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, [...]

Daily Racing Form Three separate inquiries at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 21, including one resulting in the disqualification of the favorite in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, immediately raised the hackles of bettors, racing fans, and trainers, who collectively rallied around one point: consistency. To many critics of one or more of the stewards’ decisions [...]

Blood-Horse Winter weather didn't just force cancellations of race days this week, it also forced the Virginia Racing Commission to postpone its regular meeting that had been scheduled Thursday, March 5, when it had hoped the future of racing in the state would be shaped through a compromise between horsemen and Colonial Downs. VRC executive [...]

Blood-Horse Judging by the final results of Fasig-Tipton's Florida sale of 2-year-olds in training at Gulfstream Park March 4, the sales company's decision to return its select offering to South Florida was clearly a winning one. A total of 89 head changed hands (43 failed to sell), generating gross receipts of $20,095,500, compared to total [...]

Blood-Horse For the first time in five years there will be no major changes in Florida's Thoroughbred racing calendar. In filings made to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Gulfstream Park has selected racing dates for the July 1, 2015-June 30, 2016 fiscal year that are almost identical to its 2014-15 schedule. The annual deadline [...]

The Racing Biz Legislation that would have eviscerated West Virginia’s Thoroughbred industry appears to be “mostly dead,” sources said. A pair of bills — Senate Bills 543 and 563 — would have represented “the beginning of the end” for the state’s Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry, said Joe Funkhouser of West Virginia Racing United, a [...]

Blood-Horse Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced a 10% increase in overnight purses, effective March 7, for the remainder of its143rd Thoroughbred racing season that concludes March 29. The New Orleans track said the increase is a result of an uptick in pari-mutuel handle, and increased slots and video poker revenue in 2015 [...]

New England HBPA EAST BOSTON, MA (February 27, 2015)- Officials of Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC and the New England affiliate of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association announced today that they have reached an agreement for the horsemen to lease the racetrack for live racing in 2015-2016. “We are optimistic that our horsemen will be [...]

Blood-Horse All-sources pari-mutuel handle is up 10.3% year-to-date at Tampa Bay Downs, which puts the Florida racetrack on course to average more than $4 million per day and finish with its highest wagering total since the 2010-11 meet. Also through Feb. 22, average field size is up 9% year-to-date, from 8.26 to 9.00 starters per [...]