Maryland Jockey Club

There's a funny double-standard regarding the Preakness infield party and public drunkenness. A few years ago, when the celebrating was going full-throttle and the infield was teeming with intoxicated revelers, the spectacle was deemed unacceptable by the Maryland Jockey Club. Drastic measures were taken to reshape the Preakness' image. But now that they have a "classy" marketing icon in Kegasus, it's OK for the infield imbibers to come back and party until they drop. Baltimore has once again done its level best to blaspheme what used to be a classy jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown.

The Maryland Jockey Club is sponsoring "Fan Appreciation Day" today at Pimlico, during which fans can watch races from around the world, including the Belmont Stakes.Gates open at 9: 45 a.m. and admission to the grandstand is free. Hot dogs and soda are being sold for $1, and each fan gets a free race program.Pub Date: 6/05/99

Live racing at Laurel Park is canceled for Friday and Saturday, the Maryland Jockey Club announced in a news release. Simulcasting at Laurel and Pimlico Race Course is open on Friday afternoon, but both tracks will be closed Saturday. The $70,000 Marshua Stakes, originally scheduled for Saturday, is moved to Monday.

The winter snowstorm that hit the area Wednesday caused the Maryland Jockey Club to cancel live racing at Laurel Park for the second straight day. There will be simulcasting this afternoon at Laurel and Pimlico Live racing is expected to return to the Central Maryland track Friday, with a nine-race card. First post is 12:35 p.m.

Laurel Park canceled live racing after the second race Wednesday due to inclement weather, the Maryland Jockey Club announced in a news release. Laurel and Pimlico Race Course will remain open for simulcasting. Live racing is scheduled to resume Thursday with a 12:35 p.m. post time.

On Feb. 2, 1961, at 1 p.m., a train carrying fans to Bowie Race Course derailed near the race track, killing six and injuring more than 200. Undaunted, a number of passengers scrambled over the dead and wounded, smashed windows and hurried on foot to Bowie, in 15-degree cold, to place their bets before the first race. One man walked to the track with a broken collarbone. Another limped out of the woods nearby carrying a bag of money and one of his shoes. "I saw people with blood all over them, standing there (at the mutual windows)

Frank Carulli, the Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park handicapper and racing analyst since January 2002, will leave the Maryland Jockey Club when the Pimlico spring meet ends June 8. He will be relocating to Las Vegas. Next week at Laurel, the Maryland Jockey Club will have four guest handicappers vie for Carulli's on-air role as the Pimlico and Laurel television host: Ryan Fogelsonger, Dylan Smith, Jackie Savoye and Gabby Gaudet. Fogelsonger, 31, won 1,303 races as a jockey and captured eight riding titles at the Maryland tracks.

The Maryland Jockey Club will honor the achievements of Xtra Heat, the Maryland-based sprinting sensation, after the fifth race at Laurel Park today. The 3-year-old filly - based at Laurel, trained by John Salzman and owned by Salzman, Kenny Taylor and Harry Deitchman - was a $5,000 purchase at the Timonium sales last year and is a winner of $1,274,150, including more than $1 million this year. After today's card, Maryland will have a three-day break from live racing for the Christmas holiday.

Officials of the Maryland Jockey Club and Anne Arundel County will meet next week to discuss what has become a vexing problem at Laurel Park. For several months, large windows encasing the front of the grandstand side of the clubhouse have been cracking "much like in an automobile," said Lou Raffetto, the MJC's chief operating officer. "Tap it out, and there's a big mess. ... It's bewildering." Laurel, serving as a simulcasting site, is to reopen for 13 days of live racing Aug. 8, days that could be shifted to Pimlico, Raffetto said.

The Maryland Jockey Club has canceled today's live racing schedule and simulcasting at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course because of the winter storm warning issued for Maryland and its neighboring states from Friday evening until late tonight. With the cancellation, live racing at Laurel Park is over for the 2009 season. The 2010 session begins Jan. 1 with post time scheduled for 12:35 p.m. Laurel Park and Pimlico will be open for simulcasting Sunday through Wednesday and next Saturday to Dec. 31.