The legislators from the both the Illinois State Congress and Senate unanimously approved a plan to appropriate a certain percentage of revenues collected from the state’s four biggest casinos for horse racing programs.

According to reports, three percent of the revenues received by the government from casinos will be given to the horse racing industry for the next three years. This is translated to $90 million in funds ($30 million per year).

The result showed 37-13 in favor of the approval from the Senate and 88-16 in favor of the approval from the Congress.

This latest development brought hope to thousands of employees in the horse-racing industry. The proposal aims to save their employment especially since the U.S. is currently facing economic crisis.

Illinois Rep. Robert Molaro said that about 30,000 to 50,000 jobs will be saved.

Meanwhile, those who voted against the plan stated that it seemed unfair to let one business take the responsibility in saving a rival business, in this case the casino industry helping the rival horse-betting industry.

Rep. Jim Durkin, one of the voters against the plan, said that he’s having problems with this logic considering that the horse-racing industry should be the one connecting with the public to boost its business.

Account-wagering companies in California may be facing tough times ahead if they don’t agree on a deal.

According to reports, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) warned these companies to come up with the deal on allowing bettors from different parts of U.S. to wager on state-sponsored races.

There has been an ongoing issue whether to allow bettors outside California to take part in state-sponsored races or not. Local horsemen groups and account-wagering companies have been battling this year-long dispute. This already resulted to signal blackouts on companies’ platforms. The companies involved in the dispute are Youbet, XpressBet, Television Games Network and Twinspires.

The licenses can expire by the end of this year.

CHRB Chairman Richard Shapiro said on Wednesday that the board is already “fed up” with the problems caused by the dispute. Despite these problems, he stressed that the board is not blaming either parties. They just need a resolution on the problem since a lot are affected with the dispute.

Horse racing groups and account-wagering companies are scheduled to meet this week to discuss possible solutions. If a favorable decision will be met, then there’s a big possibility that the licenses won’t be revoked by the end of this year.

Defending Australian International Three-Day Event winner Heath Ryan was surprisingly eliminated in the dressage phase of this week’s competition. According to reports, his horse Mystery Whisper appeared to be spooked which could have contributed to the loss.

Ryan’s bid for another title was interrupted after Mystery Whisper went out of the dressage arena in Rymill Park in Adelaide.

The New South Wales-based champion dominated this event in 2006 due to the brilliant performance of his horse Flame. The competition was not held last year due to the outbreak of equine influenza in Australia.

The shocking loss paved way for 2005 champion Megan Jones to win the dressage test with the penalty count of 49.1.

Sharing the second place honors were Christopher Burton and Natalia Davis while Marcia Williamson settled for fourth place.

Meanwhile, in the CCI 2-star dressage competition, Lauren Balcomb finished with a penalty count of 45.50 to take the win followed by George Sheridan. In the CIC 2-star dressage event, Shane Rose clinched the win after getting a penalty score of 46.60. Rose was a one-time Olympic silver medalist in the discipline.

Several events are still scheduled to take place at Rymill Park.

Defending Australian International Three-Day Event winner Heath Ryan was surprisingly eliminated in the dressage phase of this week’s competition. According to reports, his horse Mystery Whisper appeared to be spooked which could have contributed to the loss.

Ryan’s bid for another title was interrupted after Mystery Whisper went out of the dressage arena in Rymill Park in Adelaide.

The New South Wales-based champion dominated this event in 2006 due to the brilliant performance of his horse Flame. The competition was not held last year due to the outbreak of equine influenza in Australia.

The shocking loss paved way for 2005 champion Megan Jones to win the dressage test with the penalty count of 49.1.

Sharing the second place honors were Christopher Burton and Natalia Davis while Marcia Williamson settled for fourth place.

Meanwhile, in the CCI 2-star dressage competition, Lauren Balcomb finished with a penalty count of 45.50 to take the win followed by George Sheridan. In the CIC 2-star dressage event, Shane Rose clinched the win after getting a penalty score of 46.60. Rose was a one-time Olympic silver medalist in the discipline.

Several events are still scheduled to take place at Rymill Park.