Laurel Park

The 2026 National Thoroughbred League season in Maryland with a Kentucky Derby weekend event at Laurel Park on Saturday, May 2, hosted by Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Laurel Park program is part of a two-day NTL Derby weekend celebration, which will begin Friday, May 1 at The Horse You Came In On Saloon before shifting to Laurel for Saturday's live racing event. The NTL operates as a team-based, season-long competition featuring city-affiliated teams that earn points based on race results at events held across the country. Horses compete...

Chip Honcho (Connect), winner of the Gun Runner Stakes and a close second in the GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds will bypass the GI Kentucky Derby in favor of the May 16 running of the GI Preakness Stakes, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. With the defection of Chip Honcho, GSW Litmus Test (Nyquist) will now drawn in for the big race. The colt's Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was asked early on Saturday morning what "Plan B" was if...

Taj Mahal (Nyquist) is on target for the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes following his romping victory in the Federico Tesio Stakes Saturday at Laurel Park. "It was really impressive," trainer Brittany Russell said Sunday. "You see a lot of these horses at home win the Tesio and go on to the Preakness and I thought to myself before the race, I hope he runs like 'wow.' You want to see a really big run from him to give you confidence that he should go on to the Preakness, and...

Taj Mahal (Nyquist) led them every step of the way while making his two-turn debut to romp in the $150,000 Federico Tesio S. at Laurel Park, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the GI Preakness Stakes. The 6-5 favorite cleared the field of 10 from his outside draw and it was pretty much over from there. He was well clear through fractions of :23.93 and :47.80. The advantage shrunk to about a length on the far turn, but he had another gear. The $525,000 Keeneland September yearling opened up...

Third in the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Keeneland's opening weekend, Talkin (Good Magic) will skip the GI Kentucky Derby and be pointed toward the GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park by trainer Danny Gargan. Eleven lengths behind 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Further Ado (Gun Runner) as that one dominated the Blue Grass, Talkin would be the trainer's chief hope for a second win in the Triple Crown series behind Dornoch, also a son of Good Magic, who claimed the GI Belmont Stakes in 2024. Gargan said...

America's Best Racing, the fan-development platform and national marketing initiative funded by The Jockey Club, will host its 11th annual Pre-Preakness Party May 14 at Laurel Park. Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation have been named as the event's primary charitable beneficiaries. TAA will present a silent auction featuring premium racing memorabilia and collectibles. "Every ticket sold and every dollar raised at the Pre-Preakness Party makes a direct difference in the lives of off-the-track-Thoroughbreds," said Georganne Hale, senior vice president of Racing Development of The...

At the conclusion of Laurel's Winter Meet, Yedsit Hazlewood, the runner-up in last year's Eclipse Award balloting for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey, easily secured the winter meet's riding title. Hazlewood won 51 races at the meet, 29 more than Angel Cruz. Originally from Panama, Hazlewood, 18, missed a couple of months due to injuries from an automobile accident, yet still achieved 137 victories in 2025, earning $4,451,869. He earned his first riding title last summer at the Maryland State Fair Meet in Timonium and finished the racing season as the leader...

An increase in minimum purse payouts for all finishing positions was approved by The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (MTHA) in coordination with The Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) on Mar. 19, it was announced on Sunday. The MTHA Board of Directors approved the measure after a recommendation from the MTHA Purse Committee, which includes representatives from the TMJC. The changes took effect starting with races on Mar. 21 at Laurel Park and will remain in place through the summer meet, which ends on June 28. The structure will then be reviewed...

Stepping into the shedrow of Laurel Park's Barn 22 late in the morning on a dark day, all is relatively quiet. Outside of the office, a groom rakes up loose pieces of straw as the horse residing in the first stall peers out inquisitively, all the while his neighbor to the left lies curled up in freshly tossed bedding. Further down, a wheelbarrow sits parked outside of the fifth stall, which is where you'll find trainer Henry Walters as he finishes mucking out. After setting aside the pitchfork and giving...

Trainer Danny Eubanks--who has been managing his mother Annette's barn for the past year and a half--earned his first official win with his first starter at Laurel Park Sunday when Mugatu (Blofeld) surged from last under jockey Carlos Lopez to win the day's opener, a $20,000 starter allowance. "I think I stopped breathing at the quarter pole until he crossed the line," Eubanks said in the winner's circle. "This isn't as big as the emotions when my mom won her 500th because that took a lot more effort. This feels...

Fasig-Tipton will introduce a new format, date, and restored name for the annual fall yearling sale in Timonium, Maryland for 2026, the auction house announced Monday. Previously known as the Timonium Yearling Sale, the auction will once again be known as the Eastern Fall Yearling Sale, reflecting the deep roots and enduring importance to breeders, owners, and trainers in the region. Major regional developments--the new racetrack construction at Pimlico and Belmont Park--marked a beginning to a new era for the Midlantic and Northeast racing circuits, and spurred changes which include...

Live racing has been canceled at Laurel Park for this coming Saturday, Mar. 14 due to insufficient entries, the track announced Monday morning. With the impending meeting at Colonial Downs set to kick off Thursday, Mar. 12, and two Points races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 14 at that venue, Laurel Park will move all originally scheduled races for Saturday to Sunday, Mar. 15 as overnight extras. There will be live racing Friday, Mar. 13 with an eight-race program with first post at 12:00pm...