Mike Rogers

As part of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA)'s month-long Holiday Giving Campaign, Mike Rogers has pledged to match all donations up to $500 made to the TAA Dec. 10. The campaign commenced Nov. 29 and is scheduled to conclude New Year's Eve. Those wishing to support the TAA, its 81 accredited organizations, and thousands of retired Thoroughbreds can donate through the TAA's website or text DONATE to 56651. During the Holiday Giving Campaign, TAA is also offering donors the benefit of sending digital holiday cards to colleagues, friends, and loved...

With temperatures set to reach the high nineties this weekend in the Mid-Atlantic region, a number of tracks have announced adjusted schedules, but Monmouth Park officials remain confident that the Saturday card featuring the GI Haskell S. will go off as planned. "First and foremost, we are concerned about the safety of the horses and jockeys and want to make sure we do the right thing," said Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team at the Jersey Shore track. "But we've been on top of it all week and right...

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will have a full lineup of on-site festivities during GI Preakness S. week. "The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has been a valued partner of the Preakness since 2015," said Maryland Jockey Club Acting President, Mike Rogers. "We at 1/ST and the Maryland Jockey Club look forward to bringing aftercare to the forefront of the Preakness for many years to come. The good work done by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is absolutely vital to ensuring the safety of our equine athletes and the longevity of the sport."...

The Maryland Jockey Club has confirmed that maintenance work on the dirt surface at Pimlico Race Course will begin Easter Sunday, Apr. 17, with plans to reopen the track for training Wednesday, Apr. 20. MJC Acting President and General Manager Mike Rogers said a favorable weather forecast will allow the project to proceed at the preferred time rather than the following week. The track maintenance crew each year has examined the Pimlico surface prior to the May race meet and last year repaired the base in specific areas. Traditionally, there...

Pimlico Race Course will shut down for training over a three-day period later this month to repair the base of the main dirt track ahead of the GI Preakness S. meet that runs May 12-30. Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns both Pimlico and Laurel Park, alerted the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) to the upcoming closure during Tuesday's monthly commission meeting. Rogers said the exact dates for the repairs are dependent on weather. Apr.17-20 is the primary time window, with Apr....

Laurel Park, which hasn't hosted racing since Jan. 2 and was closed for 18 days in late autumn over safety and weather-related woes that have plagued its new multi-million-dollar dirt surface, is now scheduled to next card racing for Sunday, Jan. 16--but only if Mother Nature cooperates. The Maryland racing community and Laurel executives traded updates and opinions on the controversial, work-in-progress track restoration project Tuesday afternoon in a 30-minute videoconference. But when Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns Laurel's corporate...

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...

Seven Laurel Park horses have died since Nov. 6, and eight total have perished this autumn after sustaining fractures while racing or training over the newly installed main dirt track there. The most recent death occurred in Laurel's eighth race Nov. 28, and training has been curtailed in the three days since then. A portion of the surface has been dug up in mid-stretch to allow an influx of track maintenance consultants to try and discover if there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. Laurel's next scheduled...