Laurel Park to hold benefit for Fray Martinez

Laurel Park will hold a fundraiser next Saturday for jockey Fray Martinez and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Maryland.

Martinez, 21, is being treated for acute myeloid leukemia in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Martinez won 83 races in the Mid-Atlantic between April 2014 and last May. He had 36 wins at Laurel and Pimlico and finished fifth in the 2014 Delaware Park standings. Martinez’s wife, Yelitza, is expecting their first child this spring.

The fundraiser will include a bone marrow registry drive and a silent auction. The auction includes packages to this year’s Preakness, Florida Derby, Santa Anita Derby, Maryland Million, and Haskell Invitational and signed items by King Leatherbury, Todd Pletcher, and numerous riders from across the country.

Donations for Martinez also can be made by check to the Maryland Horsemen’s Assistance Foundation, 500 Redland Ct., Suite 105, Owings Mills, MD 21117.