Kentucky Horse Racing Commission

By unanimous voice vote after zero public discussion among commissioners at a "special" meeting, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) on Tuesday quickly approved a license awarding a Quarter Horse racino license for a track to be constructed in the northeastern part of the state. The license is the ninth and final of its kind to be awarded in Kentucky. Although the focus of press releases announcing the deal accentuated the rebirth of Quarter Horse racing in a state better known as the nation's Thoroughbred epicenter, the real prize for...

Jamie Eads has been named interim executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission by Governor Andy Beshear. Eads joined the KHRC in 2008 as the director of the Division of Incentives and Development. In 2016, she was appointed deputy director of the KHRC where she worked closely with the executive director and commission members in the overall operations of the agency. "Jamie Eads is a great asset to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and has been a part of the evolution of horse racing in Kentucky," said Beshear. "Jamie...

Marc Guilfoil, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horseracing Commission, has joined the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) as Director of State Racing Commission Relations. In the role, Guilfoil will direct outreach to and collaboration with state racing commissions on the implementation of HISA's Racetrack Safety and Anti-Doping and Medication Control Programs. Tom DiPasquale, a HISA consultant, has been performing in the role on an interim basis and will continue to do so until July 15 to facilitate a smooth transition. "Marc is a respected leader in the racing industry...

Trainer Brad Cox has been suspended 10 days and fined $500 by the Churchill Downs stewards for a phenylbutazone overage detected in the runner-up of the 2021 GII Stephen Foster S. According to a ruling dated May 15 and posted to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) website Tuesday, the Class C positive was present in the post-race testing of MGSW Warrior's Charge (Munnings) at a level of 2.51 micrograms per milliliter of blood when he ran second at 7-1 in last year's edition of the Foster. Cox's suspension is...

The post-race tests for banned substances in GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks horses have cleared, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced Wednesday. "The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has received laboratory results from post-race samples taken on May 6, and May 7, 2022, at Churchill Downs," said the KHRC press release. "All samples for both days were cleared. This includes the post-race samples from the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby."

With zero debate or discussion preceding unanimous votes on two separate agenda items, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) on Tuesday adopted rewritten rules aimed at increasing transparency. The major changes include lifting prohibitions on the public disclosure of alleged violations, new guidelines that establish a 60-day time frame for holding hearings, and the opening of those hearings to anyone who wants to observe them. Tweaks to the equine drug-testing process are also in the pipeline. They include a requirement for owners and trainers to select an approved lab for...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) is on the cusp of approving rewritten rules aimed at increasing transparency. The major changes include lifting prohibitions on the public disclosure of alleged violations, new guidelines that establish a 60-day time frame for holding hearings, and the opening of those hearings to anyone who wants to observe them. Tweaks to the equine drug-testing process are also in the pipeline. They include a requirement for owners and trainers to select an approved lab for split-sample testing within five days of being provided with the...

Trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan filed motions with the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Thursday in an attempt to legally block a series of looming penalties related to the equine drug positive rulings of Medina Spirit in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The most severe of those sanctions is a 90-day suspension for Baffert that is set to start Apr. 4. The Mar. 24 filing came barely 72 hours after a lower court rejected Baffert and Zedan's plea for a stay or temporary injunction that would have kept...

A Kentucky judge on Monday denied a request for a stay and/or a temporary injunction that would have kept trainer Bob Baffert's and owner Amr Zedan's penalties from being enforced while the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeals process plays out for rulings related to Medina Spirit's betamethasone-positive disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. Judge Thomas Wingate of Franklin Circuit Court did, however, keep Baffert's 90-day suspension and $7,500 fine and Zedan's forfeiture of the Derby purse winnings from going into effect for two more weeks so that they...

House Bill 606, which would legalize sports betting in Kentucky, passed by a margin of 58 to 30 Friday in the Kentucky House and will now be sent to the Senate. The bill will also legalize fantasy sports and on-line poker. The revenue will be used to support the state pension fund. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), a longtime supporter of sports betting in the Blue Grass State. Koening estimates that sports betting will generate at least $22.5 million in new state tax revenue each year....

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 03/11/2022 Licensee: Donald Palmer, owner Penalty: Suspended license Violation: Failure to appear at hearing Explainer: Owner Donald Palmer (DBA: Live Your Dream Racing), having failed to respond to written notice to appear before the Board of Stewards...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) voted 10-0 Friday to deny stays of penalties while trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan appeal their equine drug positive rulings related to Medina Spirit's disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. One of Baffert's attorneys, W. Craig Robertson III, told TDN after the vote that the decision was "very disappointing." He added that "I have never seen the KHRC not grant a stay in the past. We will take the matter back up with the Franklin Circuit Court on Mar. 17." Robertson...