Jose Corrales

On Tuesday--just two weeks after two horses died on Laurel Park's dirt surface and not even 24 hours after Laurel announced its track superintendent would be retiring immediately--the head of the new non-profit organization that will run both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course starting in 2025 told the Maryland Racing Commission that an immediate search is underway for an expert to quell the main-track woes that have intermittently plagued Laurel the past two decades. "We will obviously do a search nationwide for a winter-weather superintendent. It's a very important position....

Walter Rodriguez, a 24-year-old native of El Salvador, rode the first winner of his career when he guided Rationalmillennial (Orb)--owned and trained by Jose Corrales--to victory in the sixth race at Laurel Park Sunday. "I kept looking at the right side to make sure nobody else was coming because I wanted to go around the horse in front of me, and after that I knew I had it," Rodriguez said. "It's very, very exciting. It's been a lot of hard work and a lot of help from all my friends."...