Maryland Commission signs off on 171-day schedule for Laurel, Pimlico

At its monthly meeting Thursday at Laurel Park, the Maryland Racing Commission signed off on a 171-day racing schedule for the Maryland Jockey Club tracks of Laurel and Pimlico in 2018.

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association is scheduled to meet Monday to ratify their agreement with the MJC.

Laurel will host 159 of the dates while Pimlico will hold a 12-day meet, the same as it did this year.

The Laurel winter meet will begin Jan. 1 and continue through May 6, racing mostly three-day weeks. The Pimlico season will be from May 10 to May 28 and will include the 143rd running of the Preakness on May 20.

Laurel will reopen June 1 and race through the end of the year, with the exception of Aug. 24 through Sept. 3, when racing will be held at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium.

The dates are an increase of nine days over the 162 approved for this year and continues a trend of increased racing dates in Maryland. The MJC tracks were granted 157 dates in 2015 and are up from 146 in 2014.

The Stronach Group, which owns Laurel and Pimlico, has made $30 million in improvements to Laurel over the last few years and has increased the dates at that suburban track while reducing the length of the Pimlico meet in Baltimore.

Pimlico raced 37 days in 2015 and 28 in 2016 before being cut back to 12 this year.

Laurel will race four days a week from October through December next year.

"We continue to grow the business of Thoroughbred racing in Maryland as well as our racing schedule," said Sal Sinatra, president of the MJC. "Our ultimate goal will be to race four days a week throughout the year, but for now we'll focus on racing four days in the fall."