Maryland Jockey Club

Amid glowing opinions from stakeholders that the work-in-progress new dirt surface at Laurel Park has improved dramatically after eight equine fatalities from main-track fractures there this autumn, racing has been greenlighted to proceed as scheduled Dec. 16 for the first time in 18 days. The Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) determined during a Tuesday tele-meeting that it didn't technically need to take a vote for racing to resume, but the board made sure to solicit ample feedback from jockeys, trainers, track executives, track surface consultants and veterinarians before issuing a verbal...

The Maryland Jockey Club confirmed the cancellation of live racing at Laurel Park through Sunday, Dec. 5 as work continues to complete repairs to the track and to analyze recent equine injuries. While racing is suspended, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the Maryland Jockey Club are working with industry experts to analyze surface composition and maintenance procedures directed at the safest possible racing surface. According to a MJC press release: "Until now, and through collaborative measures among industry participants, Maryland racing has experienced the lowest fatality rate in its...

Courtesy Maryland Jockey Club No matter the time of year, or the occasion, holiday traditions mean different things to different people. For more than three decades, aside from hosting its annual live race card, Thanksgiving Day has meant only one thing at Laurel Park--pies. Tens of thousands of the tasty treats--apple or pumpkin, take your pick--have been handed out since the late Frank J. De Francis Jr.  purchased Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course in late 1986. "He's the one that started it, as a way of doing something special...

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...

Edited Press Release Pimlico Race Course will once again play host to the popular Canter for a Cause Sunday, Oct. 10, giving the public an opportunity to walk, trot, canter or gallop their favorite horse or pony on the same track that has hosted legends like Seabiscuit and Secretariat. Sponsored by the Maryland Jockey Club, Canter for a Cause is scheduled to run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Registration is $50 per trip, with proceeds going to benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Entries will be taken in four groups--Seabiscuit (walk, trot,...

The extensive, expensive, and months-delayed installment of the new main track from the base up at Laurel Park is now close enough to completion that executives with The Stronach Group (TSG) have greenlighted Aug. 8 as the move-in date for horses and Aug. 10 as the first day of training. Speaking via videoconference, Steve Koch, the senior vice president of racing for TSG, which owns both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, said July 28 that the "whole oval really is an entirely new racetrack." Years of piecemeal repair jobs failed...

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...

Maryland Jockey Club and its parent company, 1/ST RACING (The Stronach Group), is hopeful horses will be able to return to Laurel Park the first week in August barring any delays in the ongoing renovation of the dirt surface, but even if they do, racing will likely continue at Pimlico Race Course in August until the Maryland State Fair at Timonium meet begins. An update on the project and a timeline were discussed June 14 during a Zoom community meeting hosted by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. It was also...

Sal Sinatra has been named the next president of Equibase Company LLC by the Equibase Management Committee, effective June 21. Sinatra succeeds Jason Wilson, who departed Equibase to join The Stronach Group this past April. Sinatra, who completed a double major in Mathematics and Statistics from Rutgers, was an assistant clerk at the Daily Racing Form and in 1985, he became a racing official at Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands. He was also the assistant racing secretary at Beulah Park in Ohio. Between 1990 and 1999, Sinatra was president and...

Steve Asmussen claimed the top prize of $50,000 for the third time in five years in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 trainer bonus offered to horsemen for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend, May 14-15, at Pimlico Race Course. The Hall of Famer edged defending champion Mike Maker. Asmussen started 11 horses in 10 stakes over the two days, finishing with 54 points. On May 15, he ran first and second with Mighty Mischief (Into Mischief) and Jaxon Traveler (Munnings) in the GIII Chick Lang S. and also...

After undergoing three rounds of out-of-competition blood sample testing as part of an agreement between the Maryland Jockey Club and Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit (Protonico), Concert Tour (Street Sense) and Beautiful Gift (Medaglia d'Oro) have been reported clear and are eligible to race this weekend at Pimlico Race Course in the GI Preakness S. and GII Black-Eyed Susan S. Two samples were drawn May 6 and May 10, respectively by the Maryland Racing Commission and were screened by Industrial Laboratories in Colorado. A third sample was drawn on May 11...

The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) announced Tuesday that it had accepted the entry of Medina Spirit (Protonico) for Saturday's GI Preakness S. Trainer Bob Baffert revealed Sunday that Medina Sprit had tested positive for the prohibited medication betamethasone after winning the GI Kentucky Derby, which put his appearance in the second leg of the Triple Crown in doubt. The MJC, which operates Pimlico for The Stronach Group (TSG), had the option of banning all entries from Baffert. Following the announcement of the drug positive, Churchill Downs said that it would...