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Laurel Aims for Apr. 17 Start to Turf Season

Although winter weather has delayed a planned aeration project to aid with drainage on the Laurel Park turf course, track management is projecting that with a little help from Mother Nature, grass racing could begin by Apr. 17.

Speaking at the Feb. 25 Maryland Racing Commission meeting, Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, described the turf maintenance as similar to work that is often undertaken on golf courses.

Except that at Laurel, Sinatra said, this “deep drill and fill” involves going down “12 to 18 inches instead of the usual eight inches.”

In a typical drill and fill project, once a drill bit cores out a column that is generally an inch or less wide, the machine inserts new, clean growing media (usually sand) into the soil to improve water movement and oxygen levels without damaging the deep roots that are typical in racecourse grass mixes.

“I think we're hopeful that by mid-April,” the course will be ready for racing, Sinatra said, adding that “we have stakes scheduled on the 17th, and that's our goal.

“The most important thing right now is assisting in drainage, particularly from all the excess rolling [of the course] for a few years that's compacted it,” Sinatra continued. “I think if we can get that done early, we should be okay to run mid-April.”

Sinatra also updated the commission on main-track maintenance performed earlier this winter on a problem area near the five-furlong pole.

“We have pipes under there and it looks like a spring runs directly under there,” Sinatra said, adding that the maintenance crew did a “pretty massive repair,” but that only time will tell if it's a permanent fix.

“I think the best approach is going to be when we get probably to Pimlico and get some good weather to be able to go back and [dig down into the Laurel track to make sure] that it didn't bubble back up,” Sinatra said.

“That's what's happened no matter how much limestone and stuff [we're] putting there,” Sinatra continued. “The water underneath is eroding it, and then we hit that dip. Hopefully [we] got past that. But I know [the maintenance crew] went down quite a bit and we actually had to extend [the pipe] last time. So I'm hoping that this is the time [that the issue is resolved].”

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Despite $20K Monthly Exterminator Bill, Rat Problem Persists in Laurel Stables

Despite paying more than $20,000 monthly to exterminators to try and quell an ongoing rat problem on the Laurel Park backstretch, the infestation has persisted, leading track management to seek additional professional help by soliciting new bids from additional companies.

Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, disclosed the plan of action during the Jan. 28 Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) meeting.

Sinatra has mentioned the track's efforts to control the rats at previous MJC meetings. But when he didn't bring up the subject during the MJC's monthly update that was on the agenda, commissioner Thomas Bowman asked him to detail a private discussion the two of them had recently about the rats, because Bowman said other commissioners should be aware of what is going on.

“We tried the experiment of emptying one barn out and letting the exterminators in there to do a 'full-court press,'” Sinatra explained. “It seemed to work for a couple of weeks. But after the horses and everybody were settled back in, they returned.”

As is the case in any rodent-control effort, educating the people who work in the stables about proper protocols and getting them to adhere to those guidelines is a key component of the plan.

“Right now it's a work in progress,” Sinatra said, adding that there will be a renewed focus to “clean up some bad practices that we all do back there that are actually keeping the rats, you know, healthy.”

Sinatra said that effort includes making sure horse feed is tightly secured in containers that are above ground level and taking care not to dump uneaten horse feed near the shed rows when meal buckets are cleaned out.

“We're currently paying well over $20,000 a month to these people [and] we need some extra expertise,” Sinatra said. “It's not that the company that were using isn't doing a good job and aren't responsive. But whatever they're doing, they're not getting ahead of the rat infestation.”

The commission's other business was brief on Thursday. The MJC voted by voice without objections to eliminate the allowable race-day threshold for clenbuterol that it proposed back on Oct. 22. No objections to the rule had been lodged during the rule's public commentary period. It takes effect Mar. 1.

J. Michael Hopkins, the MRC's executive director, said this time frame would “give all the horsemen ample time, if they are using clenbuterol, to cease using it for at least 30 days” before the rule takes effect.

The MJC also voted, without any voiced objections, to clarify, on an “emergency” basis, the language on its no-Lasix policy for 2-year-olds and in graded stakes races.

Other jurisdictions have recently enacted similar clarifications that led to unintended consequences when horses shipped from one racetrack to another and/or dropped out of stakes company back into a Lasix-allowed race.

Although the exact language of this new rule was not read into the record, Hopkins explained it is designed to prevent a horse from having to sit out for 60 days and then become recertified by a veterinarian as a bleeder to resume using Lasix, which unfairly penalizes those horses that participated in Lasix-free races.

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Maryland-Bred Owner Program Launches ‘Developer Bonus’

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club have announced changes to the Maryland-Bred Owner Bonus Program to accommodate a new Developer Bonus Program, beginning in phases with the Jan. 22 racing program at Laurel Park.

A 15 percent bonus will be paid to the developer—the owner or owners of a horse when it makes its first career start—for any Maryland-bred that finishes first, second or third in an open overnight race at a Maryland track. The Developer Bonus only applies to a horse still owned continuously by the original owner of the horse as of Jan. 22, 2021, or the owner of a horse that makes its first career start after Jan. 22, 2021.

The Developer Bonus is not part of the purse and will not be included in a horse's earnings. The bonuses will be paid monthly once the testing of samples is completed and the races are released by the stewards. It will be the responsibility of the developer to provide the Horsemen's Bookkeeper with a W-9 if they do not already have a horsemen's account.

The Maryland-Bred Owner Bonus will continue to be paid to all Maryland-bred horses that finish first, second or third in an open overnight race in Maryland and will continue to be part of the purse. However, in order to provide a grace period for owners who currently own Maryland-breds but are not the developer, and for those who have recently claimed a Maryland-bred with expectation of receiving the full 30 percent bonus, all horses will continue to earn the 30 percent Owner Bonus through May 31, 2021—unless the horse is claimed or sold.

If a horse is claimed prior to May 31, the Owner Bonus for the new owner will drop to 15 percent for the horse's next start. If that horse was owned by a developer at the time of the claim, the 15 percent Developer Bonus will begin for the horse's next start.

The Developer Bonus concept, offered by MJC President Sal Sinatra, has been discussed by the MTHA Board of Directors and MJC racing officials over at least the last six months. It is designed to provide additional incentives for owners to support the Maryland racing program through the development of weanlings, yearlings and 2-year-olds, thus increasing the number of horses available to fill races.

The national Thoroughbred foal crop is about half that of the early 1990s, while the Maryland foal crop began to grow in 2013 and in recent years has held steady for the most part. It costs far more now to develop a horse—either bred or purchased at auction—and get it to the races. On top of that, a Maryland-bred that can't compete at higher levels when it begins its racing career could very well be claimed, leaving the owner with no further return on investment on that particular horse. The idea is to shift the balance to try to compensate individuals who invest heavily to get a horse to the races.

In approving the Developer Bonus Program, the MTHA Board agreed to analyze the program after one year to assess whether the objectives have been met and assess whether changes to the program are necessary.

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24 Stakes on Tap at Laurel Winter Meet

Laurel Park’s winter meet will feature 24 stakes worth $2.65 million. The highlight of the schedule is the $250,000 GII General George S. and the $250,000 GIII Runhappy Barbara Fritchie S., both to be run Feb. 13. Laurel’s winter stakes schedule will also include two new stakes races to be run Jan. 16–the $100,000 Spectacular Bid S. for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs and the $100,000 Xtra Heat S. for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs. The $75,000 Not For Love S. and $75,000 Conniver for Maryland-bred/sired horses, not raced earlier this year due to Covid restrictions, will return Mar. 13.

Laurel Park’s Apr. 17 program will feature the $125,000 Frederico Tesio S., a ‘Win & In’ for Triple Crown nominated horses to the GI Preakness S., and the $125,000 Weber City S., a ‘Win & In’ for the GII Black-Eyed Susan S.

“We’re optimistic about our winter racing season and believe this stakes schedule will provide us with some big weekends and a lot of strong cards and competitive races,” said Sal Sinatra, President and General Manager of the Maryland Jockey Club.

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