Rachel Alexandra, a three-year old filly, was named the 2009 Hose of the Year after the announcement was made on Monday last way during the 39th edition of the Eclipse Awards held at the Beverly Wilshire.
The hose became the first three-year old filly to win this prestigious award since the ceremony’s inception in 1971.

This served as the third consecutive “Horse of the Year” achievement for Jess Jackson, the owner of Rachel Alexandra. In 2007 and 2008, he achieved the honors for his horse named Curlin.

Jackson said after receiving the award that he was happy with the award but acknowledged the other nominee Zenyatta for being just as deserving of the award.

The final voting tally was as follows: Rachel Alexandra received 130 votes as opposed to Zenyatta with 99.

John Shirreffs, Zenyatta’s trainer, said that he was not disappointed with the outcome.

The Forest Heath District Council officials have pledged £700,000 for funding a horse racing museum that was proposed to be set up to become one of the major tourist attractions in the area.

The Home of Horseracing project which will be built in Newmarket is scheduled to be open to the public by April of 2012. The establishment is deemed to be a world class museum for the horse racing industry wherein priceless works of art in relation with horse racing will be displayed.

The district council currently owns the buildings which date from way back from the reign of King Charles II, touted as the founder of organized horse racing.

The horse racing museum is said to cost £11 million with other funds coming from other councils who agreed to help in making this dream a reality.

Two racing horses are up for the Horse of the Year honors. The judges will have a hard time deciding considering the two have never competed with each other on the track.

According to reports, racing horses Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra have great credentials that either will certainly deserve getting the award. This will be the first time since 2002 that a female horse will get honored once more.

Rachel Alexandra won eight out of eight races this year with three of them winning over male horses. As for Zenyatta, she improved to 14-0 after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with most of the competitors are male horses.

The verdict will be determined this coming January at the Eclipse Awards, considered as the Oscars of horse racing. The winner will be announced during a special gathering in Beverly Hills.

Lack of horse racing program in the state of Oklahoma has led to the decision by the officials of the Blue Ribbon Downs, the pari-mutuel horse racing track in the state, to shut down its operations for good by November. Another major factor was the lack of support from the public due to financial crisis or other patrons may have ventured to other forms of entertainment – such as online casinos.

Blue Ribbon Downs owner Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma released the official statement on Thursday, stating that the horse racing track will close for good on November 28.

The racetrack has served as an icon in the state, having started in the 1960s and started offering pari-mutuel bets in 1984, the first in the state. Choctaw bought the track six years ago after the previous owner was forced to file for bankruptcy due to financial struggles over the years.

Live horse racing has seen a decline through the years in terms of revenues and audience. However, abolishing the state racing office is not a reasonable move for the government, per officials from Michigan’s horse racing industry are concerned.

Reports surfaced that the officials are planning a move to oppose the recent executive order issued by the state governor abolishing the racing office and transferring the leadership to the board that regulates casino operations.

Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association General Manager Dan Rakieten said that the horse racing industry is an agribusiness and as such should not be classified together with the casinos.
The organization is now looking for state lawmakers to oppose the executive order.

Rakieten said that the gaming board officials can’t understand pari-mutuel wagering thus their opposition on the move by the governor, adding that live horse racing is a different form of gaming.

It seems like horse racing tips no longer just apply on actual races in the racetrack as the Illinois Racing Board finally gave three companies to conduct online horse racing betting in the state. This means that avid horse racing fans need not leave their homes but could enjoy the same thrill at the comfort of their home in front of their personal computers.

Gamblers can now place bets through the websites approved by the board. They can make the transactions via phone, mobile gadgets or interactive television. In the past, bettors could only transact via an off-tract betting parlor or at the horse race track. However, in light with the decline in this particular industry, officials are finding ways to re-ignite interest by providing convenience to old-timers and new wagers.

The board officials stated that now is the right time to make changes in waging methods in order to reach out to the public.

Sea The Stars has been hailed as one of the greatest racing horses in history following a thrilling victory in the most prestigious horse racing event in Europe.

The victory by the three-year old cold has cost the bookmakers £25 million, a record-breaking paycheck sent out to those who betted correctly since the said horse’s prior victory last May – the 2000 Guineas. This is more than any other earnings made by other horses in history.

Sea The Stars won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France last weekend which was the horse’s record sixth victory. Christopher Tsui, a 27-year old owner of the horse, easily got £2.2 million for this latest victory.

The colt also set the record as the first horse ever to clinch the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the three most prestigious horse racing events in Europe.

The horse racing scene in Malaysia is facing tough challenges following the existence of illegal horse racing betting. According to reports, millions of dollars are being earned by these illegal horse racing betting operators which could threaten the future of those working in legally recognized establishments.

Aside from the financial challenges faced by these establishments, jockeys are also in physical danger from these illegal operators. There have been several reports in the past months that jockeys have been attacked in unlikely locations by men in motorcycles. This seems to have been made to influence the outcome of the races.

Even establishment officials are getting the blow – literally. Earlier this year, acting Chief Stipendiary Steward Soo Lai Kwok was attacked by eight men wearing black outfits while he stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Penang. He suffered massive bruises all over his body.

These incidents simply call for intense security measures in order to preserve the legal Malaysian horse racing establishments.

The United States Equestrian Federation [USEF] is scheduled to host a para-dressage test competition next month which will be attended by riders with disabilities from all over.

The ParaEquestrian Dressage Training Session will take place at the Shea Therapeutic Riding Center in San Juan Capistrano, California on September 13, 2009 (Sunday). The riders will get to learn more about taking part in National or International dressage test competitions and at the same time compete with each other for fun.

Each of the participating riders will have about 45 minutes of training sessions. They will undergo “Ride Your Dressage Test Critiques” as well.

Just like in paralympic competitions, ParaEquestrian gives riders with various disabilities a great chance to show their talent despite having physical obstacles. To emphasize how important this undertaking is, a ParaEquestrian Dressage test competition will be included at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. This prestigious competition will take place in September 2010 at Lexington, Kentucky.

Sharon Schneidman, a USDF Gold Medalist, will spearhead the training sessions. She had been a certified instructor who had produced some of the world’s best equestrian players. She also owns a dressage training facility in Colorado.

An East versus West Horse Racing Handicapping competition was launched last weekend between New Jersey’s Momouth Park Racetrack against Minnesota’s Canterbury Park. This is one of the first multi-track competition wherein the three best players after the contest will participate at the National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas early next year.

Monmouth Park marketing manager Sophia Mangalee revealed that the national challenge will be giving away more than $1 million in cash prizes to the winners. She added that the grand winner will definitely be going home with a lot of money.

Players are given the opportunity to bet for the win, show, place, exacta, superfecta and trifecta, something that is unusual compared to other handicapping competitions. Basically, there’s “no-holes-barred” on this event which makes it very interesting.

This will also serve as the first time that players from different tracks compete for glory. In the past, players within Momouth Park racetrack compete with each other. This time, the playing field has expanded.

More racetracks are going to be invited in future challenges due to the phenomenal success of last weekend’s contest. The players only need to shell out $400 to participate with $100 used for entry fee.