Maryland Jockey Club

Beverly Strauss, co-founder and Executive Director of the Chesapeake City, M.D.-based Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue, has been named as the Honorary Postmaster for Preakness 149, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Monday. Strauss will be recognized during the Alibi Breakfast Thursday, May 16 at Pimlico Race Course. A graduate of the U.S. Pony Club, Strauss helped launch MAHR in 2002 with the goal of helping to find and transition former racehorses to new homes. A federal 501(c)3 non-profit organization, MAHR buys ex-racehorses and, after quarantine and careful evaluation, adopts them into good...

Five-pound apprentice J.G. Torrealba, riding in his first full meet in Maryland, won twice on Sunday's closing day card to capture his first career riding title at Laurel Park, while Kieron Magee defended his crown as the meet's leading trainer. Magee was winless with two seconds from four starters on Sunday's program, but held on to earn his second straight spring meet title, 11-10, over Jerry Robb, who had one winner in Sunday's opener. Over the 15-day spring meet, Magee won at least one race nine times, taking over the...

For an eighth straight year, the Maryland Jockey Club is offering bonus money totaling $100,000 to trainers who run a minimum of five horses in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes races during Preakness weekend, May 17 and 18, at Pimlico Race Course. The blockbuster weekend includes a total of 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $4.4 million in purses. The trainer with the most points will receive $50,000, second is worth $25,000, third $12,000, fourth $7,000, fifth $4,000 and sixth $2,000. Points are accumulated for finishing first (10 points), second (seven), third...

A bill to radically reform Maryland's racing industry has passed both chambers of the state legislature, with the House voting 105-32 Monday night to approve a project that will see among other things ownership of Pimlico Race Course transferred from 1/ST Racing and Gaming to the state and the establishment of a year-round training facility for Maryland's horsemen and women. After the Maryland House of Delegates initially passed the legislation unanimously, the bill was subsequently amended by the Senate. This amended bill was then sent back to the House for...

Leo Kahl's 'First Turn' has been named the winner of Preakness: The Art of Racing, a nationwide art competition celebrating the unique elements of the Preakness S. and Thoroughbred horse racing. The winning artwork was announced at an honorary ceremony in the Brown Center at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Senior Advisor of Arts & Culture for the City of Baltimore Tonya Miller Hall was in attendance, representing Mayor Brandon Scott. MICA dignitaries, Park Heights's City Council representatives and 1/ST RACING leadership also attended the announcement alongside participating artists....

As the Heritage winter meet winds down with two racing days left on the calendar, Jamie Rodriguez enjoyed a four-win afternoon Sunday at Laurel Park and cemented his claim to the leading rider title. In addition to his four wins on the day, Rodriguez claims 46 through the meet, 18 more than runner-up Jeiron Barbosa, and helped conditioner Jamie Ness move ahead of Brittany Russell in the race for leading trainer. All four of Sunday's wins were on Ness runners and the combo hit at a lofty 29 per cent...

The Maryland Jockey Club has called off Friday's 10-race card at Laurel Park due to continuing adverse weather conditions from last weekend's winter storm along with ongoing rain throughout the region. Per the MJC release, Laurel, Pimlico Race Course, Rosecroft Raceway and the MJC OTB network will remain open for simulcasting. Live racing is scheduled to return Saturday with a special 11:40 a.m. post time. The 11-race program is co-headlined by the $100,000 Spectacular Bid S. for 3-year-olds and $100,000 Xtra Heat S. for 3-year-old fillies.

Having already lost the live racing program Saturday to wintry weather conditions, officials from the Maryland Jockey Club has also cancelled live racing for Sunday. The next scheduled program is Friday, Jan. 26, which is set to featuer the $100,000 What a Summer S. and the $100,000 Fire Plug S., each of which was originally programmed for the Jan. 20 card. The season's first 3-year-old stakes will take place next Saturday, Jan. 27, with the running of the $100,000 Xtra Heat S. for fillies and the Spectacular Bid S. for...

The Maryland Jockey Club has cancelled Friday's races at Laurel Park after a winter storm dropped several inches of snow across Northern and Central Maryland, the club said in a release early Friday morning. Dangerous driving conditions has also caused simulcast wagering to be cancelled at both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course. The Saturday card with a 10-race program, including four stakes highlighted by the $100,000 What A Summer and $100,000 Fire Plug, will start at noon ET. Several tracks, including Oaklawn Park and Turfway Park, were forced to cancel...

The third annual 'Art of Racing', an annual partnership between 1/ST, the Maryland Jockey Club and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) announced the launch of its 2024 program Monday. The 'Art of Racing' commemorates the Preakness S., and beginning Monday and continuing through Mar. 11, artists nationwide may submit their original, two-dimension visual art celebrating the second leg of the Triple Crown. In the past two years, more than 300 entries from 19 states have been received each depicting different elements of Thoroughbred racing as reflected in the...

   This story is a deeper dive into the joint press release issued earlier Jan. 5 by The Stronach Group, the Maryland Jockey Club, and the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority. The latest recommendation in a years-long attempt by multiple stakeholders to consolidate Maryland racing at a single, reimagined racetrack now calls for a project dubbed "Pimlico Plus," with racing centered in Baltimore and supported by the construction of a new training facility elsewhere in the state, according to a report issued by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA)...

Edited Press Release The Stronach Group, the Maryland Jockey Club, and the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority ("MTROA") today announced they have reached the framework of an agreement in principle to preserve and enhance the Thoroughbred racing industry in Maryland. The understanding, subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements, legislative authorization, and all required governmental approvals, will enable the MTROA to design and build an iconic racing venue at Pimlico and take over day-to-day racing and training in Maryland. "The Authority's report represents an important next step for the industry,...