Willa on the Move

With further evaluation of the racing surface still ongoing, racing at Laurel Park this weekend has been canceled, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday. Laurel also canceled Friday's card before the opener after speaking with jockeys regarding main track safety concerns following overnight snow and afternoon rain. Nine races were scheduled for Saturday including a trio of $100,000 stakes, and eight races were scheduled for Sunday at Laurel. Laurel will remain open during its normal morning training hours for galloping and jogging. The 6 1/2-furlong Willa On the Move, the...

Leon Blusiewicz, a retired trainer whose charisma, enthusiasm and knowledge of Thoroughbred pedigrees far eclipsed his winning percentages, died Nov. 26 in a Maryland hospital while under hospice care for kidney failure. He was 92. David Grening of Daily Racing Form first reported Blusiewicz's passing on Sunday, recalling that the veteran conditioner stood out as a "Damon Runyon-type character." Beyond being a Grade I-caliber backstretch storyteller with a penchant for weaving colorful racetrack tales, "Blu" was known for his keen eye for horsemanship, and his reliance on old-school conditioning methods...