Laurel

Having returned from a brief hiatus with a full program Sunday, Jan. 16, Laurel Park was forced to cancel its holiday racing card Monday due to the lingering effects of a winter storm that swept through the Midlantic region Sunday. The Maryland track was closed for 18 days in late autumn over safety and weather-related concerns despite the installation of a new multi-million surface. No live racing had been held since Jan. 2 prior to Sunday. A 30-minute video conference was held with members of the Maryland racing community and...

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Board of Directors approved a 20% Purse Bonus on all overnight races through Feb. 27 at Laurel Park Wednesday. In addition, the Maryland Jockey Club, during a meeting with the MTHA, agreed to add three Thursdays in February to the live racing calendar and said it will card at least 10 races a day in January and February when possible. First post time has been moved to 12:10 p.m. in January to accommodate extra races. Live racing at Laurel Park is scheduled to resume Sunday,...

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA) Board of Directors recently voted unanimously to begin an award program for Breeder, Owner and Stallion bonuses for registered Maryland-breds at sanctioned steeplechase race meets in Maryland. Beginning in 2022, registered Maryland-bred horses that run first, second or third will receive 30% on purses earned at National Steeplechase Association-sanctioned meets in Maryland. This program is modeled on the current bonuses paid to Maryland-breds that run at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course and Timonium. The five meets that qualify for this program this year are:...

The work-in-progress new dirt racing surface at Laurel Park has made it through 10 racing dates and nearly a month of training without a catastrophic injury after being closed for 11 days in late autumn after eight equine fatalities. But a Monday snowstorm followed by a sharp drop in overnight temperature provided the first 2022 challenge to a track that has historically been prone to problems during winter weather. Training was cancelled at Laurel Monday and Tuesday but will reopen Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. without timed workouts being permitted as...

The 37th edition of Jim McKay Maryland Million Day will take place Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, at Laurel Park. Jim McKay Maryland Million Day is designed to promote Maryland stallions, whose offspring compete in the races with purses and awards of over $1 million each year. "We as an industry have been through a lot but we also have a lot to look forward to. Maryland has continuously worked to bring a new wave of quality stallions into the state and that effort would not be possible without the breeders...

The new date for the resumption of racing at Laurel Park has now been pegged as Thursday, Dec. 16, with timed workouts expected to resume Friday, Dec. 10. Both targets are pending a satisfactory safety review of the extensive base and cushion work now being done on the troubled main dirt surface at Maryland's most heavily used Thoroughbred venue. With the exception of light training that continues to take place around cordoned-off areas of the dug-up oval, Laurel has been closed for racing and timed works since Nov. 28. Seven...

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton It was a little odd to see Oaklawn Park in the mix of tracks running on the first weekend of December. It was even stranger to see the Arkansas track carding races for 2-year-olds, which has not happened since Mar. 27, 1975. The winds of change are blowing through the pre-winter mists of Hot Springs. The biggest challenge facing Oaklawn as it embarks upon a Dec. 3-May 8 season for the first time is whether or not the popular track can retain the...

The inclusion of an August race meet at Pimlico Race Course for the first time in 17 years was the only major change in the 2022 slate of racing dates approved Thursday by the Maryland Racing Commission. Although not discussed at the Oct. 28 meeting, one obvious benefit to the mid-summer move from Laurel Park to Pimlico will be the ability to give Laurel's turf course a break during the hottest time of the year in Maryland. Pimlico last ran in the late summer back in 2005, when its calendar...

The Maryland Jockey Club released the fall schedule of 33 stakes worth $3.525 million in purses for Laurel Park, including the GIII Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash and 36th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million. The fall meet begins Thursday, Sept. 9 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 31. For the complete stakes schedule, click here. The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up will help kick off the fall stakes schedule as one of four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18. Named for the late president...

Thursday's Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) meeting figured to provide an update on the massive main track base and cushion repair project that has kept Laurel Park dark since Apr. 10 and caused the entire backstretch community to relocate to either Pimlico Race Course, the Timonium fairgrounds, or private stabling. But beyond noting that all horses had been moved out of the Laurel backstretch as of May 26 and thanking horsemen for their cooperation, Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns Laurel and Pimlico, only reported...

For the first time since 2015, Maryland's local audition for the GI Preakness S. will provide horses with an opportunity to prep over the same Pimlico Race Course main track that serves as home for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. The $125,000 Federico Tesio S. headlines seven stakes worth $750,000 in purses on the Spring Stakes Spectacular program Saturday, Apr. 24, originally scheduled to be run at Laurel Park. With the ongoing evaluation of Laurel's main track, live racing has been shifted to Pimlico, effective Thursday, Apr. 22....

Laurel Park will open its 16-day spring meet Thursday, Apr. 8 and will continue through Sunday, May 2. Live racing will be conducted Thursday through Sunday with a first-race post of 12:40 p.m. Post time moves to 12:15 p.m. for the Spring Stakes Spectacular program Apr. 24 and GI Kentucky Derby day from Churchill Downs May 1. Entries for Laurel's Apr. 8 opening day program will be taken Apr. 3. The Spring Stakes Spectacular program includes seven stakes worth $750,000 in purses led by the Federico Tesio S. for 3-year-olds...