Blood-Horse Given record wagering during the opening week of its spring meet, Churchill Downs June 9 announced a 10% hike in overnight purses for the remaining 11 programs of the meeting. Based on the announcement, effective June 11, the purse for a maiden special weight event for 3-year-olds or older will go for $55,000, up [...]

Daily Racing Form Hazel Park Raceway announced a 15 percent purse reduction until further notice on Tuesday in the overnight for Friday’s races. The decision between track management and the Michigan Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association came in response to declining purse fund revenue from simulcast wagering. “It’s just an attempt to extend the meet [...]

Blood-Horse Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps, who has served as chairman of The Jockey Club for the past 32 years, announced June 8 that he will resign his chairmanship, effective Aug. 8. The Jockey Club's board of stewards will meet on that day, following the annual meeting of the membership. Phipps, 74, a prominent Thoroughbred owner [...]

Blood-Horse The drought is mercifully over. In the 37th year after Affirmed swept the classics in 1978, Zayat Stables' American Pharoah toyed with the field of seven other horses to win the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes Presented by DraftKings (gr. I) June 6 at Belmont Park (VIDEO). After a good break, the Pioneerof the Nile [...]

Blood-Horse Three members of Congress June 4 introduced legislation to regulate equine medication and drug testing—but it's not the same bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko of New York and endorsed by a Thoroughbred industry coalition. The American Horse Council, which represents all breeds of horses in Washington, D.C., said Reps. Joe Pitts of [...]

Daily Racing Form A proposal to alter U.S. federal tax laws in favor of horseplayers still has several more hurdles to overcome before the rules could go into effect, an official with the racing organization that has organized support for the changes said Wednesday. Keith Chamblin, the chief operating officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing [...]

Daily Racing Form American Pharoah’s quest to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since 1978 will start from post 5 against seven challengers in the 147th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, to be contested Saturday at Belmont Park. The Zayat Stables homebred has been installed as the 3-5 morning-line [...]

Daily Racing Form LOUISVILLE, Ky. – To find better horses, Chris Hartman figured he had to go east, young man. “I wanted to upgrade my stock and see if I couldn’t pick up some more clients,” said Hartman, who was born in Phoenix and raised on the racetracks of Arizona and New Mexico. So far, [...]

Daily Racing Form ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Ontario Racing Commission has approved a directive ordering that all horses selected to provide a blood sample as defined by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency also will be tested for cobalt. Once the CPMA has completed the official testing, the ORC will subject the samples to enhanced testing for [...]

Blood-Horse Florida Gov. Rick Scott June 2 signed into law legislation that will revamp equine medication and drug testing as part of the National Uniform Medication Program. The law takes effect July 1 of this year. It requires the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering to adopt rules that govern permitted therapeutic medications and testing under [...]