Pimlico

In just her fifth full year of training, Brittany Russell topped the annual standings in Maryland for the second consecutive season, and jockey Jaime Rodriguez also repeated as the state's leading rider, the Maryland Jockey Club said in a release on Tursday. In 2023, Russell ended Claudio Gonazlez's six-year reign atop the leaderboard by notching 118 victories at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, finishing five ahead of runner-up Jamie Ness. Last year, Russell earned 113 victories at Laurel and Pimlico, 16 more than runner-up Ness. Nationwide, she registered 157...

Actually, 2024 wasn't that bad of a year for horse racing. There were no major scandals and the rate of horses breaking down fell again. At the tracks under HISA's jurisdiction, it looks like the fatality rate for the year will be about 0.84 horses per 1,000 starters. Considering that same rate in 2009, the first year statistics were kept, was 2.00 per 1,000 shows just how far the sport has come. The GI Kentucky Derby was as thrilling a Triple Crown race as the sport has seen in some...

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) will honor Brandon and Diannah Perry as well as Maryland-based Beyond the Wire with the Allaire du Pont Leadership Award and the Ellen and Herb Moelis Industry Service Award, respectively, during the 35th Annual Stallion Season Live Auction and Celebration Sunday, Jan. 12, the organization announced via press release Friday. The Allaire de Pont Leadership Award being presented to the Perrys is awarded to an organization or individual (s) for philanthropic contributions consistent with the TCA's mission as the charitable arm of the Thoroughbred Owners...

Bill Knauf, a long-time executive at Monmouth Park, has been named the president and general manager of the non-profit entity the Maryland Jockey Club Inc. that is set to take control of Maryland's two major Thoroughbred tracks starting Jan. 1. The announcement of his hiring was made by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Authority (MTRA), a non-profit group modeled after the New York Racing Association, which operates racing at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. The Maryland tracks were transferred to the MTRA by The Stronach Group, which donated them to the state...

The National Thoroughbred League (NTL), a new series of races meant to bring the team concept to the sport and to attract new fans, will put on its second 2024 event Saturday at Parx. It is called Oktober-Fast and is hosted by NBA Hall of Famer and Philadelphia icon Julius (Dr. J) Erving. When the NTL was in the planning stages last year the focus was on purchasing horses and then having them divvied up between the teams. There are currently 10 teams in the league and they would own...

Bill Knauf, who has served Monmouth Park in a variety of roles--most recently its vice president of business development--for over a quarter-century, will take up the position of president and general manager of The Maryland Jockey Club Inc., a new 501(c) (4) organization to manage and operate Thoroughbred horse racing in the state. "We have found the perfect person to lead Maryland's groundbreaking efforts to reimagine and renew the racing experience," said Greg Cross, chairman of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA). "Bill not only has operating experience, but...

Operations have ceased at Pimlico Race Course as of Saturday, August 31, in order to allow the construction of the new Pimlico under the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority. Saturday, Maryland Jockey Club Acting president and General Manager Mike Rogers issued a statement marking the event. "On July 1, 2024, ownership of Pimlico Race Course was officially transferred from The Stronach Group to the State of Maryland as part of the plan to secure the Preakness Stakes's continued presence in Baltimore and establish Pimlico as the permanent hub for year-round...

In a deal brokered by Matt Bowling of Bowling Bloodstock and J.P. Sullivan of Sullivan Bloodstock, GI Preakness winner Rombauer (by Twirling Candy), who stood his first season this year at War Horse Place in Lexington, Kentucky, will be shuttling to Chile, according to a press release from Bowling Bloodstock on Friday. The John Fradkin homebred broke his maiden at first asking at Del Mar during the summer of 2020 and was the runner-up in the GI American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita in late September. As a 3-year-old, Rombauer...

Change is on the horizon for Maryland racing with legislation passed earlier this year that allowed 1/ST Racing to turn both Pimlico and Laurel over to the state of Maryland. Once that bill was signed, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA) was born. Soon after, Corey Johnsen, a former racetrack executive for Lone Star Park and Kentucky Downs, came on as the MTROA's interim CEO. He joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, to discuss the future of racing in Maryland. Johnsen, who was this week's...

Change is on the horizon for Maryland racing with legislation passed earlier this year that allowed 1/ST Racing to turn both Pimlico and Laurel over to the state of Maryland. Corey Johnsen the interim CEO of the newly formed Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast to discuss the future of racing in Maryland.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Every one of the 2,570 partners in MyRacehorse's Seize the Grey (Arrogate) has a story about their GI Belmont S.-bound Preakness winner. Or three. Or six. Truth be told, probably more. They are co-owners, albeit with micro shares that cost a mere $127, of the winner of a Triple Crown race, who will try to add a second jewel on Saturday when the 156th Belmont is run for the first time at Saratoga Race Course. They are part of a movement begun 55 years ago by...

Trainer Cherie DeVaux joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to recap a big weekend at Pimlico and discuss her eye on the future of her operation.