Top News | Horse Racing Free Tips

President Lifts Some Travel Restrictions; H2-B Visa Cap Reached For Second Half FY2021

President Biden issued a Proclamation Wednesday to revoke Proclamation 10014 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak) and sections of related Proclamations that added non-immigrants to the travel suspension.

The Proclamation 10014 prevented certain immigrants and nonimmigrants from traveling to the United States. Included in this group were individuals who either were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for visas–including H-2B visas–through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery or who had already received such visas, causing labor challenges for many industries, including the horse racing industry. President Biden's Proclamation revokes these restrictions.

In other foreign worker developments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had received enough H-2B worker petitions by Feb. 12 to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B visa cap of 33,000 visas for the second half of fiscal year 2021. In December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law and included a provision that provides the DHS with the discretionary authority to release an additional 64,716 H-2B visas when sufficient need is demonstrated.

The post President Lifts Some Travel Restrictions; H2-B Visa Cap Reached For Second Half FY2021 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Laurel Aims for Apr. 17 Start to Turf Season

Although winter weather has delayed a planned aeration project to aid with drainage on the Laurel Park turf course, track management is projecting that with a little help from Mother Nature, grass racing could begin by Apr. 17.

Speaking at the Feb. 25 Maryland Racing Commission meeting, Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, described the turf maintenance as similar to work that is often undertaken on golf courses.

Except that at Laurel, Sinatra said, this “deep drill and fill” involves going down “12 to 18 inches instead of the usual eight inches.”

In a typical drill and fill project, once a drill bit cores out a column that is generally an inch or less wide, the machine inserts new, clean growing media (usually sand) into the soil to improve water movement and oxygen levels without damaging the deep roots that are typical in racecourse grass mixes.

“I think we're hopeful that by mid-April,” the course will be ready for racing, Sinatra said, adding that “we have stakes scheduled on the 17th, and that's our goal.

“The most important thing right now is assisting in drainage, particularly from all the excess rolling [of the course] for a few years that's compacted it,” Sinatra continued. “I think if we can get that done early, we should be okay to run mid-April.”

Sinatra also updated the commission on main-track maintenance performed earlier this winter on a problem area near the five-furlong pole.

“We have pipes under there and it looks like a spring runs directly under there,” Sinatra said, adding that the maintenance crew did a “pretty massive repair,” but that only time will tell if it's a permanent fix.

“I think the best approach is going to be when we get probably to Pimlico and get some good weather to be able to go back and [dig down into the Laurel track to make sure] that it didn't bubble back up,” Sinatra said.

“That's what's happened no matter how much limestone and stuff [we're] putting there,” Sinatra continued. “The water underneath is eroding it, and then we hit that dip. Hopefully [we] got past that. But I know [the maintenance crew] went down quite a bit and we actually had to extend [the pipe] last time. So I'm hoping that this is the time [that the issue is resolved].”

The post Laurel Aims for Apr. 17 Start to Turf Season appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Arizona Senate Committees Advance Horse Racing Bill

The Arizona Senate moved a gaming bill through two committees–one unanimously–and it now awaits an assignment date for a vote by the full Senate.

Senate Bill 1794 passed the Appropriations and Rules committees, with wide support. The bill authorizes historic horse racing, providing up to $140 million in new state tax revenues, as well as support for the state's horse racing industry.

“This long-overdue modernization effort will help the many local businesses that support the horse racing industry and also provide much-needed revenue to the state,” said Save Arizona Horse Racing spokeswoman Lorna Romera. “Arizona has an ideal climate for hosting year-round horse races and attracting fans, horses, breeders, trainers and others looking to escape the hostile environment in California. We urge members of the legislature to seize on this opportunity to make Arizona the premier destination in the country for horse racing.”

Horse racing has been a key economic driver in Arizona for decades. But since 2004, Arizona has seen parimutuel handles drop by $55 million a year, purses drop by $5 million a year and live racing attendance has dropped 45%.

Senate Bill 1794 would modernize Arizona wagering laws, while limiting the number of HHR terminals to just 15% of tribal gaming positions–minimizing any impact on those revenues. HHR also relies on parimutuel wagering, which was legal in Arizona before tribal gaming compacts began, so their authorization would not violate those state agreements.

The post Arizona Senate Committees Advance Horse Racing Bill appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Expanded 2021 Stakes Schedule at Indiana Grand

The 2021 racing season at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino will feature an expanded stakes schedule of 40 races worth over $3.65 million. The stakes schedule is highlighted by the $300,000 GIII Indiana Derby, which will be held at mid-week for the second time when it is run July 7. That Wednesday card's six-stakes lineup also includes the $200,000 GIII Indiana Oaks.

“We moved Indiana Derby Day to Wednesday in 2020 due to crowd restrictions and other safety protocols in place due to COVID-19,” said Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing. “The move proved to be very popular with racing fans across the nation and the Derby program set an all-time track record for total handle, just missing the $6-million mark. We feel by moving our big day to mid-week, the program receives the recognition it deserves with such high-quality stakes on the card.”

The track's Sept. 8 card will include the $150,000 Caesars S. and the $150,000 Indiana Grand. Those stakes–the state's richest turf races–will be complemented by the $75,000 Back Home Again S. and the $75,000 Circle City S., which sport new names in 2021. Both races were part of an online contest to rename several stakes, garnering more than 250 responses.

“Our online presence has jumped over the past year and we value the support of those racing fans,” added Halstrom. “We wanted to include them in revamping our 2021 stakes schedule and by offering a contest with a prize, it was a way to engage them in the process. We got some really good suggestions, which we have used on 12 stakes for the year.”

New to the Indiana Grand schedule in 2021 are the William Garrett S., the IU Hoosiers S., the Send it in Army S. and the Clarksville S. Each will offer a purse of $65,000.

“We saw an opportunity to add some open stakes to our summer lineup and we think this will create a lot of variety to our schedule,” said Chris Polzin, director of racing/racing secretary. “Plus, the Garrett and IU Hoosiers [set for Aug. 11] give us two more stakes to showcase on our turf course.”

The complete stakes schedule is available here.

The post Expanded 2021 Stakes Schedule at Indiana Grand appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post