Stakes Races

The 57-day fall meeting at Laurel Park will not include the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, which has been a staple of the fall stakes schedule since 2001. Introduced in 1990, the De Francis Dash is one of the elite six-furlong sprints in the country with four of the 19 winners — Housebuster (1991), Cherokee Run (1994), Smoke Glacken (1997) and Thor's Echo (2006) — earning Eclipse Award honors for champion sprinter. The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association downgraded the Dash from Grade I to Grade II status in December.

When Martin Garcia decided to become a full-time jockey five years ago — leaving behind steady work as a cook at a Pleasanton, Calif., deli — he did so with little knowledge of horse racing. Garcia never considered he would be standing in the winner's circle at the Preakness, as he did Saturday after riding Lookin at Lucky to victory, because frankly, he'd never heard of the Baltimore-based Triple Crown race. "When I started riding, I didn't know what was Preakness, what was Kentucky, what was any race.

Typically, the biggest race at Churchill Downs other than the Kentucky Derby is the Kentucky Oaks, which is held the Friday before the Derby and features the best 3-year-old fillies in the country. Rachel Alexandra won the Oaks by more than 20 lengths a year ago, a performance that persuaded her new owners to enter her in the Preakness two weeks later. This year, the Oaks is still a big draw, but Rachel Alexandra's presence in the La Troienne, a race held hours before the Oaks, is threatening to be the most exciting race before the Derby.

You can make the argument Todd Pletcher is the best trainer in horse racing. He's certainly the hottest. Virtually all that he has touched this spring has turned to gold. The 42-year-old is headed to the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1 with one of the heaviest favorites in years in Eskendereya, and he conceivably could have a half dozen other entries in the 20-horse field. But you can also make the case that Pletcher won't solidify his status as one of the best until he wins a Derby.

The unveiling of the spring schedule at a meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission on Tuesday came with good news and bad, as the state's horse racing industry continues to struggle for financial stability. More than $2.4 million will be up for grabs in 18 stakes races during the spring meet at Pimlico Race Course, but the Grade I Pimlico Special, which dates to War Admiral's 1937 victory and for years has been the second-most important race in Maryland after the Grade I Preakness, will not be among the scheduled events.

Sweet Goodbye (6-5), a winner of six stakes races, headlines a field of seven fillies and mares in today's $70,000 Conniver Stakes at Laurel Park. The rest of the field is All Giving (7-2), Heaven's Voice (5-1), Fascinatin' Rhythm (6-1), Sterling Vow (8-1), Lori Z's Punch (10-1) and Call of a Lion (20-1). NBA: Will Bynum had a career-best 20 assists, Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards, 101-87. Andray Blatche had 23 points to lead the Wizards, who lost their sixth straight game.

The record-setting snowfall that has hit Maryland has forced Maryland Jockey Club officials to cancel live racing for Friday. The inclement weather had already caused the cancellation of four consecutive live cards: Feb. 5-6-10-11. In addition, Laurel Park will move the $150,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap (Grade II) and the $75,000 John B. Campbell Handicap, scheduled for Saturday at Laurel Park, to Monday. The Monday card will also feature the $150,000 General George Handicap (Grade II)

The field for Saturday's $300,000, Grade I Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park is set, with nine horses vying in the six-furlong sprint. Vineyard Haven (8-5) emerged as the favorite. Godolphin Stable's 3-year-old placed second in his last start, the Grade I King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 29, after being disqualified from first. Vineyard Haven won two Grade I races as a 2-year-old. Fleet Valid is the second choice at 9-2. The son of 1993 De Francis Dash winner Montbrook has won four straight races.

Pimlico Race Course's 2009 season is expected to open Saturday with a weather forecast of sunny skies and balmy temperatures, but even the predicted 72-degree day can't disguise the fact the storied racetrack's future is clouded by the financial uncertainty of its parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the deteriorating economics of Maryland racing. Even before Canada-based Magna announced it was seeking protection from creditors to reorganize, the company's local arm, the Maryland Jockey Club, was in discussions with the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association to cut racing dates at Pimlico to 20 this year, down from 31 in 2008.