Laurel Park Track Recovery Timeline Extended

The timeline for completion of the massive Laurel Park racetrack recovery project has been extended from the original target date of July 1 for at least another month, with lost training time and potentially missed racing days anticipated, as officials of 1/ST Racing continue to assess the situation.

1/ST Racing, the owners of Maryland Jockey Club tracks Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, invited horsemen to the latest in a series of open meetings held via Zoom June 14, to bring all up to speed on the unavoidable delays in the project, which encompasses overhauling and replacing the entire racing strip all the way down to the sub-base and remedying other problems, which include drainage pipelines and systems.

As part of regular track maintenance, the Maryland Jockey Club identified on April 14 that Laurel's main racing strip had not responded sufficiently to wintertime repairs to the cushion.

The new target date for completion is the beginning of August. The resumption of light training, but no workouts, is anticipated by Aug. 2 and the horse population is expected to move back into the barn area by Aug. 6. Nevertheless, those dates may be compromised due to unavoidable circumstances such as weather conditions, supply chain slowdowns, labor shortages, material specifications, and more.

During the meeting, which included Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association executive director David Richardson, 1/ST CEO Craig Fravel, 1/ST COO Aidan Butler, 1/ST senior vice president of racing Steve Koch, racetrack surface safety expert Dr. Mick Peterson, and MJC executives on the panel, it was revealed that there are what was termed "unanticipated findings" that the historic track's original installation contained faults throughout. Laurel Park opened for racing in 1911. 

Therefore, the scope of the job of replacing and renovating the entire racetrack had to be expanded. Out of a continued abundance of caution for riders, horses, and horsemen, the officials reaffirmed that the commitment to exact job outcomes remains in force.

Meanwhile, Maryland racing had shifted from Laurel to Pimlico on April 22 and the Maryland Racing Commission has approved the extension of racing at Pimlico through Aug. 22. The traditionally short Timonium State Fair meet is scheduled to begin on Aug. 27 and end on Labor Day, Sept. 6. After that date, officials said they are hopeful live racing will resume at Laurel. 

Racing secretary Jillian Tullock said that she soon will release a four-week condition book through July 27, with a subsequent book to follow.