The Ohio Derby (gr. II), returned to the Thistledown stakes schedule only six weeks ago upon order of the Ohio State Racing Commission, has drawn a field of 13, including the winner of a $1-million race in his previous start.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Ohio State Racing Commission has approved 2010 racing dates for two Thoroughbred tracks, but the facilities still have no agreement with horsemen on the schedules.
Friday, September 04, 2009
The Ohio State Racing Commission voted Aug. 20 to officially oppose a November referendum to authorize full casino gambling in the state's four largest cities.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Ohio State Racing Commission Aug. 20 brought the grade II Ohio Derby back to the schedule this year by ordering a reduction of five live racing days at Thistledown, traditional host for the only graded stakes in the Buckeye State.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Five of seven Ohio racetracks failed to have their 2010 applications for dates approved because they don't have an agreement with horsemen or have other conflicts; several requested fewer racing dates than were scheduled for this year; and one facility indicated it wouldn't mind closing its barn area.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
It appears Ohio racetracks and horsemen's groups will have to negotiate the percentage of revenue that will go toward purses and breed development from video lottery terminals.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hundreds of people who make their living in Ohio's horseracing and breeding industry rallied at the state capital May 19 to support a plan for video lottery terminals at the state's seven racetracks.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Host track Thistledown, the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and the Ohio State Racing Commission are discussing ways to restore the grade II Ohio Derby in 2009, officials said April 21.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thistledown owner Magna Entertainment Corp. has met the deadline for payment of a $1-million bond to the Ohio State Racing Commission, which means the Cleveland-area racetrack will not have its operating permit suspended.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Saying five of the state's seven racetracks will close without assistance from the legislature, the Ohio State Racing Commission March 19 released a draft plan for 14,000 video lottery terminals that would be located at tracks.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Ohio State Racing Commission ruled March 19 that Thistledown's racing permit will be suspended as of March 28 if parent company Magna Entertainment Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 5, fails to renew a $1-million bond.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
In anticipation of a push by a consortium for casino gambling in Ohio's four largest cities, the Ohio State Racing Commission is formulating its own legislative proposal for video lottery terminals at the state's seven racetracks.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Marble Cliff, the Ohio-bred turned Kentucky-bred stripped of stakes wins in 2008 after a racing commission investigation, finally got his first "official" victory--in West Virginia.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Ohio is among the weakest when it comes to Thoroughbred purses, but it's about to have the strongest rules governing registration of state-bred horses.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ohio Thoroughbred breeders would be licensed by the state for a fee each year and face serious penalties -- including a suspension of up to 10 years -- should they violate rules governing registration of state-bred horses under regulations proposed by the Ohio State Racing Commission.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Requests by Beulah Park and River Downs to schedule their customary Thoroughbred meets for 2009 were officially granted Dec. 19 by the Ohio State Racing Commission.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Racetrack management and horsemen in Ohio struck an agreement Dec. 16 that will reinstate more than 160 Thoroughbred racing dates at Beulah Park and River Downs in 2009, and save more than 1,000 horses at Beulah Park from being forced out of the track's stable area by Dec. 27.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
With a little more than two weeks remaining before the scheduled shutdown of the barn area at Beulah Park, management and horsemen still have no deal to continue live racing in January. But developments on a national level could quickly turn things around.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Marble Cliff, disqualified in all five of his starts -- including two stakes wins--after it was determined he wasn't Ohio-registered, returns to the races a maiden in search of his "first" victory the evening of Dec. 12 at Turfway Park.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The trainer and identifier involved in an incident in which the wrong horse ran in a Nov. 19 race at Beulah Park have been fined and suspended by the track's stewards.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
A study released by Ohio State Racing Commission offers a short-term action plan and a long-term strategy for the struggling horseracing industry in the Buckeye State, but one racetrack official said the quickest fix lies with the pen of Gov. Ted Strickland.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Winter racing at Beulah Park was plowed under and the spring/summer meet at River Downs went up in flames Nov. 21 when the Ohio State Racing Commission awarded 2009 dates that represent a loss of more than 160 days of Thoroughbred racing at the two tracks.
Friday, November 21, 2008
About 1,000 Thoroughbreds could be forced to leave the grounds of Beulah Park by the end of this year if the racetrack and horsemen's association don't have a deal for advance deposit wagering revenue in place by Nov. 21, the day the Ohio State Racing Commission will award racing dates for 2009.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Just days before Ohioans vote on whether to authorize a constitutional amendment allowing for a casino in southwestern Ohio, the state Department of Agriculture announced an 11-member Equine Industry Advisory Task Force charged with promoting and strengthening the state's horse industry.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Beulah Park and the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association have "agreed to disagree" on contractual issues, but a temporary agreement has allowed the track to restore previous purse levels and export its signal.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Beulah Park, locked in a dispute that centers on revenue from advance deposit wagering, intends to resume live racing Oct. 22 but with greatly reduced purses and no export of its signal outside of Ohio.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Regulation of anabolic steroids will be in effect Jan. 1, 2009, in Ohio.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Barring fruitful negotiations -- and that scenario currently doesn't appear possible -- it could be months before decisions on Thoroughbred racing dates in Ohio are made.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Marble Cliff, the stakes winner-turned-maiden after his Ohio registration was revoked in July, could end up becoming a poster child for serious changes in breed-registration regulations in the Buckeye State -- and perhaps beyond.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Two Thoroughbreds that formerly raced as Ohio-registered are now listed as having been bred in Kentucky.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Officials with two Ohio racetracks indicated they hope to offer Thoroughbred meets in 2009 and could be close to a deal with local horsemen on revenue from advance deposit wagering.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The owners of top Ohio-based Thoroughbred Marble Cliff must return the gelding's earnings of $109,940, the Ohio State Racing Commission ruled Aug. 21 after the panel upheld a stewards' ruling the 3-year-old wasn't eligible for Ohio-restricted races.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A Jockeys' Guild official was verbally barred from River Downs after the Ohio State Racing Commission was notified of an incident in which the track's substitute ambulance caught fire on the racetrack and a pickup truck was used for emergency services for the final two races of a program.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Ohio State Racing Commission indicated Aug. 21 it will have a difficult time approving requests by two racetracks that call for only four total days of Thoroughbred racing in 2009.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The board of stewards at River Downs has ruled two Thoroughbreds -- one of which had earned more than $100,000 -- aren't registered Ohio-bred horses, and their owners must repay the earnings.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Beulah Park and River Downs, two Ohio Thoroughbred tracks that race more than 200 dates combined, have requested only Quarter Horse dates for 2009, a track official said Aug. 18.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Foxwood Stable's Marble Cliff, regarded as one of the best Ohio-breds in history -- if in fact he is Ohio-registered -- is among a dozen 3-year-olds entered in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (gr. III) at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort Aug. 2.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Scott Borgemenke, the former Ohio State Racing Commission chairman who joined Magna Entertainment Corp. as executive vice president of racing earlier this year, departed from the company, effective July 18.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Ohio State Racing Commission said July 8 that most Ohio racetracks would probably install Keno terminals at their facilities when the game launches in the state Aug. 4.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
The Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and Thistledown have an agreement in principle for 122 days of live racing at the Cleveland-area track this year.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The clock is ticking on negotiations between the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and Thistledown, the Cleveland-area racetrack whose 2008 Thoroughbred meet is in jeopardy because of a conflict over racing dates.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Former Ohio State Racing Commission chairman Scott Borgemenke has been named executive vice president for racing with Magna Entertainment Corp., according to the a published report.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Two Ohio racetracks that share the Columbus market have reached a new agreement on full-card simulcasts designed to aid patrons and perhaps their bottom lines.
Friday, December 21, 2007
A controversial plan to shave live racing dates at Thistledown in 2008 could result in the halt of full-card simulcasts at the Cleveland-area racetrack in 2009.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Thistledown, the Ohio racetrack that has shaved about 50 racing dates off its schedule since 2005, has requested another major reduction for 2008 to maintain profitability.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Ohio State Racing Commission has approved rules that require all horses to be equipped with safety reins. The rules take effect in July 2008.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Legislation to authorize Instant Racing machines has been introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Thoroughbred Owners of California plans to withhold the state simulcast signal to Beulah Park beginning Feb. 20 following a vote of its board Feb. 15, TOC president Drew Couto said.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
The Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association is challenging in federal court the constitutionality of an Ohio law governing the sending of simulcast signals.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Ohio's Thoroughbred tracks will race 24 fewer days in 2007 in keeping with a plan to increase average daily purses and boost field size by offering fewer races. The schedule, agreed to by tracks and horsemen's groups, will be voted on Dec. 15 by the Ohio State Racing Commission.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
