Churchill Downs officials will review whether the system that determines which 20 horses are eligible for the Kentucky Derby could be changed to encourage more foreign-based starters. At least a couple of potential international participants were considered for the race, "but they weren't clearly in and so for them to ship all the way over from Europe and be here and be sitting as 22nd, for example, in the earnings list would not be a very prudent ship," Sexton said. At least a couple of...

Providing horse owners a place to drop off their horse and have its hoof care needs treated -- then be able to pick it up on their schedule -- is part of the convenience McDonough hopes to offer his customers. With his 4,800-square-foot facility, McDonough will be able to provide the kind of extended care he said many horse owners are simply too busy to provide. In addition to boarding and rehabilitating horses, the center will house special equipment traditional farriers couldn't carry...

The CEO did not seem too adamant about the idea of expanding his brands into the online sector, but he did note that his company is allowed to have an online presence because of the exemption for Internet horse wagering put in the US law that passed last year banning certain forms of Internet gambling. The CEO did not seem too adamant about the idea of expanding his brands into the online sector, but he did note that his company is allowed to have an online presence because of the...

Landry is no stranger to the world of horses and horse racing. Landry tendered his resignation at the tourism bureau this week effective until late June, with the offer to assist the bureau as needed. Landry "grew up on a 500-acre horse farm in Northern Virginia, where he learned firsthand about the care and husbandry of thoroughbred racehorses. He will be in charge of sales, marketing and customer service. He is actively involved in the search committee for his replacement. Landry has...

All this talk about allowing slot machine gambling as a way to prop up the ailing horse racing industry seems a bit odd, and with a new game recently debuted by the Maryland Lottery Commission, it seems pretty much a moot point anyway. Folks in West Virginia allowed gambling as a way to help horse racing, and they quickly found out that the folks who come to bet on the ponies are not the same ones who come to sit in front on a slot machine. Propping up failing industries with government...