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority mistakenly tossed out two split samples from two horses that had tested over the approved limit for the approved bleeder medication Salix. Because of the mistake, the investigation into the overages has been dropped.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
By Ray Paulick - Included in that "it's not illegal if you can't test for it" category is cobra venom, the use of which has been rumored for years. The substance, believed to be 1,000 times more powerful than morphine, can help a horse run through pain by blocking impulses through the nervous system. Use of the substance in horse racing is illegal. Worse yet, it's cruel to the animal.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Word is circulating in Kentucky that cobra venom, a substance used to kill pain, was found by investigators during a June 26 search of trainer Patrick Biancone's barn at Keeneland.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
The results of post-race blood tests in five horses that raced at Keeneland or Churchill Downs have raised some red flags in Kentucky.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority has initiated an investigation after a search of the Keeneland barn of trainer Patrick Biancone.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Drafts of two rules aimed at increasing field sizes -- one affecting claimed horses and the other limiting scratches -- were approved Monday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
In the first carbon dioxide overage announced since random tests were instituted in Kentucky in the spring of 2005, a horse trained by Reynaldo Abreu turned up positive in a pre-race blood sample taken April 18 at Keeneland. Subsequently, the trainer was fined $1,000.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
