MTHA Approves Several Agenda Items

Beginning Friday, March 25, at Laurel Park, the connections of horses that finish seventh through last in all overnight races in Maryland will each receive $300 instead of a percentage of the purse.

Other finishers in overnight races are as follows: first place-60% of the purse, second place-20%, third place-10%, fourth place-5%, fifth place-3%, sixth place-2%.

Match is Back for 2022

After a 20% purse bonus in overnight races from mid-January through the end of February to compensate for lost racing days, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Board agreed to a 10% purse bonus in March. The Board will examine the financials at the end of March and then decide whether funds are available to extend the 10% purse bonus further.

After the Preakness Stakes meet at Pimlico in May, the MTHA will discuss the possibility of a permanent purse increase at MJC racetracks.

The highly popular Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH), the only one of its kind in racing, returns for 2022 with additional partner racetracks, a $2.2 million stakes schedule that spans April 16 through Oct. 3 and more than $400,000 in bonus money for owners, trainers and breeders.

After a successful 2021 Series concentrated in Maryland and Virginia and designed to serve as a bridge to the future given the cancellation of MATCH in 2020 due to widespread COVID-19 restrictions and the suspension of live racing for several months, Parx Racing and Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course return to the lineup. They will join Laurel Park in Maryland and Colonial Downs in Virginia for 2022.

Turf racing also returns to the schedule this year. The four divisions are 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint--Dirt; Filly and Mare Sprint--Dirt; 3-Year-Olds and Up Long--Turf; and Filly and Mare Long--Turf. There will be five stakes in each division for a total of 20.

The 2022 schedule, which includes multiple events on weekdays, is as follows: Saturday, April 16, and Saturday, April 23, at Laurel; Tuesday, June 14, at Parx; Friday, June 17, at Penn National; Saturday, July 16, at Laurel; Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Colonial; and the championship day, Monday, Oct. 3, at Parx.

The bonus money distribution for 2022 offers up to $92,500 per division and $30,000 for the overall champion by points. For each division, first place pays $30,000 to the owner and $15,000 to the trainer; for second, $20,000/$10,000; and for third, $10,000/$7,500. For the overall champion, the owner receives an additional $20,000 and the trainer $10,000.

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and Virginia Thoroughbred Association have each agreed to offer $5,000 bonuses to the breeders of the top male and female Maryland-bred, Pennsylvania-bred and Virginia-bred points-earners in the overall standings for a potential total of $30,000.

The 2022 participating organizations are the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Pennsylvania THA, Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, Parx Racing, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, 1/ST Racing, Maryland THA, Laurel Park, Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Colonial Downs, Virginia HBPA and Virginia Thoroughbred Association.

Backstretch Pension Contribution Increases

The MTHA Board of Directors has approved an increase in the Backstretch Pension Fund contribution to $1 million for Plan Year 2021-22 pending approval by the Maryland Racing Commission.

The contribution is up $100,000 from Plan Years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The amount represents a 250% increase from Plan Year 2017-18 when the contribution was $400,000.

Horsemen employed in the care of horses on the backstretch at Laurel, Pimlico Race Course or Fair Hill, including trainers, are eligible to participate. However, the eligible employee must have worked a minimum of 1,000 hours during 2021 and provide documentation to that effect (with a W-2 or 1099 form, or tax return). The following categories of licensees are not eligible to participate: owners (as opposed to owner/trainers); security; maintenance; valets; parking; mutuel clerks; vendors; miscellaneous; and jockeys.

Benefits become available when the employee reaches the age of 65, or at age 55 with 25 years of service. Please note, you are not enrolled in the program until you receive confirmation of your successful registration. At that time you will also receive a current statement if you have been enrolled in the plan for at least two consecutive years. 

Dr. Hogan Seminar Rescheduled for April 20

Dr. Patty Hogan, an internationally renown New Jersey-based equine surgeon who regularly works with retired racehorses and assists various aftercare programs in the Mid-Atlantic region, will host an upcoming seminar titled, "Avoiding the One Last Race Syndrome--Where are we now and what is your role as an owner or trainer?"

The program, sponsored by Beyond The Wire, will be held Wednesday, April 20, at 11 a.m. in the Conference Center in the grandstand at Laurel Park. Plans are in the works to record the seminar so it can be used for Continuing Education purposes. Trainers in Maryland and some other states are required to have four hours of CE per year as a condition of licensing.

In February 2018, Hogan came to Laurel to make a similar presentation. "Whether you are owner or trainer, this kind of information can help all of us make better medical decisions about our equine athletes--a sounder, well-managed racehorse is a positive for everyone and allows that horse increased opportunities to transition into a useful second career," Hogan said.

Free registration is available at http://fb.com/mdhorsemen.