With racing at a standstill, Maryland commission calls Tuesday meeting
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The Maryland Racing Commission has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday morning to discuss the elements of a wide-ranging disagreement between the state’s horsemen’s groups and the operator of its Thoroughbred tracks, with the potential of forcing live racing to be moved from Laurel Park to Pimlico Race Course.
Live racing has been put on hold in Maryland since Friday, when a large number of horsemen refused to enter their horses in races at Laurel after two horses were euthanized following injuries suffered during races on the Thursday card.
The situation has since escalated, with the owner of Laurel, 1/ST Racing, insisting that the Laurel dirt track is safe for racing and training. Meanwhile, the horsemen have taken their grievances to the racing commission, insisting that racing needs to be moved to Pimlico, at least temporarily.
The special Tuesday meeting, scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern at Laurel, will likely include a lively discussion of the condition of the main track, which has been renovated several times over the past three years at the insistence of horsemen. In a letter to the commission, the horsemen said that five horses have been put down in April after suffering injuries while either racing or training.
On Saturday, the racing office at Laurel attempted to put together a card for this Thursday, but the effort drew “insufficient entries,” according to a statement issued by 1/ST on Saturday night. A Laurel racing-office employee said on Monday morning that the track will continue to take entries for a possible Friday card throughout the day, but that it is unclear at this time whether the card will fill or if the Friday races will be held at Laurel or Pimlico.
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