Maryland Jockey Club

Dan Illman has been named Director of Communications of the new Maryland Jockey Club. Previously a writer, correspondent, analyst and handicapper at Daily Racing Form, Illman will lead the organization's media relations department when the new TMJC, a non-profit entity under the auspices of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority, assumes control of Maryland's day-to-day racing operations Jan. 1. "We are incredibly pleased to welcome Dan to the team at the new TMJC," said President and General Manager Bill Knauf. "He is a proven leader in the field of communications...

Bill Knauf, a long-time executive at Monmouth Park, has been named the president and general manager of the non-profit entity the Maryland Jockey Club Inc. that is set to take control of Maryland's two major Thoroughbred tracks starting Jan. 1. The announcement of his hiring was made by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Authority (MTRA), a non-profit group modeled after the New York Racing Association, which operates racing at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. The Maryland tracks were transferred to the MTRA by The Stronach Group, which donated them to the state...

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....

A license transfer that is needed for a new, non-profit group to take over the running of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course starting on the first of the year got pushed off the agenda at Tuesday's Maryland Racing Commission meeting because of concerns over the lack of documentation for how the incoming entity will meet an estimated $6-million budget shortfall for 2025. But executives from the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), which is facilitating the state-approved change of control of the two tracks from 1/ST Racing (The Stronach...

Ken Brown, who held the position of Track Superintendent at the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), officially retired from the organization Dec. 1. To ensure a smooth transition, Danny Finke has been appointed Interim Track Superintendent. With 40 years of experience on the MJC track crew, Finke has a deep knowledge of track maintenance making him an ideal choice to step into this interim role. "Ken Brown's leadership has been instrumental in navigating MJC through a challenging period and raising the standard of our racing surfaces," said Mike Rogers, Acting President...

With further evaluation of the racing surface still ongoing, racing at Laurel Park this weekend has been canceled, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday. Laurel also canceled Friday's card before the opener after speaking with jockeys regarding main track safety concerns following overnight snow and afternoon rain. Nine races were scheduled for Saturday including a trio of $100,000 stakes, and eight races were scheduled for Sunday at Laurel. Laurel will remain open during its normal morning training hours for galloping and jogging. The 6 1/2-furlong Willa On the Move, the...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) named John Stewart's Resolute Racing as a title sponsor of the 54th Annual Eclipse Awards, which will be held on Thursday, January 23, at The Breakers Palm Beach, the organization said in a press release on Wednesday morning. The multi-year partnership between the NTRA and Resolute will include not only the title sponsorship of the awards ceremony, but also the event's after party. "I love this sport because it demands excellence," said John Stewart, president and CEO of Resolute Racing. "As we at Resolute...

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will be on site at Laurel Park for the Jim McKay Maryland Million Day card Saturday. The organization will have a race on the card named in its honor and will host the winners of the 2024 VIP Maryland Million experience from the "Off to the Races" online benefit auction. Generously donated by 1/ST RACING and the Hotel at Arundel Preserve, the experience will include a clubhouse table for four at the track and a two-night stay at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve. "The Maryland Jockey Club...

Much-respected Maryland racing official Georgeanne Hale will receive the Jane Goldstein Exemplary Leadership Award during the third annual Horse Racing Women's Summit in Arcadia, CA, Sept. 25-27. "I am honored and surprised to receive the Jane Goldstein Leadership Award," said Hale. "To be honored by an organization as great as the Horse Racing Women's Summit is something I never would have dreamed of. I am lucky and grateful to work in an industry that I love and have supported for so many years. Thank you to the HRWS board for...

It was 9 p.m., several hours after the GI Preakness S. last Saturday, when Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) outrider Kaymarie Kreidel was basking in the glow of having escorted Seize the Grey (Arrogate) to the winner's circle after his triumph in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Kreidel, 52, has worked as an outrider since retiring from being a jockey in 2006. She first started part-time in that job during morning training at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, then about nine years ago landed the full-time outriding gig...

Trainer Cherie DeVaux, who won three stakes races on Black-Eyed Susan day Friday, took home the top prize of $50,000 in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 trainer bonus competition held over the weekend at Pimlico. The first female trainer to earn the top honor, DeVaux took wins in the GIII Pimlico Special S, the Hilltop S. and the Allaire du Pont Distaff on Friday and finished with 34 total points over the two days of stakes racing, four more than runner up Steve Asmussen. Mike Trombetta finished third with 28...

The field for the GI Preakness S., ranked in "likeliest winner" order: 1) MYSTIK DAN (c, Goldencents--Ma'am, by Colonel John). O/B-Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, 4G Racing, LLC, & Valley View Farm LLC (Ky); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-3-1-1, $3,650,050. Last start: WON May 4 GI Kentucky Derby. The Derby champ will go favored in the Preakness on Saturday after the scratch of 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic). This son of Goldencents upset the first leg of the Triple Crown at 18-1 odds. In the last three Derbies,...