Racing Dates

FREDERICK -- At the risk of losing even more credibility with lawmakers in Annapolis and despite a deadline imposed by the Maryland Racing Commission, the state's racing industry acknow- ledged yesterday that it has not made peace among the ranks. If anything, the disparate factions demonstrated at the monthly meeting of the racing commission that resolving their disputes is a long shot that even the most desperate bettor wouldn't wager upon. Disputes between the thoroughbred and harness segments over revenue sharing, simulcasting and constructing off-track betting facilities -- and even the dispute between the thoroughbred horsemen and track management over racing dates next year -- remained unresolved.

Exasperated by the racing industry's continued bickering and failure to work together, the Maryland Racing Commission yesterday ordered the thoroughbred and harness segments to resolve conflicts in two weeks or face punitive action that could lead to the denial of racing dates. Animosity among the disparate factions, long simmering in private, boiled over into public view at the commission's monthly meeting at Laurel Park. Toward the end of the contentious gathering, the commissioner Terry Saxon said that it would be "absolute folly" to continue discussions as long as the parties were so divided in their viewpoints.

Colonial Downs, the first thoroughbred track in Virginia, showed markedly improved numbers during the first summer meeting in its five-year history. With a big boost from a booming out-of-state handle, the picturesque plant between Richmond and Williamsburg improved its average daily intake to $1,103,188 for the 25-day stand that concluded last Tuesday. The addition of simulcast signals from major racing centers like New York and Kentucky was partially responsible for the increase, as Colonial flashed healthy economic signs for the first time in its existence.

NORTH EAST - The harmonious circuit that was to be Maryland-Virginia horse racing hit sour notes yesterday at the Maryland Racing Commission's meeting at the North East Racing and Sports Club, the refurbished off-track betting parlor in Cecil County. What began as a routine discussion about racing dates next year at Pimlico and Laurel Park turned into a heated debate about the merits of trying to coordinate this state's racing with Virginia's. As often happens at Maryland Racing Commission meetings, the exchanges became interesting because of the outspoken nature of commissioner Frank Hopkins.

Pettit's Quest out-gamed Red Star Rose on the outside in a rally to the wire yesterday and won the $60,000 Rollicking Stakes by a neck at Laurel Park.In the process, both beat the heavy favorite, 2-to-5 Cayman Cat, in the seven-furlong test, which is restricted to Maryland-bred 2-year-olds.Cayman Cat finished third, a half-length behind Red Star Rose.It was the first stakes victory for talented apprentice jockey Jozbin Santana."I was a little nervous because we had horses all round us," Santana recalled after the race.

The Maryland Racing Commission yesterday routinely approved the state's thoroughbred tracks' racing dates next year without addressing the possibility of a 30-day summer meeting in Virginia.Maryland Jockey Club president Joe De Francis has said he will conduct simulcast-only racing at Laurel Park and Pimlico if Colonial Downs, currently under construction in New Kent County, Va., is ready to operate by the target date of June 29.De Francis' group is under contract to manage the thoroughbreds at the Virginia plant whenever it opens.

NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. -- The Virginia Racing Commission approved an inaugural 30-day thoroughbred meet at Colonial Downs yesterday and at the same time granted Maryland Jockey Club president Joe De Francis a license to operate it.The decisions were major steps toward the creation of a Maryland-Virginia racing circuit that would mean no live racing at Laurel Park or Pimlico Race Course while thoroughbreds run in southern Virginia.De Francis would manage thoroughbred racing at the track that is under construction between Richmond and Williamsburg.

This time next year, instead of gearing up for fall racing after Timonium, Maryland horsemen may be settling back home after Virginia'sfirst-ever summer meet.The owners of Colonial Downs, the track under construction in southern Virginia, have requested racing dates for next year: June 15 to Aug. 23. Laurel and Pimlico would close except for simulcasts those months. Instead, Maryland horsemen would race at Colonial Downs in what's been described as a Saratoga-type meet featuring exquisite turf racing.

JOE DE FRANCIS had a great Preakness. The weather turned sunny. The crowd topped 80,000. Betting -- thanks to simulcast wagering elsewhere in Maryland and throughout the country -- was huge. And it was a wonderful race, with an exciting wire-to-wire victory by Louis Quatorze.And yet, all is not well at Old Hilltop. A random peek at a recent day at the races -- last Wednesday -- shows the extent of the track's decline. Only 3,100 fans showed up, betting a measly $224,000. Those are anemic numbers.

Six horses were killed when a fire swept through the barn of trainer Nancy Heil in Potomac on Thursday night.Among the casualties was Fighting Notion, one of Maryland's top sprinters in recent years and at one time the six-furlong record holder at both Pimlico and Laurel Park.Fighting Notion still holds the Laurel record of 1:08 for the distance, set in July 1992.In the 1992 Preakness, he led until the field approached theTC eighth pole and wound up fifth behind Summer Squall.0 No other details were immediately available.