The Biz | Horse Racing Free Tips

Operator Of Oregon’s Grants Pass To Seek Approval For Historical Horse Racing Machines

Travis Boersma, who brought racing back to Oregon at Grants Pass after the closure of the state's main racetrack, Portland Meadows, has plans to install 250 historical horse racing terminals in an adjoining restaurant and entertainment center at the Josephine County Fairgrounds in the southern Oregon town of about 35,000.

Boersma's plans were detailed in a recent article covering the state's gambling industry in the Oregonian's website, www.oregonelive.com.

The entertainment center, currently under construction, is named The Flying Lark in honor of one of the state's most famous Thoroughbred who raced in the late 1960s. Grants Pass announced plans for the entertainment center last year but did not indicate it would include historical horse racing.

A spokesperson for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told oregonlive.com the governor will defer to the Oregon Racing Commission to determine whether or not the machines fit the definition of pari-mutuel wagering and, thus, are legal. Native American tribes, whose gaming revenue has flatelined over the last decade as the state lottery has grown, is opposed to the installation of HHR machines as are problem gambling organizations.

Woodbine Urges Workforce To Schedule COVID-19 Vaccinations

The Government of Ontario has now moved to Phase 2 of its COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan which provides eligibility to essential frontline workers who cannot work from home, which includes agriculture and farm workers.

Moreover, the vaccination plan is also now prioritizing residents living in hot spots, which includes Woodbine Racetrack. To see if you live in a hot spot, please click here.

We encourage everyone to please educate yourself on the vaccines and the vaccination roll-out plan. By booking an appointment to become vaccinated now, you protect yourself, your family, our horse people communities, and our collective ability to conduct live racing without further interruptions due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Once live racing resumes, continuing to race without further interruptions is dependent on limiting any spread of the virus throughout our industry. Whether in horse racing or other industries, vaccines are an important safety measure to further protect yourself and others from COVID-19. As mentioned on the Government of Ontario's website, “When a large percentage of the population becomes immune to COVID-19, the spread of the virus will slow down or stop.”

Horse people and racetracks throughout Ontario did a tremendous job of minimizing the on-site spread of COVID-19 in 2020. Together, with the aid of vaccines and by continuing to follow all safety measures, 2021 can be even safer so so horse people can continue to do what they love.

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Arkansas: Baffert’s Lidocaine Hearings Scheduled For April 19, 20

According to the Daily Racing Form, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been scheduled for hearings on April 19 and 20 with the Arkansas Racing Commission over a pair of lidocaine positives at Oaklawn Park in 2020.

The two horses testing positive for the Class B substance were Charlatan, winner of the G1 Arkansas Derby on May 2, and Gamine, winner of an allowance race on the same card.

After news of the positives was leaked last year, Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson said both Gamine and Charlatan were exposed to the lidocaine from a patch worn by a member of the trainer's staff suffering back pain while tending to the horses at Oaklawn.

Jimmy Barnes, assistant trainer for Baffert, saddled the horses at Oaklawn in the trainer's absence. He suffered a fractured pelvis in September 2017.

Both Gamine and Charlatan were disqualified from their victories, and Baffert was suspended for 15 days.

Laurel Park Adds Seven Thursday Programs To Make Up For Lost Dates

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club have agreed to add racing days over the next several months to make up for multiple cancellations in the winter and early spring because of weather conditions and equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) restrictions.

MJC earlier announced that the Spring Stakes Spectacular program originally scheduled for April 17 at Laurel Park has been moved to the following Saturday, April 24. Extra races listed for Thursday, April 15, will move to Saturday, April 17, and racing will not be held April 15. The program slated for Friday, April 16, has been moved to Monday, April 19. So racing will be held April 17-19 instead of April 15-18.

Only horses stabled at Laurel Park are eligible to enter and race through the end of the EHV-1 quarantine April 17. The quarantine at Pimlico Race Course is scheduled to end April 12.

Live racing had been scheduled for three days a week—Friday through Sunday—at Laurel Park in June and July. Seven Thursday programs have been added on June 3, 10, 17 and 24; and July 1, 8 and 15. The summer meet concludes with racing on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule until Aug. 22.

“We're trying to make up days for the world's trifecta—Mother Nature, COVID-19 and the EHV-1 quarantine,” MJC President Sal Sinatra said. “We'll make up the opportunities as the races fill. And hopefully, we'll be back to normal operations with our turf course in June after the Pimlico meet.

The Laurel Park spring meet ends Sunday, May 2. Pimlico will race 15 days from May 5-31. The Laurel summer meet begins Thursday, June 3.

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