No Live Dates in MD; Preakness Threatened

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Photo: Jim McCue

Laurel Park

There still is no live racing schedule for 2011 in Maryland after a Dec. 21 meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission.

The commission met for four hours to discuss the situation even though an official application for 2011 racing dates wasn't on the agenda. Officials said no decision was reached on dates.

Further information on the next steps in the process, if any, wasn’t immediately available later in the afternoon of Dec. 21. Laurel, which ended its 2010 season Dec. 18, usually re-opens in early January.

The situation has far-reaching ramifications, not only for horsemen and the about 2,000 horses stabled there. Without live racing dates there can be no full-card simulcasts after Dec. 31, and the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), second leg of the Triple Crown, wouldn't be run in 2011.

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