“It's an honor to be elected president of such an esteemed collective,” said Bond, who is the first woman ever to helm the organization. “THA is at the forefront of collaborative decision-making and policy implementation on issues such as racehorse aftercare, equine safety and welfare, and protecting the integrity of our sport. I look forward to leading the organization as it addresses the challenges that horsemen and women face on local, regional, and national levels.”

In other THA officer elections, Chris Block and David Richardson were named vice presidents; Michael Musto was named treasurer; and Bessie Gruwell will serve as secretary.

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“We are pleased to come to terms on a one-year extension to the 2012 agreement with The Stronach Group, 1/ST RACING and Maryland Jockey Club and appreciate the work by all that went into finalizing this deal,” said David Richardson, Executive Director of MTHA. “This agreement provides our horsemen, the state's breeders, and backstretch workers stability while the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority continues their important work on a long-term plan for our industry. We look forward to the final Authority report and a bright and sustainable future for thoroughbred horse racing in Maryland.”

During the 2023 legislative session, Governor Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, and members of the Maryland General Assembly created the Maryland Thoroughbred Racing Operating Authority by law to outline a plan for the future of Maryland racing. Over the past decade, Maryland leaders have dedicated funding to stabilize this historic industry but needed more legal authority to implement a plan.

“The Stronach Group, 1/ST RACING and the Maryland Jockey Club are committed to a successful 2024 racing season as we work in good faith with other stakeholders to develop a long-term, sustainable racing model for Maryland,” said Craig Fravel, Executive Vice Chairman, 1/ST RACING. “We are pleased to have worked constructively with Maryland stakeholders on this agreement and look forward to continuing to work with the Maryland Racetrack Operating Authority in the best interests of racing in Maryland.”

The Maryland racing industry, one of the oldest in the United States, has an economic impact of more than $2 billion in addition to preserving thousands of acres of open space statewide.

The Authority, chaired by veteran attorney at Venable LLP Gregory A. Cross, is expected to issue its interim recommendations next month.

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For each race on every live racing day, the groom of the best turned out horse will be awarded a $25 gift card and recognized on television and simulcast broadcasts and by track announcer Dave Rodman. On Thanksgiving Day, winners will be awarded a $100 gift card provided by sponsor Fidelity First.

Judges will examine the presentation and appearance of both horse and groom to determine a winner.

“Grooms have an immeasurable role in the care of these wonderful equine athletes and it's important to acknowledge this dedication. It's a fitting partnership with the Maryland Jockey Club, 1/ST Racing and the MTHA to recognize these individuals,” said Aidan Butler, 1/ST Racing COO.

“The MTHA is extremely thrilled to partner with the Maryland Jockey Club to recognize and reward the care and devotion regularly given by our horsemen to our equine athletes on a daily basis,” MTHA Executive Director David Richardson said. “We are proud to have the finest horsemen in the nation.”

Laurel's Thanksgiving Day program begins with a special first post of 11:25 a.m. and features the return of the popular family-sized pie giveaway after missing 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Fans will be able to choose a pumpkin or apple pie with purchase of a racing program, with a maximum of two pies per person, while supplies last. Pies will be distributed until 4:30 p.m. at the grandstand entrance.

Free donuts, coffee, cider and hot chocolate will be available at the grandstand and clubhouse entrances from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Laurel will also host a Thanksgiving buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Terrace Dining Room. To make a buffet reservation, call 301-725-0770.

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The six-person box, 4G, is on Del Mar's third level, and was donated by Richardson's friend, Dr. James B. Threlkel. It is valid for Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6, and includes preferred parking passing for Friday and Saturday. Stretch run boxes are located before the wire.

“Dr. J. David Richardson was a man for all seasons,” said Threlkel. “He was an outstanding surgeon and surgical educator, a successful horseman, a true scholar and gentleman and a friend to many. He was a leader who rose to top leadership positions in many Surgical and Thoroughbred horse racing organizations and in his daily activities. He possessed the ultimate surgical talent of being able to identify problems and then fixing them. It is said that no man is irreplaceable, but David Richardson come pretty close. We shared many interests. This donation is a small, inadequate token of my esteem and love for my dear friend. My family and I will miss you, Dave.”

To bid on the box, visit www.tca.org, or click here.

The Race to Give is an online giving and awareness program to support Thoroughbred aftercare launched by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and the TCA. RaceToGive.org is its website and central hub.

Richardson, a beloved and distinguished Kentucky-based surgeon who owned and bred Thoroughbreds for nearly half a century, died Sept. 7 in Saratoga Springs, New York, after developing pneumonia related to COVID-19.

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Executives with The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, said during a Friday tele-meeting that they now need to pause work on the problematic and expensive project at Laurel until management can relocate of all horses stabled at Laurel to other facilities in Maryland.

This news was delivered two weeks after TSG came under fire at a Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) meeting for an alleged “accumulation of bad decisions over time” that led to Laurel's main track safety concerns not being addressed sooner by track management.

At that Apr. 22 meeting, TSG's senior vice president of racing, Steve Koch, told commissioners that Laurel would tentatively be back up and running by the start of June, with limited training allowed at the facility and horses vanned to Pimlico for timed workouts. That plan changed last week when TSG announced all horses would instead have to vacate the property.

The cumbersome logistics of orchestrating such a large horse and worker migration on short notice couldn't come at a worse time for TSG and Maryland horse outfits, with the GI Preakness S. week on the cusp of getting underway at Pimlico.

During the May 7 meeting, Koch projected a new, albeit hazy, timeline for the completion of repairs.

“At the moment, we've requested of the racing commission that the race meet remain at Pimlico through the end of June, so returning early July to be back at Laurel,” Koch said. “There's a lot of unknowns as we get into this racetrack [project and] we'll know more as this thing unfolds.”

Aidan Butler, TSG's chief operating officer, likened the moving-target time frame as a “cat and mouse” game.

Although Butler's words were meant to be figurative, as Friday's meeting evolved, it became clear that felines and rodents were literally involved in the ever-widening scope of the project.

That's because TSG will use the opportunity of having a vacant barn area to launch its most thorough rat extermination attempt to date.

Back in January, TSG executives confirmed to the racing commission that spending $20,000 monthly to try and eradicate rodents while horses remained stabled on the grounds wasn't working, largely because of the abundance of unsecured or spilled horse feed kept the rats well satiated.

Dionne Benson, TSG's chief veterinary officer, said during Friday's meeting that in addition to everything else, that means backstretch outfits will have to attempt herd their barn cats and bring them along once they get stall reassignments at either Pimlico or the Timonium fairgrounds. This is because of concerns that the cats could be poisoned by eating either the rodenticide or a rat that has consumed it.

Then MRC commissioner David Hayden suggested that all hay and straw should also be removed from the backstretch to eliminate another readily available food source for the rats.

David Richardson, the executive director of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said that hay and straw removal would be done if the exterminators recommended it.

Richardson asked trainers to expediate getting their requests in to the Laurel racing office about their preference–either Pimlico or Timonium–for being relocated, and to note if their stable help will need living accommodations at either venue.

TSG will provide a shuttle service to those tracks for employees who wish to remain in their Laurel living quarters, and trainers can still keep tack and other personal property secured at Laurel, so long as nothing gets stored in stalls.

To date there have been 789 stall requests: 502 for Pimlico and 287 for Timonium, meaning the majority of outfits will not make the cut for the preferred stabling at Pimlico.

Richardson said that the day after the Preakness, construction will begin on three new 40-stall barns at Pimlico, and that temporary stabling there will also be made available.

As for the housing of backstretch workers, those who opt to live on the grounds at Timonium could end up relegated to either the jockeys' quarters or some other areas that have access to bathrooms and showers, because there are currently no dorm facilities there that meet fire code requirements.

“There are still a lot of items that are outstanding,” Richardson said, underscoring the difficult nature of the transition.

TSG executives also addressed the implications of turf racing in Maryland because of the  extended meet at Pimlico.

Koch said the grass course at Pimlico–which is only half as wide as the one at Laurel–will, per usual, get used “very, very heavily” on the Friday and Saturday of Preakness week.

“So yeah, there are [future] constraints on that course in the sense that, you know, how much [use] can 70 feet sustain compared to the 140 feet that we have at Laurel?” Koch asked rhetorically.

Butler then picked up the topic: “If it's usable we will use it. Once it's through the big weekend…we're going to use it as often as we can.”

Even before Laurel's main track woes arose this winter and spring, TSG executives were on record as contemplating the addition of a synthetic racing surface there.

Butler said on Friday that with the base now exposed, TSG has the opportunity to assess what the scope of that project might look like. But he added that the synthetic option won't be contemplated until a later date–which will eventually mean more logistical headaches.

“Because there is a very high likelihood of us putting in a tunnel at Laurel, there is no way to drill under the track,” Butler said. “That will have to be a section…cut completely down through the substructure. That means later, when we come to replacing and putting in tunnels and replacing surfaces, or having new surfaces, I should say, there is unfortunately going to be some more disruption.”

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“We did, as you can imagine, some significant research and going back and forth to ensure that we were making the right decision as it relates to our joint entities between us and Red Mile,” Gabbard said. “I will tell you that we feel like we took a very conservative approach.

“But I think in every way possible we've seen the measures that we took over the weekend have helped bring the urgency even more to the forefront than what we had so that the legislature understands the impact that not only racing, but HHR has on the economy in the commonwealth,” Gabbert continued. “And hopefully, we will see a legislative remedy in the next couple of weeks.”

The KTDF, which is funded by three-quarters of 1% of all money wagered on both live Thoroughbred races and HHR gaming, plus 2% of all money wagered on Thoroughbred races via inter-track wagering and whole-card simulcasting, has had a rough go of trying to supplement purses at Kentucky's five Thoroughbred racetracks over the past year.

The COVID-19 pandemic first wreaked havoc with Kentucky's ability to generate purses derived from gaming revenue last March, and the effects are still causing major ripples because of spectator-free race meets and capacity limitations at gaming facilities.

Then last week, on Jan. 21, the Kentucky Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing its 7-0 Sept. 24 judgment that told a lower court to re-examine the legality of historical horse race (HHR) gaming in the commonwealth.

Although the Supreme Court case only involves HHR machines made by Exacta Systems, whose machines are approved for use at Red Mile, Kentucky Downs and Ellis Park, the gaming systems operate in broadly the same manner throughout Kentucky, meaning that a precedent established for one version is likely to affect all forms of HHR gaming.

The racing industry's urgent focus is now on Kentucky lawmakers to legalize HHR, but roadblocks loom in the form of conservative resistance to the expansion of gambling in the state and the fact that the legislature only meets for 30 days in odd-numbered years, with the 2021 session scheduled to end Mar. 30.

The articulation of Keeneland's position and the political leverage it could possibly generate came several hours after a dire Tuesday morning announcement by Ellis Park that its racino could go out of business without the legalization of HHR.

“Without the revenue associated with HHR, there is no realistic path forward for Ellis Park,” Ellis general manager Jeffery Inman said in a statement released to Kentucky's Eyewitness News. “Were we to rely only on racing and simulcast revenue, we could not even keep this 99-year-old facility maintained, let alone provide the financial investment necessary to prepare for and conduct a world-class live race meet. Without HHR support, purses would drop dramatically, resulting in a greatly diminished live racing product. In short, the loss of HHR revenue at Ellis Park would likely threaten the very survival of one of Kentucky's iconic racing venues.”

It's also been nearly four months now since Churchill Downs Inc., (CDI), the gaming corporation that owns the tracks and HHR licenses associated with Churchill Downs Racetrack and Turfway Park, has already halted reconstruction on its demolished Turfway grandstand, vowing not to continue the planned rebuild until HHR's legality gets sorted out.

As Bill Landes III, the chairman of the KTDF advisory committee, glumly put it during Tuesday's meeting, “As if we all don't know, we could use some remediation of HHR.”

But outside of writing letters seeking help to elected and appointed officials in Kentucky (which the KTDF board voted unanimously to do), there were no other concrete ideas proposed to put HHR back on firmer legal footing.

KTDF board member J. David Richardson suggested emphasizing in those letters that “our perspective is a bit unique in that we actually delve into what [HHR revenue] means to Kentucky racing, probably more deeply than virtually any group, I think.”

Richardson said it was important “to let people know that the stewardship of these monies are very closely monitored by this committee and by our staff and are really appropriately used.

“This isn't 'funny money,'” Richardson summed up. “I think it's important to reiterate every now and then how closely we follow every dime.”

To that end, the KTDF voted unanimously to forward approval recommendations to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for $2,061,900 in KTDF funds for Keeneland's spring meet and a range of $4.3 to $4.9 million for the Churchill Downs meet that spans April-June.

Gabbert said that Keeneland's “goal, from an overall purse standpoint, would be to be on par with where we were in spring of 2019.” He did not cite specific dollar amounts.

Ben Huffman, who serves in the dual capacities of racing secretary at Keeneland and the director of racing at Churchill, said that for Keeneland, “I'm kind of putting on the finishing touches of the condition book; actually may go to the printer with it in about 10 days or so. But the maiden special weights will be $79,000. And the 'non-winners of two' allowance race will be $81,000 at Keeneland this spring.”

As for Churchill's levels, Huffman said, “we haven't even met here collectively about spring purses yet,” but that he expects those figures to be available by mid-February.

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