After he received the trophy Jan. 8 as leading owner in Maryland, Michael Gill issued a challenge to the racing world: If he isn't voted outstanding owner for 2004, he'll be even more determined to win the title in 2005.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005The road to the 2005 VISA Triple Crown is officially open as nomination forms have been mailed to horsemen. Representatives of Triple Crown Productions will begin gathering nomination forms at racetracks across the country beginning the week of Jan. 10.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005With eleven fewer racing days than in 2003, the Maryland Jockey Club announced its total handle declined 4% in 2004. All sources handle totaled $868.1 million as compared to $905.7 million from the same period in 2003. The daily average handle from all sources decreased 2% from $3.48 million to $3.41million. For the fourth consecutive year, the daily average handle on the export signal increased, this time by 4%.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005Ryan Fogelsonger was off his mounts on today's nine-race card at Pimlico Race Course one day after being involved in a spill. The 23-year-old rider was injured when his mount, Summer Rainbow, was galloping out after her third place finish in Sunday's seventh race and tossed the rider who landed on his head.
Monday, December 27, 2004Frank Deford, one of the most honored sportswriters in the country, was at Pimlico Race Course Wednesday, shooting part of an ESPN documentary about the Baltimore native's life and work.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004A field of eight will break from the gates for Saturday's Maryland Million Classic Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The Classic is the highlight of the 12-race card devoted to the offspring of Maryland-based stallions. Post time for the first race is 12:35 p.m.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Baltimore County native, spent about 90 minutes at Pimlico Race Course late Thursday afternoon, shooting two television commercials to promote next month's Maryland Million.
Friday, September 24, 2004Castigating the management of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course for everything from construction delays to security cutbacks to apathetic customer service, the Maryland Racing Commission delivered a stern message Sept. 14 to the Maryland Jockey Club and its parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004Pimlico Race Course will remain open for live racing until at least Nov. 2 while work continues on the racing surfaces at Laurel Park.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004Pimlico Race Course in Maryland ended its 16-day summer meet Aug. 27 with a 10% decrease in average daily total handle. The 2004 meet was six days shorter than the corresponding 2003 meet, though it included four more simulcast-only days.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004The Woodlawn Vase, presented annually to the winner of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), middle jewel of the Visa Triple Crown, will be on permanent display at the Baltimore Museum of Art, beginning later this month.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004Due to construction delays at Laurel Park because of severe rain in central Maryland, the Oct. 9 Maryland Million program will be conducted at Pimlico Race Course for the eighth time in the 19-year history of the event.
Friday, July 30, 2004After a seven-week break, live racing returns to Maryland on Saturday, July 31 at Pimlico Race Course with a nine-race card, headlined by the $100,000 Twixt Stakes for 3-year-old Maryland-bred fillies.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004Live racing will return to Maryland with the opening of Pimlico's Summer Meet on July 31 and continue through August 27.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004Jim Gagliano, who joined Magna Entertainment Corp. more than two years ago, has been appointed executive vice president of Maryland racing operations for MEC, majority owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course under the Maryland Jockey Club banner.
Thursday, July 01, 2004Maryland's Thoroughbred interests have reached agreement with Rosecroft Raceway, a harness track in southern Maryland, on a 90-day resumption of Thoroughbred simulcasting at Rosecroft and the return of night simulcasting at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course.
Thursday, June 10, 2004The Maryland Racing Commission June 8 narrowly gave the go-ahead to Magna Entertainment Corp., parent company of the Maryland Jockey Club, to begin rebuilding the turf and dirt tracks at Laurel Park despite strong objections by horsemen.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004Buoyed by record-handle on the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) program, all-sources handle for the Pimlico spring meet totaled $266.2 million, which was a slight increase over last year's total handle of $265 million.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004Maryland jockey Rick Wilson was discharged May 25 from the Maryland Shock Trauma Center and sent for rehabilitation to Kernan Hospital near Baltimore.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004In front of a record crowd of 112,668 at Pimlico Race Course May 15, Roy and Pat Chapman's Smarty Jones made a shambles of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and kept his record perfect with his eighth win, this one by more than 11 lengths.
Sunday, May 16, 2004A mixture of sunny skies and temperatures hovering in the mid to upper 80s has created a packed house at Pimlico Race Course for the 129th running of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Saturday, May 15, 2004Broadway Stables' Go Go Baby Go eclipsed a Pimlico Race Course track record for five furlongs on the turf that was set only five races previously, leading every step to win the $75,000 The Very One Stakes Friday.
Friday, May 14, 2004The Michael Machowsky-trained Southern Image took his third grade I event of the year when he scored a convincing win over Midway Road in the $500,000 Pimlico Special (gr. I) Friday at Pimlico Race Course.
Friday, May 14, 2004Golden Eagle Farm's Yearly Report rated just off a very soft pace, made her move on the far turn and drew away to win the $200,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (gr. II), the co-featured event May 14 at Pimlico Race Course.
Friday, May 14, 2004Returning to the races for the first time since December, Forest Music got a head in front of Stephan's Angel at the wire in the May 14 $100,000 The Adena Stallions' Miss Preakness Stakes (gr. III) at Pimlico Race Course. Fall Fashion was 4 1/4 lengths back for third.
Friday, May 14, 2004Jockey Stewart Elliott is ready to stop answering questions about his past and is anxious to take the gate aboard 6-5 favorite Smarty Jones in Saturday's Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico Race Course.
Friday, May 14, 2004Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Lion Heart walked the shedrow for an hour the morning of May 14 before he headed to the racetrack for a gallop, and then was schooled in the indoor paddock at Pimlico Race Course. Lion Heart is the second choice in the morning line for the May 15 Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Friday, May 14, 2004The Preakness Stakes (gr. I) field remained intact as of the morning of May 13, but the status of The Cliff's Edge, who is suffering from an abscess in his right front foot, was up in the air.
Thursday, May 13, 2004Maryland racing officials and politicians really didn't make any excuses during the May 13 Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course. Instead, they called on the racing industry to do everything it can to facilitate a turn of fortunes for horse racing in the state.
Thursday, May 13, 2004Jockey Rick Wilson is in critical condition at the Shock Trauma Unit at the University of Maryland Hospital in downtown Baltimore following a spill at Pimlico Saturday afternoon.
Saturday, May 08, 2004The Maryland Racing Commission adjourned April 21 after two days of hearings without resolving the ownership issue at Rosecroft Raceway or the simulcasting dispute between the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries.
Thursday, April 22, 2004Maryland racetracks have laid off or are poised to lay off employees in the wake of a simulcast disagreement between the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004Profits at Pimlico Race Course fell almost 58% in 2003, according to a financial report filed with the Maryland Racing Commission.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004Eight 3-year-olds, including a filly, are set to square off in the April 17 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The Tesio could prove more of an indicator of horses that may compete in the May 15 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), also held at the Maryland racetrack.
Thursday, April 15, 2004Pimlico Race Course opens Wednesday for its 10-week spring meet, which is headlined by the $1 million Preakness Stakes (gr. I), the middle jewel of th Triple Crown, on May 15.
Friday, March 26, 2004The Maryland Jockey Club March 12 will begin broadcasting television advertisements designed to promote horse racing and the importance of racing and breeding to the Maryland economy.
Friday, March 12, 2004Because of the snow in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas, the Maryland Jockey Club has cancelled live racing at Laurel Park.
Friday, December 05, 2003The owners of Pimlico and Laurel Park averted a showdown with horsemen over the possible shutdown of simulcasting by agreeing Wednesday to keep the Pimlico stables open for the winter.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003Total handle at Pimlico Race Course was down by 14.6% at summer-fall meeting, which concluded Sunday.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003Magna Entertainment Corp., which recently said it would rebuild Pimlico Race Course, said the project now hinges on whether the state's racetracks are approved for slot machines.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003The Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday that it will close the Pimlico Race Course backstretch from Nov. 29 until Feb. 29, 2004 in order to complete backstretch refurbishing projects. Pimlico will reopen for training on March 1, 2004.
Friday, September 26, 2003The Maryland Racing Commission Sept. 9 commended Magna Entertainment Corp. for progress in meeting its commitment to upgrade the barn areas at Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park, and the Bowie Training Center.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003Jackson Knowlton of Sackatoga Stable, which owns Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, will be a featured speaker May 16 at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association New and Prospective Owners Seminar at Pimlico Race Course.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003Three Churchill Downs-based contenders for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico Race Course put in their final works on Tuesday morning at the Louisville oval.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and former mayor William Donald Schaefer have urged lawmakers to pass legislation to ensure the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course remains in Baltimore.
Thursday, March 06, 2003Bettors on May 16-17 will be able to play the new "head-to-head wager" that debuted at the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. The wager will be offered on the Preakness Stakes, Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, Pimlico Special, and other stakes at Pimlico Race Course those two days.
Thursday, January 23, 2003Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. will propose 13,500 slot machines for three racetracks in time to generate $600 million in state tax revenue in two years, legislative sources told the Baltimore Sun.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003The Maryland Racing Commission voted unanimously Nov. 13 to approve Magna Entertainment Corp. as majority owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, turning the spotlight on Magna to begin fulfilling its promise for Maryland racing. The Preakness Stakes, second leg of the Triple Crown, is a big part of the equation.
Wednesday, November 13, 2002The Maryland Racing Commission has reduced the penalties of two trainers who had been dealt lengthy suspensions after their horses raced at Pimlico Race Course with an illegal drug in their systems.
Tuesday, September 24, 2002