Race Track

Graham Motion can't help but hear snippets of news coming from Elmont, N.Y., where I'll Have Another is preparing for a shot at the first Triple Crown in 34 years. "It's great for the sport," the Fair Hill-based trainer said. "But for us, it's tough, too. The length that he won by at Preakness, we lost by that much last year. " Motion can take some solace in knowing the colt that gave him such a gallant run, Animal Kingdom, is finally headed back toward the race track.

In another time, Maryland was a hotbed for horse racing, its history rich and its purses comparable to other states. It was a place where jockeys could make a career and not have to contemplate leaving for New York or California. Since the late 1980s, and maybe longer, being an up-and-coming rider at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park has been akin to being a burgeoning major league star at Camden Yards. Bigger markets — with longer racing seasons and more lucrative purses — beckon.

His day-to-day work has not changed. The routine for Graham Motion is no different now than it was in the early 1990s, when he first became a thoroughbred trainer. "We send them out there, see how they are doing, take what we can from what we see and do it again the next day," Motion said last week. He spoke from the grounds at the Fair Hill Training Center, a bucolic full-service facility nestled near the northeast corner of the state. Motion, who has pointed Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Went the Day Well to Saturday's 137th running of the Preakness Stakes, has settled in here as one of the most respected in his field.

Kegasus made its/his first promotional appearance at Pimlico Race Track Friday since it was announced the tweeting, beer-swilling centaur would return as the Infield's mascot . His new sidekick Unicarl also made an appearance. It was a nice bit of promotional synchronicity for the Maryland Jockey Club, the operator of Pimlico and Laurel Park, the state's major thoroughbred tracks. Later that afternoon it filed its 2011 annual financial report with the Maryland Racing Commission, which showed it had lost $5.3 million last year . Kegasus is scheduled to make his second appearance on Friday at Oriole Park.

Simona de Silvestro walked through the lobby of an Inner Harbor hotel Thursday looking comfortable in her white shirt and black jeans. "I feel like I'm back home," the IndyCar driver said. "It was one of the best races we had last year, and I'm really looking forward to getting back on the race track here. " De Silvestro was one of the first drivers to come here to promote last year's inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. Thursday, one day after officials confirmed the race will return Labor Day weekend, she was back with her newly designed HVM Nuclear Clean Entergy race car with a new Lotus engine that has proven powerful in practice.

Hollywood Casino Perryville generated another $9,790,341.87 in gross gaming revenue in January, the Maryland Lottery, which regulates the casino, reported last week. Of the total, $538,468.80 will be divided by Perryville and Cecil County. The latest gross gaming revenue for the casino was slightly ahead of December's figure of $9,475,496.16, according to lottery agency figures. Since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2011, the Perryville casino has generated $65,514,198.19 in gross gaming revenue.

Construction magnate and self-described "gearhead" Dale Dillon has built offices for high-speed racing teams, laid tracks for IndyCar contests in two cities and, despite having only one leg, raced open-wheeled cars competitively around the country. Now, the Indianapolis-based contractor is poised to become the face of Baltimore's Grand Prix race. He confronts the daunting task of crafting a new image for the racing festival — which drove the previous organizers to financial collapse — and pulling together the massive event in little more than six months.

When the American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year for 2011 is announced in Los Angeles Monday night, the winner will most likely have been chosen for his or her consistency - a survivor in a year when there was no clear-cut star to emerge on the track and, in the words of the owner of the favorite to win the award, "a lot of upsets. " The connections of Havre de Grace, the now 5-year-old mare named after the Harford County city and its old race track, are hoping to hear her name called, and they certainly have reason to be confident.

For a dozen years, Bill Kohlhepp has sold hot dogs off the grill and soda to hungry baseball and football fans downtown. His tent is in an ideal spot to grab the attention of spectators streaming toward Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium: on the pedestrian island of a busy intersection northwest of Oriole Park. Now that spot, between Russell Street and Washington Boulevard, is also right along the two-mile race track for theBaltimore Grand Prix. And as the Grand Prix draws near and barriers and grandstands are erected, Kohlhepp says he's watched the advantages of his location evaporate.

The Ocean Downs harness race track will open for the first time in two years on Saturday, featuring qualifying races for the 40-day meet that begins June 19, with racing each Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday through Aug. 28. "We're very excited about the return of racing," said track general manager Peter Szymanski. "Construction of the casino and improvements to the race track took precedence and we elected to go without racing. When people come now they will see an improved facility, improved grandstands, a new HD toteboard, benches and refreshment stands.