Laurel Park to race without fans

There won’t be any of these Friday at Laurel Park. Photo by The Racing Biz.
The Maryland Jockey Club announced today it plans to continue its live racing schedule without fans as a precaution due to ongoing health concerns regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Live racing is scheduled to resume at Laurel Park with an eight-race program Friday, March 13. First-race post time is 1:10 p.m.
All off-track betting venues will remain open.
Four $100,000 stakes, including the Private Terms for 3-year-olds and Beyond the Wire for 3-year-old fillies, are part of an 11-race program scheduled for Saturday, March 14.
Fans are encouraged to tune in to live streaming of the racing action at www.laurelpark.com and also watch and wager at www.xpressbet.com or www.1stbet.com.
Friday’s program will include carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $1 Super Hi-5 as well as the weekly national Stronach 5 wager with a guaranteed $100,000 pool.
No one solved the Rainbow 6 during the last live program Sunday, March 8, growing the carryover jackpot to $13,103.63. Friday’s sequence spans Races 3-8 and begins with a $40,000 maiden special weight for 3-year-olds going six furlongs and features a restricted allowance for 4-year-olds and up at seven furlongs in Race 4.
There will be a carryover of $1,950.96 in the Super Hi-5 starting in Race 2, barring scratches.
Laurel will be featured as the first two legs of the Stronach 5 (Races 7-8), which continues with Gulfstream Park’s Race 9, Golden Gate Fields’ Race 3 and Gulfstream’s Race 10. Both Gulfstream races are scheduled for the turf.
LATEST MARYLAND NEWS
“Never give up” Benny Havens takes Pimlico feature
Eight-year-old Benny Havens snapped a 39-race losing streak to win Pimlico’s allowance feature Saturday.
Preakness: Sandman may try his luck
Sandman, seventh in the Kentucky Derby and previously headed to the Belmont, is now under consideration for the Preakness Stakes.
Pimlico picks and ponderings: May 10, 2025
We provide full-card picks and analysis for this afternoon’s races at Pimlico.
Preakness: A Baltimore-bred’s Pimlico memories
Longtime handicapper Gary Quill has been going to Pimlico for more than 60 years. Here’s what he’ll remember as a new facility replaces the old.
Rodriguez now out of Preakness
Rodriguez, the Bob Baffert trainee who won the Wood Memorial but was forced to skip the Kentucky Derby, now is also out of the Preakness.
New Maryland Jockey Club board named
The board of directors that will govern the new Maryland Jockey Club was chosen by the Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority Friday.