Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation

Kentucky's potentially landmark fixed-odds bill has been voted out the state House with an easy 79-15 margin and now heads to the state Senate. Some of the key elements in the revised version this sweeping bill include a new mandate establishing a minimum amount of at least $1,000 that a bettor can win through fixed-odds wagering, language to essentially decouple wagering providers from the prediction market (which is the ability for bettors to make speculative bets on the outcomes of future events), and language barring a cap being placed on...

A floor amendment has been added to HB 904--a sweeping piece of legislation seeking to legalize fixed-odds wagering in Kentucky--that is designed to essentially ensure no limit can be imposed on the number of mares bred to a stallion in the state. It requires that the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation select and use an entity to act as "a registrar of Thoroughbreds" in the state, meaning it could choose an organization other than The Jockey Club, which is the current breed registry for the U.S., Canada and Puerto...

Last week, Republican Representatives Matthew Koch and Michael Meredith introduced into the Kentucky state legislature a sweeping gambling bill with several key components, including legalized fixed-odds wagering in Kentucky along with efforts to essentially expand and modernize its gambling infrastructure. Unlike the fluctuating odds that make up pari-mutuel betting, fixed odds is a form of betting in which the payout odds are set and agreed upon at the time the wager is placed. Crucially, they do not change. Among other aspects of the bill, it requires tracks and tote companies...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's proposed 2026 budget has been out for its mandatory public comment period and is now before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The topline comes out to just over $78.4 million. If credits to the industry are fully applied, then the cost to the industry is around $60.4 million. HISA has already responded to nine public comments posted to the federal register. Its response, however, doesn't include those subsequently submitted by Churchill Downs Incorporated's (CDI) CEO, Bill Carstanjen. CDI is hardly an impartial voice in...

Amendments to the Entry Examination by Attending Veterinarian, 810 KAR 4:030, Section 17, will take effect July 1, 2025, according to a release by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation Wednesday. The changes will be applied to entries for races occurring on or after July 1, 2025. Entries for Ellis Park's opening day on July 3, 2025, close June 26, 2025. The amended regulation states: Section 17. Entry Examination by Attending Veterinarian. (1) A horse shall only start if: (a) The horse has been examined by an attending veterinarian...

The GI Kentucky Derby has long been billed as the most exciting two minutes in sports. After a series of lawsuits involving America's signature horse race over the last six years, it might be more precise to start referring to it as the most litigated two minutes in sports. The week between the first two legs of this year's Triple Crown began with the connections of Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) opting out of the GI Preakness Stakes based on the assessment by trainer Bill Mott and owner/breeder Godolphin that...

Trainer Murray Rojas spent nearly a decade fighting equine drug misbranding charges stemming from a years-long federal investigation of horsemen and veterinarians at Penn National Race Course. While other similarly indicted co-defendants opted for plea-bargain deals, Rojas maintained her innocence even through an ordeal that she said "wrecked" her career. In 2021 she took her case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, where her perseverance resulted in the overturning of a 27-month prison sentence and the vacating of all charges against her. Rojas has since regained her...

After a hearing before the Board of Stewards, jockey Luan Machado was suspended for three days and fined $2,500 for his ride aboard Ultimate Strike (Mineshaft) in Wednesday's eighth race at Keeneland. Keeneland uses two finish lines, one for mile-and-sixteenth races and the other for mile-and-an-eighth races. Ultimate Strike was five lengths in front as he hit the first finish line and was clearly on his way to victory. But Machado apparently believed the race was over at that point and began to pull up his horse prior to the...

Slated to be Kentucky's only Quarter Horse venue, Revolutionary Racing is pouring $10 million into Sandy Ridge Racetrack which is currently under construction in Ashland, the investor said via a Friday press release. Built on 182 acres behind Sandy's Racing & Gaming--a $75 million entertainment facility that Revolutionary opened 11 months ago--the developer plans to request 2026 race dates from the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation. "We are excited to begin this phase of our project, which will be unlike anything else in the state," said Larry Lucas, chairman...

The Virginia Racing Commission has appointed Waqas Ahmed to serve as its executive secretary, effective Aug. 10, the commission said in a Wednesday press release. Most recently, Ahmed served as the deputy executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC). In that role, he carried out several strategic initiatives, including the launch and implementation of sports wagering. Prior to that, Ahmed served as the KHRC's director of pari-mutuel wagering and compliance, and oversaw the launch of several tracks, historical horse racing facilities as well as advance deposit account wagering...

Susan Speckert has been named chief operating officer of the newly formed Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation. The KHRGC, established through 2024 Senate Bill 299, took over the responsibilities of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on July 1. "I am honored to work alongside the outstanding team at the KHRGC to ensure Kentucky continues to lead in protecting the health, safety and welfare of horses, riders and all participants, as well as the wagering public," Speckert said. "I am grateful to the Board of Directors and President and CEO...

Kentucky Downs plans to increase purses for nine of its 18 stakes by a total of $3.7 million from what was originally announced, pending regulatory approval, according to a press release from the track early on Thursday morning. Leading the way is the GIII Nashville Derby Invitational, bumped from $2.5 million to $3.1 million. That would make the 1 5/16-mile stakes North America's second-richest race, for Kentucky-breds, behind only the $5 million GI Kentucky Derby among races held at one track. The Nashville Derby already was America's richest turf race...