Massachusetts lawmakers voted to extend the current statute authorizing and governing live racing and simulcasting in the state on the evening of July 26, thus avoiding a shutdown of the entire horse racing industry in the state.
A labor dispute between the owners of Finger Lakes Racetrack in upstate New York and the horsemen's group at the Thoroughbred track is forcing a shutdown of its simulcasting operations on Jan. 1.
Casino at Ocean Downs, a harness track on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is in the process of being purchased by Churchill Downs Inc. and Saratoga Casino Holdings from Delaware Park owner William Rickman.
Rockingham Park, New England's first track that debuted with a Thoroughbred meet in 1906, has reached the finish line and will shutter its doors for good Aug. 31.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino will have a new look when its Thoroughbred meet begins April 28. The track has added high-definition equipment and will expand its race-day television programming.
Full fields, three graded stakes, and quality horses helped Tampa Bay Downs register record total pari-mutuel handle for one program March 12. More than $12 million was wagered on 12 races.
Golden Gate Fields will begin to broadcast its races using high-definition cameras and video March 17, The Stronach Group announced March 10.
With single-digit temperatures expected during racing hours, Turfway Park canceled live racing for Feb. 13, and New York's Aqueduct Racetrack also canceled the day's card, citing high winds and sub-zero wind chills.
Several tracks canceled live racing, and full-card simulcasts were suspended, because of a tote issue Jan. 26.
Due to the residual impact of a winter story, full-card simulcast operations at Aqueduct Racetrack, as well as Monmouth Park and its two off-track betting parlors, Jan. 24.
Due to severe winter weather, the New York Racing Association cancelled racing and simulcasting at Aqueduct Jan. 23 and will not race Jan. 24, although the track is expected to be open for simulcasting Jan. 24.
Ken Kirchner, a former regulator in Pennsylvania, was hired by Breeders' Cup as a consultant in 1996, and since that time has overseen wagering formats, simulcast expansion, and elevating the product with bettors.
Breeders' Cup and the Latin American Racing Channel, which facilitates simulcasts to and from other countries including the U.S., have five-year partnership agreement through 2020.
The Ohio HBPA, which withdrew permission for its races to be simulcast in a dispute with track management over the number of available stalls, said ThistleDown officials agreed Sept. 18 to increase the number of stalls.
For the second time in three years, the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has pulled the plug on the exporting of ThistleDown Racino's live racing signal.
It appeared as though live racing and full-card simulcasts were to be suspended Sept. 1 in the wake of a battle over funding for the Texas Racing Commission.
The Illinois Racing Board Aug. 27 granted Maywood Park permission to scrap the final three months of its harness season, a controversial decision with implications for the coming year's Thoroughbred dates.
There's a good chance no races that are part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be simulcast to Hong Kong this year.
New York's five off-track betting corporations said they have cut ties with Churchill Downs Inc. and won't offer signals from tracks owned by the company or tracks that contract with CDI to sell their simulcast signals.
When Keeneland shifts its simulcast operation to The Red Mile harness track July 15, it will mark a major change for Lexington. And a few months later more than 900 historical racing machines are expected to be operational.
Tampa Bay Downs June 30-July 1 will hold its Summer Festival of Racing, which marks the end of its 2014-15 racing season and the beginning of its 2015-16 meet.
The New York Racing Association and Cristal Race Track (Jockey Club Rio Grande do Sul) will begin sharing reciprocal simulcast signals later this year.
The American Horse Council board of trustees has voted unanimously to oppose federal legislation that would be repeal the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 in conjunction with oversight of equine medication and testing.
Keeneland announced May 6 it will move its year-round simulcast wagering operations to The Red Mile, the historic Standardbred track in Lexington, beginning July 15.
Average field size at Gulfstream Park for its Dec. 6, 2014-April 5 race meet grew 13.1% from 8.4 to 9.5 horses per race, while average daily all-sources pari-mutuel handle slipped 1.7% but was still a solid $8.1 million.
Keeneland will ask the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission May 6 for permission to offer Thoroughbred simulcasts at The Red Mile, the Lexington harness track that is constructing a facility for historical race wagering machines.
Industry organizations May 1 came out in opposition to legislation that would repeal the Interstate Horseracing Act because of alleged cheating in horse racing, with one group calling it a shameless publicity stunt.
Legislation designed to encourage Atlantic City casinos to offer full-card simulcasts -- or at least protect them at the one casino that still offers wagering on horse races -- was signed into law April 27.
The lengthy dispute that has kept members of the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative from offering wagering on racetracks represented by Monarch Content Management has ended, an official confirmed March 27.
With time running out for Suffolk Downs to continue offering full-card simulcasts, the Massachusetts House of Representatives March 26 passed a bill that extends the current rights for one more month.
The New England Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association posted a statement on its website Mar. 24 discounting the likelihood of a 50-day meet operated by horsemen at Suffolk Downs in 2015.
"This action is being undertaken in a prudent and a proactive step to prevent the loss of two days of racing, and to prepare the track for Saturday's inaugural Claiming Championships," read a release.
Meadowlands, which contracts with Monarch Content Management to negotiate host fees for its signal, issued a statement Feb. 27 on the ongoing dispute that is blacking out its signal from 23 racetracks.
After a dispute, the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association and Monarch Content Management struck a temporary agreement Feb. 19 to allow Monarch-controlled simulcast signals to be offered.
The Stronach Group remains optimistic about the future of the horse racing industry in North America and will continue to push for what it believes are fundamental structural changes needed to move the business forward.
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has partnered with TVG to become the first full-time Thoroughbred track in the evening simulcast market to broadcast its races in high definition on the network.
A subsidiary of Tampa Bay Downs has a contract to purchase the assets of Tampa Greyhound Track, according to a Jan. 7 release.
Twenty-three racetracks and their affiliated wagering outlets began 2015 without the signals from Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, and Laurel Park as a simulcast-fee dispute entered its second month.
Suffolk Downs, slated for closure Dec. 31, will be allowed to remain open for simulcasting only under the terms of a bill that cleared the Massachusetts Senate on Dec. 29.
Two Chicago-area harness tracks with the same ownership voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection Dec. 24 "to ensure continued operations," officials said.
A war of words in a dispute between two cooperatives that negotiate simulcast fees continued Dec. 8 when the MidAtlantic Cooperative, which represents 23 racetracks, said Monarch Content Management misstated facts.
Suffolk Downs, which ended live racing for good earlier in the fall and laid off the majority of the track's remaining employees on Nov. 20 is now investigating ways to remain open as a simulcast-only facility in 2015.
The first of six programs Yonkers Raceway is sending to France for wagering purposes generated solid pari-mutuel handle and could be used to spark similar racing industry endeavors.
Tampa Bay Downs presents its second annual Summer Festival of Racing June 30 and July 1, featuring an approximate 25% increase in purses from last year's inaugural two-day event.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad May 31 signed into law a bill that will allow casinos to buy out dog racing, but there could be legislation in 2015 to hammer out simulcast revenue splits for Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said he is unsure whether he will sign legislation that would allow casinos to buy out Greyhound racing because of an objection raised by horse interests over full-card simulcasts.
Tampa Bay Downs and Hialeah Park haven't amended their plans for live racing dates for the 12-month period that begins July 1, though they have until Feb. 28 to do so.
Canterbury Park is making headway with its plan to expand full-card simulcasts of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing to tribal casinos in Minnesota.
An agenda for the Jan. 15 New Jersey Racing Commission meeting lists the following item for discussion and information: a shutdown of four Atlantic City casino race books.
Gulfstream Park moved ahead of Tampa Bay Downs during November in Florida's three-way competition for host-track simulcast business, according to data released Dec. 12 by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
