MJC

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...

Thursday's Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) meeting figured to provide an update on the massive main track base and cushion repair project that has kept Laurel Park dark since Apr. 10 and caused the entire backstretch community to relocate to either Pimlico Race Course, the Timonium fairgrounds, or private stabling. But beyond noting that all horses had been moved out of the Laurel backstretch as of May 26 and thanking horsemen for their cooperation, Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns Laurel and Pimlico, only reported...

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club announced the addition of racing days over the next several months to make up for multiple cancellations in the winter and early spring because of weather conditions and equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) restrictions. MJC earlier announced that the Spring Stakes Spectacular program originally scheduled for Apr. 17 at Laurel Park has been moved to the following Apr. 24. Racing will be held April 17-19 instead of Apr. 15-18. Extra races listed for Thursday, Apr. 15, will move to Saturday, Apr. 17, while...

A surge in positive Coronavirus tests among jockeys was met on Tuesday with a flurry of new movement-related restrictions at Thoroughbred tracks from coast to coast in an effort to keep the pandemic from spreading further. For the industry in general, any sizable spike in COVID-19 positives among participants will almost certainly trigger another wave of racetrack shutdowns. But for jockeys specifically, the balance of maintaining safety under pandemic precautions often comes down to treading a fine line between protecting one's health versus protecting one's livelihood. Since the end of...

Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen Association, after conferring with the Maryland Jockey Club, announced operations will resume at a similar purse structure for overnight races through the rest of the summer, while staging live racing two days a week. Moving forward, as revenues increase, plans call for the addition of days to the calendar. With Casinos scheduled to re-open June 19, the MJC is expected to begin relaxing restrictions of owner's access to the backstretch as well as allowing all licensed personal access to the backstretch beginning June 20.

The Maryland Jockey Club has informed the Maryland Racing Commission of its plans to restrict races for 2-year-olds to connections who opt not to administer Lasix on race day. "The time has come to phase out Lasix beginning with 2-year-old horses," said Belinda Stronach, Chairman and President, The Stronach Group and 1/ST. "We are following through on 1/ST Racing's commitment to put horse and rider safety and welfare at the forefront. We believe in the principle that horses should only be racing free of medication. By taking this important step...