Shamrock Farm

To avoid any potential conflict-of-interest issues, Tom Rooney, an appointed voting member of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), has recused himself from any further decision making in the selection of a year-round training center, said Alan Foreman, another voting member of the non-profit. The new organization is positioning itself to assume control of day-to-day racing operations in Maryland, pending legislative approval. In a proposed plan, The Stronach Group, which owns Pimlico Race Course, would turn over ownership and daily operations of the track to the state and to...

   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)...

Maryland stallion Outflanker (Danzig--Lassie's Lady, by Alydar) was euthanized due to complications of old age, Shamrock Farm announced on its Facebook page Tuesday. He was 29. The bay stallion sired three graded winners, 22 stakes winners and his progeny have earned over $30 million. He is the broodmare sire of 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter).

Canadian Classic winner Coltimus Prime (Milwaukee Brew--Certainly Special, by Distorted Humor), who has a small crop of Canadian-bred yearlings on the ground from his time at Beau Valley Stable in Alberta, will stand at Shamrock Farm in Maryland for the upcoming breeding season. His fee will be $1,500, with "special arrangements offered to qualifying mares," per Jim Steele, Shamrock's farm manager. Coltimus Prime won the 2014 Prince of Wales S. and was continuing to win or place in black-type events in the US. and Panama through the 2018 season. He...

Thomas J. (Tom) Rooney, a former U.S. Congressman, has been named to succeed Alex Waldrop as the president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). As has been previously announced, Waldrop will retire at the end of this year. Rooney is an owner and breeder and has been part of his family's Shamrock Farm, a Thoroughbred breeding and lay-up operation in Maryland. The farm was founded by his grandfather, Art Rooney, Sr. He has also served on the board of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association for the past...