One of the more risible arguments put forth by this increasingly desperate industry is that horseracing merits saving (read: bailing out) because horseracing helps “preserve open spaces.” What makes this all the worse is the severe affordable-housing crisis our nation…
A bit of good news from steeplechase world… For the first time in almost 50 years, the Winterthur Steeplechase in Delaware will not be run this spring. Using the 75th anniversary of the onsite museum as a reason (pretext?), the…
Bullville Terror, says the NYS Gaming Commission, “broke down” in the 1st race at Monticello yesterday and is dead. He was eight years old. A few other notes… According to Equibase, in 2025 wagering on U.S. races was down 2.1%…
From the Illinois Racing Board yesterday: “Today the Illinois Racing Board made a very difficult decision to suspend the operating license of Suburban Downs [which takes place at Hawthorne; see our recent post]. On Jan. 15, IRB requested bank statements…
Friday, the province of British Columbia posted a public letter announcing an end to the subsidies for Hastings Racecourse as of Jan 31, 2026. Apparently, the decision was precipitated by the industry’s request for even more public money than it…
To paraphrase an old legal adage, if you have the facts, pound the facts; if you have the truth, pound the truth; if you have neither, pound the table and yell like hell. We (see this website) have the facts,…
A few years back, Nebraska green-lit racinos partly to save the light, moribund horseracing industry there. Although there are six racing licenses, save for Fonner Park the tracks have been running a bare minimum of races – just enough to…
While I don’t typically report on Canada (though I plan on changing that soon), I wanted to share some good news. Fraser Downs, the only harness track in British Columbia, is being shuttered effective immediately. According to a CBC report,…
First, the latest out of Saratoga: yet another kill. Stop Giggling, says the Gaming Commission, “was injured training Jul 25 and euthanized Jul 31.” She was five years old. Horseracing Wrongs is, of course, a national organization. It just so…
A reminder, as the most-celebrated meet in the country begins… Saratoga Race Course proudly bills itself “the oldest sporting venue in the nation” – one of the more blatant manifestations of The Big Lie. What you won’t see in all…
Among a slew of whipping “violations” (for “excessive or indiscriminate use” and the like) reported by the U.S. Trotting Association last week, were these (all emphases mine): Yonkers, May 13: “Driver Jason Bartlett, while driving #7 Ayr Corleon Gb, did…
Around Derby time last month, there was much talk of Churchill Downs’ supposed improvement – in dead horses, that is – in 2024 relative to the year before, when they last faced a PR nightmare. I, of course, informed media…
