Blood-Horse Two-time leading Tampa Bay Downs trainer John Reading died Thursday night, April 23, at his home in Oldsmar, Fla., of natural causes. He was 99. Reading, who had the unique distinction of training Thoroughbreds for both current Tampa Bay Downs track owner Stella F. Thayer and late track co-owner George M. Steinbrenner, is credited [...]

Blood-Horse Mark Lamberth, a member of the Arkansas Racing Commission, took over as chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International April 23, during the organization's annual convention in Tampa, Fla. Lamberth was selected chairman-elect last year. The chair serves a one-year term. "He will be a good leader at a time when we need [...]

Blood-Horse An April 22 roundtable discussion on anti-doping programs around the world revealed several common issues, including a need for more financial resources and dealing with highly-sensitive testing in an environment in which therapeutic medications are regularly used in training. Laboratory directors from the United States, Great Britain, and Hong Kong took part in the [...]

Blood-Horse Joe King, former track superintendent at the New York Racing Association and U.S. Army veteran, died April 21. He was 80. A native of Queens, N.Y., King got his start with NYRA after working for the company that rebuilt Aqueduct Racetrack in the 1950s and ascended to the role of track superintendent in 1970. [...]

Blood-Horse The Association of Racing Commissioners International kicked off its 2015 convention April 21 with an emphasis on identifying at-risk racehorses and equine welfare issues—two things the organization believes are critical to the future of horse racing. The conference, being held in Tampa, Fla., through April 23, also will have a strong bent toward medication [...]

Blood-Horse A West Virginia Racing Commission purse analysis based on revenue projections from all sources indicates the state and its racetracks have serious issues to address regarding live racing dates in the future. The analysis, discussed during the April 21 WVRC meeting, projects purses for the state's two Thoroughbred racetracks based on various scenarios on [...]

Blood-Horse The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association announced Monday, April 20 that it had appointed Eric Hamelback as new chief executive officer, beginning immediately. Hamelback, who had worked as general manager at Adena Springs Kentucky until September, takes over the National HBPA CEO role from Phil Hanrahan, who stepped down earlier this year. Until [...]

Paulick Report Following an all-day mediation session Monday, the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and Arlington International Racecourse reached a contract agreement for the 2015 season. The new contract will run through April 22, 2016, and details will be forthcoming. The ITHA would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts put forth by its Executive Committee of [...]

Blood-Horse Veteran Midwest trainer Kenny P. Smith reached his 1,000th winner April 19, according to Equibase records, when he sent out Retro Citizen to victory in the seventh race at Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casion. A third generation trainer, Smith won his first race in 1972 at Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha, Neb., with a horse named [...]

Daily Racing Form ALTOONA, Iowa – Prairie Meadows kicks off its 26th Thoroughbred racing meet, offering more than $15 million in total purses, with a nine-race card that gets under way Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Central. Consisting of 67 dates, the scheduling is similar to recent years aside from a two-day first week followed by [...]