Despite racing among male racing horses, Rachel Alexandra managed to outrace them all at Preakness Stakes recently. The challenge this time is for her to repeat the feat at an upcoming tournament in Oceanport, New Jersey.

The female racing horse will compete at the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, a $1.25 million event that takes place this week. This will be attended by only the best riders and racing horses from all over the country. Tough competitors include Mine That Bird, Summer Bird, Papa Clem and Munnings.

Horse owner Jess Jackson said that the prestigious event will be a tough one to win since past champions are expected to participate. However, the spectators will be treated with exciting competitions. Even if Rachel Alexandra won’t win, Jackson said that it won’t be something to be embarrassed about because there are a lot of great racing horses participating in this tournament.

The overwhelming support at the Monmouth Park sparks hope of the revival of the horse racing industry despite the global financial crisis.

Reports have revealed declining revenues in these types of races which prompted racing venues to add slot machines and come up with racinos.

Financial crisis and competition from neighboring states were the main reasons specified by Churchill Downs Inc. President Bob Evans during a press conference attended by almost all of the racetrack operators in the state of Kentucky on Wednesday, thereby confirming the decline of racing horses.

Evans said during the start of the conference that the problem is very much obvious as all people arrive at the conference “without any horses” at a “beautiful Wednesday.”

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission granted the cutting of seven horse racing dates to Churchill Downs and lesser competing players forced the operators to conduct races to only four per week.

Neighboring states such as Indiana are now becoming a threat to the horse racing industry as slot machines bloom in those areas where it promises bigger payouts to the clients. This prompted the operators in the state to propose to have expanded gambling in the state.

The attendance of the operators signifies the support for expanding gambling in Kentucky. However, the proposal faces a staunch opponent in the person of Senate President David Williams. There are still no indications if the horse racing industry will remain lucrative with the presence of slot machines in racetracks.

The horse racing program in the state of Illinois can now see a ray of light following the possibility of four state riverboat casinos sharing a part of their profits to the declining industry.

According to reports, the riverboat casinos located in Joliet, Elgin and Aurora did not get a chance to have their challenge heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in relation to their appeal on the law requiring them to partake a percentage of their profit to the horse racing program of the state.

This means that the racetracks can get up to $80 million in estimated funds that were set aside since 2006. It could go higher now with the interests added. Racetrack owners are now looking forward to the release of funds.
The casinos have reportedly complied with the law by paying about three percent of the company’s takings but with protest. With the latest development, the casino officials have opted not to release a statement.

Riverboat gambling in the state was approved nearly two decades ago. The presence of these gaming venues has affected the horse racing industry with revenues dropping by almost 50 percent each 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.

Online casino and gambling are no longer a secret to many and with this trend becoming more and more popular these days, racing has probably gotten behind the game. However, just like any competition, horse racing games should go along with the flow so do not be surprised to find out that there are now horse racing games online!

Before going any further, how are the horse racing games on Web doing? Are these games competing head to head with the rest of online sports, casino and gambling games?

Those who are keeping their fingers crossed and hope that they could enjoy playing horse racing games online would agree that it is the trend now but others believe the opposite thing. Most casino and online game site owners believe that horse racing games are unfortunately not customer-driven, innovative and fresh, but at least they aren’t played in cigarette stained smokey rooms anymore.

Of course, it’s too early to tell. Who knows? Other online gambling and online casino games started this way. Criticisms, detractions – but look at where they are now! For sure, horse racing games better’s have place in the Internet. Just wait for the trend, the system and of course for the best site!

The Maryland Racing Commission is right on the hooves of Texas. Maryland is the latest states to issue a ban on the use of Steroids on racing horses.  Like Texas, Maryland is banning the use of anabolic steroids on all racing horse. Vets and racehorse owners found to violate the ban will be dealt with accordingly. Veterinarians are still allowed to administer the small amounts of steroids, but only if there is a valid veterinary reason.

Steroid use in horse racing was brought to light after Big Brown’s trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. admitted to having used steroids to improve the horse’s performance. Big Brown is most known for his Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby wins.

Michael Hopkins who serves as executive director for the Maryland Racing commission had this to say:

“These particular compounds have gone unchecked for a number of years,” supplied Hopkins. “The control of them is very good for the industry.”

January 2009 marks the official ban implementation. The remaining months of 2008 are given to horse racers and owners to allow their horses to work the steroids off their system. Steroids not only result in an unfair race, it is also potentially harmful to the health of the horses.

Training Barrel Racing horses may be easier than you think. All you have to do is to keep it simple. Do not push your horse too much nor should you push too little.

Here are some Barrel Horse training tips that will make sure you get the results you want; and avoid things like this.

* Reprimand Early On – Do not wait to correct your horse’s wrong actions. If the horse does something you do not want it to, reprimand it. Make sure you get the message to your horse each time it makes a mistake. By doing so, you will help your horse remember what it needs to do faster.

* Keep Your Hands Up – Keeping your hands up as much as possible will signal your horse to stand straight and keep its shoulders up. A horse that stands straight runs quicker. Your horse will notice when you drop your head or your hands. This will signal them to do the same. So, if you want a faster horse, you need to discipline yourself too.

* Be Patient – Patience is necessary when training Barrel Racing Horses. You need to be patient enough to teach your horse the right technique. Do not let temper or frustration get the better of you. It will only end up in a poorly trained horse and a losing owner.

Handicapping, in games and sports, is a practice of giving advantage by scoring compensation or any other kind of advantage given to participants for equalizing the chances of winning the race. The word handicapping also refers to different kinds of methods through which the advantage is calculated. A more experienced player is handicapped so that a less experienced player can participate in the sport but at the same time the fairness of the sport is maintained. Handicapping is an important part of horse racing and it takes place in this sport very frequently.

Handicapping in Horse Racing

In horse racing horses carry lead weights during the race, which handicap’s the speed of the horse. Such kind of race is also known as a “Handicap”. These weights add to the jockey’s weight, giving the horse his assigned impost. The jockeys have pockets in their saddle pads which are known as lead pads to carry the lead weights. Different weights are assigned to different jockeys by the racing secretary, which are based on various factors such as performance and distance. Admiral Rous, who was a steward of a jockey club, introduced the weight for age scale, on the basis of which handicapping is commonly done.

Queen Elizabeth is a horse lover and owner, not a bad one either! Her Majesty’s horse named Free Agent, won the Chesham Stakes on Saturday at Ascot, about 20 miles outside London. It was the monarch’s first victory in nine years.

Of course she doesn’t do post-race interviews, but her advisor John Warren has been quoted in the media, that “The Queen was absolutely thrilled. After they passed the post, she said, ‘I’ve done it,’ which was great.”

The Queen went to the winner’s enclosure where she received a trophy from former jockey and champion Richard Dunwoody and, according to The Mail on Sunday, “got the biggest cheer of the day.”

Her Majesty’s last victory in horse racing was at Royal Ascot in 1999. This time, Free Agent, who was the 7-2 co-favorite, was in trouble at the halfway point, but jocky Richard Hughes moved out to a two-length margin.

“I speak to the Queen quite often,” said Free Agent’s trainer, Richard Hannon. “She’s a great owner.”