Tag: The Biz

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday that it has completed its previously-announced purchase of Exacta Systems, LLC for total consideration of $250 million in cash, subject to certain working capital and other purchase price adjustments.

Exacta is a leading provider of technology to support historical horse racing (“HHR”) operations across the country. Through its ownership of Colonial Downs Racetrack and Rosie's Gaming Emporium historical racing machine (“HRM”) facilities, the transaction will enable CDI to realize significant and immediate synergies related to the Company's Virginia operations.

CDI will also realize additional operational improvements over time through the diversification of games available at its HRM facilities. Exacta will operate within the Company's TwinSpires segment and will continue to service its growing portfolio of third-party HHR operators in Kentucky, Wyoming, and New Hampshire.

The Transaction was funded with cash on hand and with the Company's existing credit facility.

About Exacta Systems

Exacta Systems employs a pioneering technology driving growth in new and existing HHR markets. Exacta Connect's robust and flexible system architecture supports multiple game vendors and virtually unlimited math modeling capabilities on a single system enabling Exacta to deliver a diverse gaming library with second-to-none entertainment experiences. For more information visit: www.exactasystems.com.

About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (NASDAQ: CHDN) has been creating extraordinary entertainment experiences for nearly 150 years, beginning with the company's most iconic and enduring asset, the Kentucky Derby. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, CDI has expanded through the development of live and historical racing entertainment venues, the growth of the TwinSpires horse racing online wagering business and the operation and development of regional casino gaming properties. More information is available at http://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.

The post Churchill Completes Acquisition Of Historical Horse Racing Technology Provider Exacta Systems appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Prominent harness trainer Mark Ford has settled a four-year civil case filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over violations of the Clean Water Act. According to the Times-Herald Record, Ford will have to pay a $200,000 fine for illegally filling wetlands and polluting waters at his training center in Orange County, New York.

The complaint, filed in 2019, alleged that from 2007 to 2016, Ford destroyed existing federal wetlands and rerouted streams in the course of building a horse racing training center at 90 Slaughter Road and 482/484 Stony Ford Road.

In the consent decree, Ford admitted, acknowledged, and accepted responsibility for the violations. He will be required to create or restore 18 acres of wetlands on his property, fix two streams, and address the animal waste and wastewater on his land. The consent decree needs to be approved by a court and is subject to public comment.

Ford told the Times-Union that he hoped a judge would approve the consent decree because of the high cost of ongoing litigation. He also said he never knowingly engaged in any wrongdoing.

“This is one of the biggest travesties that has ever happened,” Ford told the Times-Union. “A lot of the things, I don't even know what they're talking about.”

Named Trainer of the Year by the United States Harness Writers' Association in 2000, Ford is a director of the United States Trotting Association. A biography on the USTA website explains that Ford is the youngest trainer in history to reach milestones of $10 million, $20 million, $30 million, $40 million, $50 million and $60 million in career earnings. He is also the only trainer to have won a pair of million-dollar races before his 30th birthday.

Ford trained 2000 Horse of the Year Gallo Blue Chip along with millionaires Whosurboy, Turnpike Token, Armbro Animate, Stonebridge Kisses and Self Professed, top performer On The Attack and double-gaited world champion Six Day War. Ford has won training titles at both Meadowlands Racetrack and Yonkers Raceway. He races one of the largest stables in North America and is continually one of the top competitors at Yonkers Raceway, Meadowlands Racetrack, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and the Woodbine Entertainment Group for some of the sport's top owners. In 2015, he became president of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey.

Read more at the Times-Herald Record.

The post Prominent Harness Trainer Fined $200,000 For Violations Of Clean Water Act At New York Training Center appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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An owner and trainer in New Mexico have been summarily suspended after the state veterinarian witnessed that owner injecting a horse on race day.

New Mexico Racing Commission state veterinarian Dr. Victoria Lowe witnessed owner Ricardo Morales injecting the horse Stoli Best Card Rme with a needle and syringe with an unknown medication on race day, Aug. 18, according to a ruling posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website.

The 2-year-old Quarter Horse filly, a homebred for Morales who has not started, was in the barn of trainer Salvador Soto. She was scratched from the race after Dr. Lowe witnessed the injection.

Both Morales and Soto are scheduled to attend separate summary suspension hearings with the stewards on Aug. 27.

Soto is a Grade 1-winning Quarter Horse trainer with 200 wins on his resume, according to Equibase. He has been training since 2004.

The trainer was suspended 365 days in 2015 after two horses he trained tested positive for drugs at Sunland Park. The first of Soto's horses, Hi Class Local, tested positive for Dexamethasone after finishing tenth in a race Jan. 4. Soto was fined $1,000 for that infraction.

The second horse, the 8-year-old Whatever Bill, tested positive for a “cocktail of drugs” after winning a race Jan. 11. The horse was found to be above the legal limits for phenylbutazone, methylprednisolone, and Flunixin, a powerful painkiller.

That infraction marked Soto's fourth drug violation within a year. He was fined $5,000, had to forfeit the winning purse, and was suspended from June 27, 2015 through June 27, 2016.

The post New Mexico: Quarter Horse Trainer, Owner Summarily Suspended After Being Caught Injecting Horse appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A dozen stakes cumulatively worth a record $3,775,000 will be offered during the 14-day September Meet at Churchill Downs, which runs Sept. 14-Oct. 1 (pending Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund final approval).

The 11th annual September Meet, which runs for three weeks, will offer horsemen plenty of opportunities to prep for the Nov. 3-4 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita, led by the $500,000 Lukas Classic (Grade 2) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles and the $400,000 Ack Ack (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at one mile – a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” race for the Dirt Mile – on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Additionally, the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series will kick-off Saturday, Sept. 16 with the $300,000 Iroquois (G3) and $300,000 Pocahontas (G3), respectively. Both races for 2-year-olds have been shortened by a half-furlong to the one turn, one-mile distance.

The Ack Ack, boosted by $100,000, is one of six stakes events that received a purse increase. The Louisville Thoroughbred Society, Bourbon Trail, Harrods Creek and Dogwood were each increased by $25,000 to be valued at $300,000 apiece. The Seneca Overnight Stakes received a $15,000 bump to $175,000.

Additionally, the $200,000 Jefferson Cup for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf has returned to the September Meet stakes lineup following a three-year hiatus.

The condition book of scheduled races for the September Meet features 135 races and a record $15,133,000 in prize money for a daily average of $1,080,929. Maiden special weight races have a $120,000 purse while allowance races range from $127,000 to $141,000. All purses, including claiming races, include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

Tickets for the September Meet are on sale at https://www.churchilldowns.com/tickets/. Event highlights include:

· Twilight Thursdays featuring $2 select domestic beer, live music and food trucks (Thursdays, Sept. 14, Sept. 21 and Sept. 28).

· Road to the 150th Kentucky Derby and 150th Kentucky Oaks Kickoff (Saturday, Sept. 16)

· Stakes Room Brunch (Sundays, Sept. 17 and Sept. 24)

· Downs After Dark: Bourbon & Boots (Saturday, Sept. 23)

· Family Adventure Day (Sunday, Oct. 1)

Churchill Downs' 14-day meet will be staged over three weeks from Thursday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Oct. 1 with racing on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Outside of the three Twilight Thursdays (5 p.m. ET) and the lone Downs After Dark on Sept. 23 (6 p.m. ET), the first race for all other race days will be 12:45 p.m. ET. Nine races are scheduled on Wednesdays, eight races are scheduled on Thursdays with 10-race programs on Fridays and Sundays. Eleven races will be showcased each Saturday.

The most lucrative day of the meet will be Road to the 150th Kentucky Derby and 150th Kentucky Oaks Kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 16 with prize money totaling $2.159 million. Five of the 11 races are stakes races.

Construction on the new Paddock at Churchill Downs continues. As was the case during the Spring Meet, a temporary saddling paddock adjacent to the First Turn Grandstand will be utilized for the remainder of the year.

2023 CHURCHILL DOWNS SEPTEMBER MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

Date	Running	Grade	Purse	Race	Conditions	Distance	Surface
Saturday, Sept. 16	39th	III	$400,000	Locust Grove	3&up, f&m	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 16	42nd	III	$300,000	Iroquois	2yo	1 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 16	55th	III	$300,000	Pocahontas	2yo f	1 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 16	14th	Listed	$300,000	Open Mind	3&up, f&m	6 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 16	3rd		$300,000	Louisville Thoroughbred Society	3&up	6 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 23	48th	III	$300,000	Dogwood	3yo f	7 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 23	3rd		$300,000	Bourbon Trail	3yo	1 3/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 23	3rd		$300,000	Harrods Creek	3yo	7 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 23	3rd		$175,000	Seneca Overnight Stakes	3yo f	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 30	10th	II	$500,000	Lukas Classic	3&up	1 1/8 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 30	31st	III	$400,000	Ack Ack	3&up	1 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 30	43rd		$200,000	Jefferson Cup	3yo	1 M	Turf

The post Churchill Downs Shortens Iroquois, Pocahontas To One-Turn Mile Distance appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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