The irrepressible Ben's Cat came from off the pace with a big rush on the outside to register his third consecutive win in the $200,000 Parx Dash Handicap (gr. IIIT) on the turf at the Pennsylvania track July 12.
Advance deposit wagering outlet Xpressbet will sponsor the West Virginia Derby (gr. II) Aug. 2 at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester, W.Va.
Delaware Park and the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association signed a one-year extension to their current agreement, which was scheduled to run through 2015.
Jockey Pablo Morales secured the 1,000th victory of his career when he guided favorite For Scipion to a front-end tally in the fifth race July 9 at Presque Isle Downs.
Assateague dominated seven fillies and mares in the $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap (gr. IIIT), leading all the way en route to her first graded stakes win July 8 at Parx Racing.
One More Time flew to an open-lengths victory in his career debut July 5 in the second race at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races and became the first winner for freshman sire Charitable Man.
Zanim Meahjohn's Fortune Pearl emerged from a scramble at the top of the stretch and drew away to capture her first stakes victory in the $300,000 Delaware Oaks (gr. II) at Delaware Park July 5.
Haras du Mezeray and Skymarc Farm's Aigue Marine benefited from a ground-saving trip to capture her first United States stakes win in the $200,000 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Delaware Park July 5.
Classic-placed Itsmyluckyday will try for a third straight stakes victory in his 4-year-old season when he starts in the $150,000 Salvator Mile Stakes (gr. III) July 6 at Monmouth Park.
Before any action is taken on a Virginia Racing Commission plan that could have paved the way for racing at Colonial Downs in 2015, it will be challenged in court by the New Kent, Va., track.
Haras du Mezeray and Skymarc Farm's Aigue Marine, who has a pair of second-place finishes in three 2014 starts, looks to break through with a victory in the Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (gr. IIIT) July 5 at Delaware Park.
Main Line Racing Stable's Joint Return and Swilcan Stables' Vero Amore are among the top contenders in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies drawn for the $300,000 Delaware Oaks (gr. II) at Delaware Park July 5.
A state-created fan advisory group has blasted NYRA for operations June 7 for Belmont Stakes (gr. I) day, saying problems that hit everything from parking lot to betting lines to lack of security hurt fan development.
The 45th annual meeting of the American Horse Council held in Washington, D.C., in late June, drew nearly 200 attendees including industry leaders from 50 organizations, members of Congress and staff, and federal regulators.
A West Virginia Circuit Court has reinstated the occupational permit of former Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races racing secretery Randy Wehrman.
A Pure Prize filly was selected by trainer Tony Dutrow as grand champion over 75 other entrants at the 80th annual Maryland Horse Breeders Association's Maryland-bred yearling show June 29 at the Timonium Fairgrounds.
Jockey Eddie Castro was transported to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J. after being kicked by his mount Kamarius in the Monmouth Park paddock before the running of the ninth race June 29.
Despite a United States Supreme Court decision not to hear the state of New Jersey's appeal of a ban on sports betting, Monmouth Park officials said June 27 they intend to take bets on sports in September.
The National Uniform Medication Program wasn't on the agenda at the recent American Horse Council convention, but progress on that front was addressed during forums and in conversations among attendees.
Penn National Gaming Inc. will open a new off-track wagering facility in southern New Jersey July 2. It will be the fifth OTW facility in New Jersey.
Declines in the number of foals and registered horses have created challenges for the equine industry at large, though the situation has raised another major question: Where have all the owners gone?
Juan Vazquez, a leading trainer at Delaware Park, was charged with simple assault following an incident involving jockey Trevor McCarthy at the track June 23.
The Virginia Racing Commission has asked that horsemen and Colonial Downs come to an agreement on an eight-week schedule for 2015 in a deal that would see no live Thoroughbred racing in 2014 at the New Kent, Va. track.
Member organizations of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, formed almost 10 years ago, reviewed progress on several fronts June 23 and solicited input on how to maximize existing programs.
Starlet of Mine made all the pace and romped to an open-lengths triumph June 21 in the fourth race at Charles Town, becoming the first winner for Central Kentucky sire Discreetly Mine.
Owner Rick Porter said June 19 he has moved multiple graded stakes-placed Normandy Invasion to the barn of trainer Larry Jones.
Mid-Atlantic-based trainer John McKee secured the 1,000th victory of his career June 18 when he saddled Silkentown to a win in the first race at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.
The Pennsylvania racing fund, which pays for regulation of horse racing in the state, has been misused by the state Department of Agriculture and is close to bankruptcy, according to a state audit released June 18.
The West Virginia Racing Commission June 17 overturned a woman's almost nine-year ban from Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races and tabled action on a similar ejection of her husband.
The United States Trotting Association said June 16 it will fund a project designed to develop regulatory controls for the use of cobalt in racehorses.
The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association announced June 16 that executive secretary John "Jeb" Hannum will leave his position with the PHBA in September.
Gamay Noir, plucked from the claiming ranks earlier this year, struck for a last-to-first triumph in $150,000 Obeah Stakes (gr. III) June 14 at Delaware Park, earning her second graded stakes win.
Trainer Tony Dutrow will be the judge for the 80th Maryland Horse Breeders Association's annual event for Maryland-bred yearlings in Timonium June 29.
The Harrisburg Starter Handicap Series, a mainstay of the Pennsylvania racing program more than three decades ago, is returning to the racing calendar at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
Growth in out-of-state wagering on its product helped Pimlico Race Course record an increase in average daily pari-mutuel handle for the 2014 spring meet.
Samuel Webb, one of three trainers and four people facing federal fraud charges following arrests in November at Penn National Race Course, had those charges dropped on June 5.
Sire Afleet Express was represented by his first winner when Jiggin Witit cruised to a front-running 1 1/4-length victory in a maiden special weight race June 7 at Presque Isle Downs.
Footwear company SKECHERS has signed on to sponsor California Chrome, who will shoot for the Triple Crown June 7 at Belmont Park.
If California Chrome wins the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) June 7 at Belmont Park, he would become the first California-bred Triple Crown winner and just the fourth horse bred outside of Kentucky to sweep the three classics.
Pennsylvania Thoroughbred breeding program continues to improve and offer healthy benefits, but breeders are keeping a watchful eye, again, on activities in the state Legislature.
Princess of Sylmar may not have won an Eclipse Award for 2013 despite four consecutive grade I victories, but owner Ed Stanco of King of Prussia Stable was a happy man at the Iroquois Awards Dinner in Pennsylvania May 30.
John Gunther's Last Gunfighter, away since his victory in the Hawthorne Gold Cup (gr. II) last November, had plenty of ammunition for his return with a victory in the $200,000 Mountainview Handicap at Penn National May 31.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Bobby's Kitten, again showing his affinity for the turf, rated nicely early and pulled away to a comfortable victory in the $500,000 Penn Mile on the grass at Penn National Race Course May 31.
The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission has suspended trainer Julio Cartagena two years and fined him $2,500 for a positive drug test in a horse last September.
The one-two finishers in the American Turf Stakes (gr. IIT) at Churchill Downs are set for a rematch in the $500,000 Penn Mile Stakes for 3-year-olds on the grass at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course May 31.
Hall of Fame rider Joe Aitcheson, among the all-time leading steeplechase riders, died May 24 in Westminster, Md., at age 85.
The horsemen's group at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort has signed off on a plan to reduce racing days and the number of races at the West Virginia track later this year.
As of Thursday, May 22, racing at Colonial Downs this year appears to be unlikely as horsemen in Virginia and the track have failed to reach an agreement on the schedule.
Undefeated Sagamore Farm homebred Daring Dancer will try for her fourth straight victory and second straight stakes win against an expected six other 3-year-old fillies in the $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes May 25.
The West Virginia legislature ended a short special session May 21 and apparently left more than $14 million in gaming revenue to purses and breed development programs for horse and dog racing intact for fiscal year 2015.
