Pimlico

Laurel Park's stable area will be closed to horses other than those based at Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, effectively immediately. Shippers will not be permitted, and any that had been entered for Mar. 20-21 at Laurel Park will be scratched. The decision is part of a series of precautionary and safety measures put in place by the Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association given the coronavirus situation. Laurel Park is scheduled to offer an 10-race card Mar. 20 and an 11-race card Mar. 21 with access severely...

The Racing and Community Development Act of 2020, which authorizes $375 million to pay for the rebuilding of Pimlico and the refurbishing of Laurel, was passed Wednesday by the Maryland General Assembly, reports the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. The bill will now go to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who is expected to sign it. If signed by Hogan, the Act will go into effect June 1. It has sailed through both Maryland houses. The House passed the conference committee version of the bill by a vote of 113-14 a short...

In light of the public health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has issued an emergency order to close all Maryland casinos, racetracks, and simulcast betting facilities to the general public indefinitely. "This situation continues to evolve and will escalate rapidly and dramatically," Hogan said. "These are unprecedented actions in an extraordinary situation, but they could be the difference in saving lives and keeping people safe." The emergency order, which takes effect at midnight Monday, affects Thoroughbred facilities Laurel, Pimlico and Timonium and harness tracks Rosecroft...

7th-Aqueduct, $75K, Alw/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 1m, 4:25 ET Repole Stable's LEGIT (Curlin) followed up a dominant debut victory going a mile at Gulfstream with an equally impressive two-turn, 'TDN Rising Star'-earning score in the Pimlico slop on Preakness weekend in 2018, but disappeared after that and resurfaces off a near 21-month layoff in this mile feature at Aqueduct. Unveiled as a 17-10 chance in Hallandale, the chestnut scampered away to triumph in hand by 7 1/4 lengths, then rallied from well off the pace to a four-length tally despite a...

Maryland lawmakers have introduced a bill, the Racing and Community Development Act of 2020, that would fund renovations at Laurel and Pimlico, ensuring that the GI Preakness S. will remain at Pimlico. The bill calls for the Maryland Stadium Authority to oversee the project and to raise $350 million to do so through the sale of bonds. The future of the Preakness had been in doubt when officials with The Stronach Group, which owns Laurel and Pimlico, made it known that they were interested in moving the race to Laurel....