Blood-Horse The Illinois Racing Board March 17 approved a drastically reduced stakes schedule for the summer meeting at Arlington International Racecourse, putting five graded events "on hiatus." But the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association argued the cuts in stakes purses are not deep enough, given the hard economic times facing the state's industry. ITHA executive director [...]

Paulick Report On March 14, 2015 riders at Parx, as well as jockeys from other tracks in the surrounding areas, began notifying the Parx Racing Secretary, as well as the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission Stewards at Parx, that they will not accept mounts on or after March 19, 2015, unless Parx unconditionally guarantees to them [...]

Blood-Horse With field size an issue as winter turns to spring, two racetracks located about 45 minutes apart are reinforcing policies designed to keep horses on the grounds. Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Ohio and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in neighboring West Virginia on their overnight sheets are referring horsemen to [...]

Blood-Horse Trainer Jeff Greenhill remembered one winter several years ago when he decided to move his stable to Florida to enjoy the sunshine and warmth at Tampa Bay Downs. "For those purses at Tampa, those races are really tough," he said. "I've told people, 'I went to Tampa for the winter and all I got [...]

Daily Racing Form Will Rogers Downs near Tulsa, Okla., launches its 30-date Thoroughbred meet on Monday with a restructured calendar, a twilight racing series, and packed stable area. The season runs through May 26. Will Rogers is opening its meet a week later this year to flow better with the recently-concluded meet at Sam Houston, [...]

Daily Racing Form Ogygian, a multiple Grade 1 winner, prominent sire, and the oldest resident at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky., was euthanized Saturday due to complications from colic. He was 32 years old. A son of Damascus, Ogygian was bred in Florida by Tartan Farms Corp. and raced as a homebred for [...]

Blood-Horse The Muckleshoot Tribe March 13 received unanimous approval from the Washington Horse Racing Commission to operate Emerald Downs, the state's premier Thoroughbred racetrack. The tribe has owned the property on which the racetrack sits since 2004, and has been supplementing purses at Emerald Downs for years. The racing operation had been owned by Ron [...]

Richmond Times-Dispatch Thoroughbred racing will return to Virginia this year after a one-year hiatus, horsemen say. But will it occur at Colonial Downs in New Kent County, the only track that until last year had the state’s only unlimited license to run races? “That is up in the air,” said Frank Petramalo Jr., executive director [...]

Blood-Horse As the Ohio State Racing Commission begins a comprehensive review of its medication rules and examines the National Uniform Medication Program, it has a hired a longtime veterinarian to consult on policies and procedures. The commission, chairman Bob Schmitz said March 12, has hired Dr. James Robinson, who was a member of the faculty [...]

Blood-Horse The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium may be close to recommending policy on the endogenous element cobalt, which when administered in high doses is believed to enhance production of red blood cells. In a related matter, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission March 10 adopted emergency regulations for regulation of cobalt in Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, [...]