Laurel Park

The latest owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course says the Preakness is the key to turning around the state's horse racing industry. Greg Avioli, who heads The Stronach Group's racing business, told state regulators Friday that the second leg of the Triple Crown isn't living up to its potential. The Preakness could make three times the $14 million in revenue it currently sees, he told members of the Maryland Racing Commission. To make that happen, The Stronach Group wants to build a modernized facility — which could cost as much as $200 million.

Geovany Garcia set a personal best Thursday when he captured four races from seven mounts at Laurel Park. Garcia, 21, the younger brother of Maryland mainstay Luis Garcia , won on Reckless Runner ($5-first), Jackie Lad ($9.60-second), Giron ($9.80-fifth) and Roi de Coeurs ($10-seventh). Women's college lacrosse: Stevenson's 14-11 comeback victory at York on Wednesday was the 100th win in the career of head coach Kathy Railey , who is 36-31 with the Mustangs in five seasons and 100-70 in 11 seasons overall.

Et cetera 'Chief,' 'Raven' in dead heat at Laurel Park Milwaukee Chief and Arctic Raven hit the wire together in a dead heat Friday in the seventh race at Laurel Park. Milwaukee Chief appeared to be the winner of the $13,000 claimer after gaining the lead late, but Arctic Raven loomed on the outside and closed determinedly and was up at the wire as the duo crossed the line simultaneously. Let Me Be Frank was just a nose behind the winners in third.

The 2010 racing season begins Friday afternoon at Laurel Park with a nine-race card highlighted by the $50,000 Maryland Filly Championship. The race was originally scheduled to be run Dec. 19 as the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, but that program was canceled because of a snowfall. The race was renamed and redrawn for 3-year-old fillies as all horses become officially one year older on the first day of the year. Eleven newly minted 3-year-olds are entered in the 7 � -furlong test, including 3-1 morning line favorite Jim's Prospect.

The Maryland Jockey Club canceled live racing at Laurel Park for Friday and today because of the snowstorm in the region. Simulcasting at Laurel and Pimlico Race Course today was also canceled. The $70,000 Marshua Stakes scheduled for today will be Feb. 15 as part of a card that is headlined by the Grade 2 General George Handicap. The Laurel racing office will not work on Thursday's program until Monday. Entries for Thursday had been scheduled to close today. div.talkforum #creditfooter { display: none; }

Et cetera Brigand, Baffert's first Laurel Park entry, wins     Renowned trainer Bob Baffert sent a runner to Laurel Park for the first time in his career and his colt Brigand made it worth his while with a front-running victory in the $104,000 City of Laurel Stakes on Saturday. Brigand, a New York-bred son of Flatter who had placed in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (G3), the Jerome (G2) and the Mike Lee Stakes, won the five-horse City of Laurel by a length, covering the seven-furlong distance in 1 minute, 23.08 seconds and paying $5.60 as the second betting choice.

Ten horses were injured and euthanized at Laurel Park over nearly six weeks this year, prompting the state to investigate why the rate of deaths at the racetrack had spiked so drastically and suddenly. But the deaths remain a mystery, a concern for horse racing fans and those in the industry. On Monday, a report on the state investigation did not identify a cause for the rise in deaths. Instead, the Maryland Racing Commission suggested in its report a tightening of current safety protocols and increased study of fallen horses.

Pimlico is home to some of the most exhilarating and important horse races in history. It annually hosts the Preakness, the second stop on the road to the Triple Crown and primary revenue-driver for its ownership group. As the Maryland Jockey Club charts its future, though, the immediate focus appears to be on its lesser-known track. In a preliminary capital improvement plan submitted to the state late last week and made public Tuesday, the Jockey Club outlined a plan to essentially rebuild Laurel Park as a mixed-use development featuring retail and a hotel surrounding the track.

Just about every Friday morning, Karen Lubieniecki takes a leisurely stroll to Laurel Park, finds a place along a railing at the nearly empty racetrack and spends an hour or so watching the horses exercise as the sun climbs the sky. It isn't that she's a horse racing aficionado. It's just that she appreciates a meaningful place. "You don't have to know the ins and outs of racing to love that atmosphere and take in the beauty of those animals," says Lubieniecki, a history buff and a senior staff member at the Laurel Historical Society just a few furlongs down the road.

Jockey Erick Rodriguez won all four races in which he rode at Laurel Park and tightened his hold on the top of the fall meeting standings. Rodriguez, 29, tied a career high by reaching the winners circle aboard Let Me Be Frank ($2.60-first), Northpoint Costas ($5.80-fifth), Ocean Nomad ($7.40-seventh) and Dazzling Success ($12.60-ninth). "We are having a successful meet, thanks to the owners and trainers," said Rodriguez, who has won 46 times during the fall meet, 12 more than apprentice Joshua Navarro . "Since we are winning, we are getting a chance to ride better horses, and with that comes confidence."