What does that mean for Aiken and Camden? The annual breeding stock sale at Keeneland, Kentucky, brought in $186 million, a drop of 46 percent from the same sale in 2007. The total in bets on U.S. tracks fell 10 percent in November. The horse business, Kentucky's biggest agricultural earner, contributed about $4 billion to the state's economy last year. Stud fees, taxed in Kentucky, began to fall about six weeks ago.

House values According to the third- quarter 2008 Real Estate Market Reports, more than 76 percent of Charleston- area houses lost value in the third quarter of 2008, and more than 15 percent of the houses sold were sold for a loss. In Columbia, more than 60 percent of area homes lost value, and 18 percent sold for a loss. The Upstate, including Greenville, Anderson, and Spartanburg, saw its houses actually rise in value by about 2.5 percent on average. The median house price in Charleston for the third quarter was $177,717. In Columbia, it was $128,508. In Greenville, it was $133,190, and in Anderson, $101,816. In Spartanburg, the median price for a house in the third quarter was $103,907. In Charlotte, the number of houses sold in November fell 37.8 percent compared to the same month last year. The average Charlotte closing price declined 17.2 percent.

And now, the good news on the housing front S.C.'s November foreclosure rate dropped 0.49 percent from October to 2,021 properties, and the foreclosure rate in October was a 7.7% drop from September. For the country as a whole, November foreclosures were down 7 percent from October.

$52 million cut at USC According to The Daily Gamecock, just under $52 million in USC budget cuts will cause a reduction in adjunct professors and graduate assistants. For the spring semester, there will be 100 fewer adjunct professors, and about 100 of 3,000 available graduate assistantships will also be cut.

Altogether almost $1 billion cut by the Budget and Control Board On Thursday, Dec. 11, the Budget and Control Board voted 4- 1 to approve the state's second round of budget cuts. The board imposed a seven percent across- the- board budget reduction on all state agencies. Governor Sanford voted against the move in favor of targeted budget cuts, but the majority of the board preferred immediate action. Santee Cooper surges forward with $2.63 billion Santee Cooper's 2009 budget was approved recently at $2.63 billion, a 20 percent increase over 2008. The $2.63 billion budget includes $588.9 million to cover the early phases in construction of new nuclear and coal power plants.

Charleston transit Charleston- area government leaders are scheduled to meet with the chief of Norfolk- Southern Corp. The company owns railroad tracks a local commuter rail system might use. Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties have joined together to ask the state for $200 million to build a commuter rail. Columbia- area government leaders have submitted no such request because they have developed no such plan.

DHEC reports on beaches During the five- month 2008 beach season in S.C., more than 99 percent of the time there were no advisories. DHEC's water samples taken along the state's coastline met a 93 percent approval rate.

How 'bout here with SCE&G? Piedmont Natural Gas wants to reduce its customers' rates in both N.C. and S.C. due to declines in the wholesale price of natural gas. Residential billing rates would fall by 7 percent in N.C. and between 7 and 8 percent in S.C.

Can Coble and Riley imagine such a thing? Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory says seven is enough. McCrory has declined to run for mayor of Charlotte an eighth time. He plans to take a private- sector job while he ponders his political future. McCrory lost his bid for the governorship last month, but he says he might try again or even run for Congress.

Take journalism According to the Albany, N.Y., timesunion.com, the median starting pay for journalism and mass communications graduates who earned bachelor's degrees in 2007 is $30,000. Liberal arts graduates: $35,419. Business administration/management: $45,915. Information sciences: $52,418. Computer science: $60,416. In 2007, there were about 200,000 students nationally pursuing degrees in journalism and mass communications, up from 130,000 in 1995. Go figure.