Laurel seeks to resume racing Saturday as Maryland proceeds with re-opening plans

Laurel Park and its horsemen intend to ask the Maryland Racing Commission on Thursday for approval to resume live racing beginning on Saturday, according to racing officials in the state.

The request will be put in front of the commission one day after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that the state was proceeding with the “completion of its stage-one re-opening plan” at a press conference on Wednesday night, citing large declines in the “positivity rate” in the state over the past two weeks. The announcement included state approvals for the openings of a wider swath of businesses in the state, including restaurants and bars.

“We’re taking the best advice we can, we’re following the best guidelines,” Hogan said. “We developed a plan and we’re following the plan, and we think we’ve got it about right.”

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Laurel Park and its horsemen intend to ask the Maryland Racing Commission on Thursday for approval to resume live racing beginning on Saturday, according to racing officials in the state.

Hogan did not specifically address racing at the press conference, but he said that restaurants, bars, social clubs, and some youth sports and outdoor activities could resume on Friday afternoon consistent with new directives designed to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has led to vast disruptions across the U.S. economy over the past 2 ½ months.

Racing officials in the state said on Wednesday night that they believe the dictates of the new plan open up the possibility of a return to live racing.

“We believe we are in compliance with the current executive order,” said Alan Foreman, counsel to the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which represents trainers and owners in the state. “We have an MRC meeting tomorrow and will ask for approval of live racing dates beginning on Saturday.”

The request will ask for approval to conduct spectator-free racing. The Maryland Racing Commission over the past several weeks has supported lobbying efforts by the state’s racing industry to re-open, based on protocols that have been put in place at tracks that have been allowed to open up in other states throughout the U.S.

On Tuesday, the racing office at Laurel Park quietly took entries for the “first day” of its condition book, in anticipation that the track could be allowed to resume racing as soon as this weekend. The 10 races on the first day of the book drew 144 entries, including also-eligibles.

Maryland racing constituents have been pressing the government for the go-ahead to resume racing for the past month, at the same time that other industries across the state were employing the same tactics. Some in the industry had forecast that the approval to conduct racing would come at Hogan’s last press conference on May 13, but racing did not make the short list of businesses that were allowed to re-open.

Laurel Park, which is owned by The Stronach Group, held its last live race on March 15, after being ordered shut-down by the state government. The track had begun to hold races spectator-free a week earlier.