Preakness will allow two also-eligibles; Maryland announces
racing dates
Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course will conduct 146 days of racing in 2012,
the same number that was scheduled the last two years after the Maryland Racing
Commission approved an agreement by the Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland
Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association at its monthly meeting Tuesday afternoon at
Laurel Park.
“We are very pleased to be racing next year,” Maryland Jockey Club president
Tom Chuckas said. “I would like to personally thank Governor O’Malley, his chief
legislative officer Joe Bryce and the Maryland Racing Commission, especially
John McDaniel, for mediating the process. This agreement provides a foundation
for continuing efforts to create a long-term solution to Maryland racing.”
The Maryland Jockey Club was founded in 1743 and is the longest standing
organization in the state. Pimlico Race Course, home to the Preakness Stakes,
the middle jewel of horse racing’s famed Triple Crown, opened its doors in 1870
and is the second oldest racetrack in the country.
For the first time, the Maryland Jockey Club will permit two also-eligible
entrants to the $1 million Preakness Stakes on May 19. Those runners would be
eligible to run if any of the entries of the original field are declared from
the race after the post position draw on Wednesday of Preakness week until
scratch time Friday morning, the morning before race.
A maximum of 14 horses are allowed to compete the 1 3/16-mile classic for
three-year-olds conducted each year on the third Saturday in May.
“It is very similar to what Churchill is doing for the Derby,” Maryland
Jockey Club racing secretary Georganne Hale said. “It enables us to still run a
full field of 14 if there is a late scratch by 9 a.m. (ET) Friday morning. We
have set the deadline because on that afternoon advanced wagering starts on the
Preakness.”
The Maryland Jockey Club will conduct a winter meeting at Laurel Park, a
spring campaign at Pimlico Race Course and a fall meeting at Laurel Park. There
will be no live racing at the major Maryland tracks during the summer.
Laurel Park, which celebrated its 100th birthday in October, will begin its
winter stand on Wednesday, January 4, with live racing taking place four days a
week on a Wednesday through Saturday schedule (with holiday exceptions). The
48-day meet will end March 24. First post is 12:35 p.m. (Eastern). The stakes
schedule has not been finalized.
Racing will then shift to Pimlico for the spring meeting. Preakness day will
be the final day of the meet for the 29-day stand, which will begin Friday,
March 30.
After a 15-week break, which will include seven live days of racing at
Timonium during the State Fair, live racing will return to the major tracks on
September 7 at Laurel Park for a 69-day fall meeting.