Laurel Plans Fundraiser to Benefit Martinez

Laurel Park will hold a fundraiser and silent auction benefitting jockey Fray Martinez and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Maryland Feb. 13, featuring dozens of items during its Winter Carnival weekend.

Items include packages to this year's Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Florida Derby (gr. I), Santa Anita Derby (gr. I), Maryland Million day, and Haskell Invitational Stakes (gr. I), Orioles memorabilia, signed items by Hall of Fame trainers King Leatherbury and Todd Pletcher, and signed items, pictures, and posters by jockeys Edgar Prado, Victor Espinoza, Javier Castellano, Ramon Dominguez, Rosie Napravnik, Joe Bravo, Kent Desormeaux, Paco Lopez, John Velazquez, Mike Smith, and the Maryland Jockey Club colony.

Martinez, 21, was diagnosed in December with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He is receiving treatment in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fray and his wife, Yelitza, are expecting their first child this spring. Part of the fundraiser will include a bone marrow registry drive by There Goes My Hero. Guests who get their cheek swabbed will receive a $2 betting voucher.

Donations also can be made to Martinez by mailing a check to the Maryland Horsemen's Assistance Foundation, 500 Redland Court, Suite 105, Owings Mills, MD 21117.

Winter Carnival weekend will include the 62nd running of the $300,000 Barbara Fritchie (gr. II), John B. Campbell and Maryland Racing Media Stakes Saturday, Feb. 13, and the General George (gr. III), Miracle Wood and Wide Country Stakes Monday, Feb. 15. The weekend will include ice carvings, giveaways, dining and drink specials, and entertainment.