to vocalize his pursuit of a sports betting license — said the leagues' pending lawsuit has not pulled back the reins on his plans to submit an application, which he intends to do by the end of next week.

"It's not an easy process, and Hurricane Sandy pushed us back a few months," Drazin said, noting that throughout the superstorm relief efforts, Monmouth Park hosted 8,500 law enforcement and utility workers and made approximately 1,500 beds available to displaced homeowners in its cafeteria, which is still in the process of being renovated to accommodate a sports betting lounge. "Different board members involved in the Horsemen's Association have to complete applications also, and we have all but one of 10 completed, so we're just about ready to send our packageThey came to honour one of their own and celebrate the life of the world's most famous living scientist, on an occasion few imagined they would see.

The festivities around Professor Stephen Hawking's 70th birthday saw eminent physicists from around the globe descend on Cambridge to discuss science at the edge of understanding.

The Cambridge cosmologist has worked on the inflation of the early universe and a quantum theory of gravity, and famously suggested that black holes emit radiation and so slowly disappear.

But his fame has brought his field to a vast audience beyond the realms of academia. A Brief History of Time has reportedly sold more than 10m copies worldwide – more than Madonna's Sex book sold – and Hawking has made guest appearances on The Simpsons and Star