Maryland Million moved to Pimlico

The 2004 Maryland Million will be moved to Pimlico Race Course because of construction delays at its sister track, Laurel Park, the owner of the two tracks announced Friday.

Pimlico was scheduled to close Oct. 3, with racing moving to Laurel, but Pimlico's meet will be extended to Oct. 11, Maryland Jockey Club officials said. The Maryland Million card, made up of 12 races for Maryland-breds, is scheduled for Oct. 9.

The Maryland Jockey Club began replacing the racing surfaces at Laurel earlier this year. Lou Raffetto, the chief operating officer of the MJC, said that construction crews had lost 12 days of work this summer because of severe rain.

Raffetto said the main track at Laurel would likely be ready by mid-September, but that track officials had concerns about running on a newly seeded turf course. The Maryland Million card includes three races on the turf.