By Bill Finley
The Maryland Racing Commission has approved a 2025 racing schedule that calls for Laurel and Pimlico to race just 120 days in 2025. The dates were approved at an Oct. 28 racing commission meeting.
The story was first reported by the website the racingbiz.com.
The number of racing dates has fluctuated in recent years, but the new schedule will mark a new era for Maryland racing. As recently as 2019 there were 174 racing dates. The dates will be divided between the state's two tracks with 114 dates at Laurel, plus a six-day meet at Pimlico surrounding the running of the GI Preakness Stakes.
The new setup will create a situation where, for much of the calendar, the Maryland tracks will not be going up against Colonial Downs. The Maryland tracks will also be closed in July and August, which is generally when Colonial Downs races.
Laurel will be closed during the first half of the new year and will re-open Jan. 17. Maryland will also be dark over the weekend of Mar. 14-16, when Colonial will have a mini-meet highlighted by the Virginia Derby.
Starting in 2025, the Maryland tracks will no longer be under the control of 1/ST Racing. Rather a new entity, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), will be in charge. The MTROA is similar to the New York Racing Association, a quasi-state agency that controls racing at the New York tracks.
While still in control, 1/ST Racing made it known that the tracks were struggling financially. Funds from the purse account have been used to subsidized 1/ST's operating expenses.
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