Marlboro

UPPER MARLBORO -- The races at Marlboro opened yesterday with a touch of nostalgia.When Danny Wright rode All Trae to victory in the featured Marlboro Nursery, it was similar to the days in the 1960s when Marlboro was one of the few minor tracks with a stakes race."

The public fascination with who won the record $587.5 million Powerball jackpot turned to Maryland on Friday, as reports surfaced that a customer at an Upper Marlboro gas station claimed he had the coveted winning ticket. Negassi Ghebre, acting manager of the Marlboro Village Exxon, said he was manning the cash register when the man walked in Thursday afternoon to check lottery tickets he had bought. "We gave him the winning numbers, then he matched them," Ghebre said. "He realized that he's the winner.

UPPER MARLBORO -- Jerry Robb said that going to the races today at Marlboro Race Course, now officially known as the Prince George's County Equestrian Center, is like attending "a family reunion."For a couple of race cards -- today and next Wednesday, when Laurel Race Course is dark -- memories of Maryland's half-mile circuit will be revived at the five-eighths-mile oval in Upper Marlboro.Robb, who has been the leading trainer at the two-day fall meet for the past three years, said Marlboro is "where I got my start, working for trainers Mickey and Buck Magill.

Six Flags America, an amusement park in Upper Marlboro, said Thursday it would introduce its 14 t h major attraction in its water park — a set of six tubes more than six stories tall that can accommodate six riders simultaneously, the company said. The attraction, called Bonzai Pipelines, will open next season within the Hurricane Harbor water section of the park. Visitors will free fall through clear tubing for 50 feet and then slide an additional 200 feet in darkness, the company said.

The two-day nostalgic race meet at the half-mile Marlboro Racetrack in Upper Marlboro has been canceled this fall, perhaps for good.Management of the Prince George's Equestrian Center, which operates the track in conjunction with its multimillion-dollar indoor arena and fairgrounds, recently notified its racing officials and citizens board by letter of the cancellation.The meet, held on consecutive Wednesdays in October since 1988, was popular with the Southern Maryland horse community, which is bemoaning the loss.

UPPER MARLBORO -- Marlboro Race Track offers its first of two consecutive Wednesday programs today.The 12-race card begins at noon at the tiny track, which is part of the Prince George's County Equestrian Center.The two days mark the fourth autumn meeting for revived Marlboro since it closed in 1972.Today's richest event is a $15,000 allowance. Next week, Baldksi's Choice is expected to defend his two-year hold on the $40,000 Marlboro Cup.Superfecta wagering -- in which bettors must pick the top four finishers in exact order -- will be taken on today's 12th race, and there are triples on races 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.

UPPER MARLBORO -- Proceeds from racing at Marlboro Race Track are earmarked for charity, but for jockey Albert Delgado, the day was for profit.He rode Kayacan to victory in the $15,000 Marlboro Nursery yesterday at Marlboro, earning a nice paycheck in what is normally a day off on the Maryland racing circuit.Kayacan earned $9,000 for Turkeli Farms, from which Delgado earns a $900 commission."I love it here," Delgado said. "I come every year and I get to ride the cream of the crop. Why take a day off?"

UPPER MARLBORO -- Jockey Mark Johnston wandered into a fenced area restricted to officials. "I'm lost," he said.Maryland racing yesterday lost itself in the autumnal enigma that is Marlboro Race Track. The tiny track offered its first of two consecutive Wednesday cards, ones that Johnston and other jockeys at Maryland's larger tracks often have bypassed since Marlboro reopened three years ago.Ideal weather met a crowd of 6,971, whose favorites dominated TC 12-race card. Virtually all of the short-priced winners showed early speed, which is hardly surprising for a five-eighths oval with tight turns.

LAUREL -- It's a little track with few pretensions, but at least one race has drawn the big horses.Today's $40,000 Marlboro Cup, richest event at Marlboro Race Track, has attracted an unusually strong field. Five stakes winners, including Timely Warning and Baldski's Choice, are in a field of older runners as the Upper Marlboro track plays host to the second of two autumn programs."We'll definitely run," said Curtis Burns, assistant to Virgil "Buddy" Raines, who trains Timely Warning. "The surface is supposed to be good, with little danger of him getting hurt.

The Maryland Racing Commission gave management of the Marlboro races permission yesterday to conduct 10 Triple pools on Oct. 31, the second card of the track's two-day meeting this year.The first program, Oct. 24, will have five Triple pools, the number conducted by state thoroughbred tracks. However, on the second Wednesday, Marlboro will follow the lead of Rosecroft Raceway and conduct Triple betting on all its races.The Triple has become one of the most popular bets at pari-mutuel tracks.

There was no enemy involvement in the air crash that killed an airman from Upper Marlboro in Africa over the weekend, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, was one of four special operations airmen killed Saturday when their single-engine U-28 turboprop crashed six miles from Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport, according to the U.S. Africa Command. "This is obviously a tragic incident," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Tuesday, according to the American Forces Press Service.

Titus Till was the next Terp up. When starting safety Matt Robinson had shoulder surgery following the Sept. 24 Temple game, Till figured it was his turn. The redshirt freshman — who grew up in Italy and Japan and played soccer as his primary sport — had never started a college game. "It was heartbreaking to me because I've known Matt since high school. We were Maryland all-state together and played in the Crab Bowl together," Till said. "He had a face-to-face talk with me to just say, 'Yeah, you're ready, do your thing.

Sometimes, you get your wish. Saturday was that day for the Barnes family of Upper Marlboro. Like hundreds of families before them, they learned about the magic of the Wish-A-Fish Foundation, which brings together recreational anglers and special needs children, or those fighting a cruel illness, for a free day of fishing on theChesapeake Bay. Saturday couldn't have been prettier, a rare break in the steam bath of July. The fish? They cooperated for the nearly two dozen families at this year's event.

CAPITOL HEIGHTS -- Staff Sgt. Robin L. Towns Sr. was more than a soldier and family man. He was a quiet, inspirational leader whose public service inspired family members to join law enforcement, the military and the CIA, friends and family said. Sergeant Towns, 52, of Upper Marlboro, was buried yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery after a memorial service at the Sanctuary at Kingdom Square in Capitol Heights. He was killed Oct. 24 by a roadside bomb in Bayji, Iraq, nine days after he was deployed as a member of the 275th Military Police Company, 372nd Military Police Battalion of the District of Columbia National Guard.

A 52-year-old soldier from Upper Marlboro has been killed in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced yesterday, making him the war's oldest military fatality from Maryland. Staff Sgt. Robin L. Towns Sr. died Wednesday, a week and a half after arriving in Iraq, of injuries he sustained when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee in Bayji during combat operations, the Department of Defense said. Sergeant Towns, a member of the District of Columbia National Guard and a correctional officer for the Prince George's County Department of Corrections, was the 11th service member 50 or older to die in hostile action, according to iCasualties.

From his perch inside South Baltimore's Southside Saloon, Steve Voessel pulled on his cigarette of choice - a Marlboro - and proclaimed the City Council's decision last night to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants damaging to the vibrant social scene at many of the city's drinking establishments. "I'll get liquor at the liquor store and go home and drink," said Voessel, 49, a two-pack-a-day smoker who picked up the habit on his wedding day at 27 and frequents the bar daily. Nonsmoker's disdain Nonsmoker Arthur Knipple, 53, who isn't much bothered by cigarette smoke, wasn't shy about broadcasting his disdain for the ban as he downed a glass of Coors Light at the bar's nearby video slot machine.

LAUREL -- Racing shifts to Prince George's County today for the first of two consecutive Wednesday programs at Marlboro Race Track.The feature race is the ninth, a $15,000 allowance for 2-year-olds, but the most exciting event could be the seventh, which will match two of the most successful claiming-type horses in the East this year.Jilsie's Gigalo faces Bolting Holme in a starter allowance race at about 6 1/2 furlongs. Jilsie's Gigalo has won 11 of 16 starts this year, and Bolting Holme 10 of 17.Jimmy Woods, who trains Bolting Holme, said several weeks ago he relished an opportunity to run his horse against Jilsie's Gigalo, who finished ahead of Bolting Holme in their only meeting and has been the focus of considerable attention.

UPPER MARLBORO -- It may not be the Breeders' Cup, but to trainer John Robb, racing at Marlboro is a once-a-year occasion that makes him giddy.For the fourth time in as many tries, Robb trained the winning horse in the $40,000 Home Team Sports Marlboro Cup. He Is Risen rose to the occasion yesterday, winning the race for the second straight year.The 5-year-old son of Dixieland Band disposed of heavily favored Ibex and coasted to a seven-length victory for owner Arnold Heft. He Is Risen, with just one win in his last 11 starts, paid $6.20 as the second choice.

UPPER MARLBORO -- A framed, maroon No. 44 football jersey with gold lettering leans against a wall in the principal's office at Frederick Douglass High. No one will wear the No. 44 jersey again. It will be retired and placed in a nearby trophy case to honor Shawne Merriman. But more than 100 varsity and junior varsity players at the Prince George's County school have worn new uniforms because of the San Diego Chargers linebacker. There is a whirlpool, installed last month, across from the weight room, a new tackling sled and an assortment of shoulder pads and helmets for Douglass football players, all because of Merriman, who has donated $22,000 over the past two years to his alma mater.

A 21-year-old Upper Marlboro man was released yesterday from Maryland Shock Trauma Center after being shot in the upper leg about 9:30 p.m. Thursday in Columbia, Howard County police said. Police said Akeem Openny Smith was shot in the 5700 block of Stevens Forest Road, and two males may be involved. Two subjects were seen running from the area, said Sherry Llewellyn, a spokeswoman for the department. Smith was convicted of second-degree assault in Howard County Circuit Court in 2004, according to court records.