The Maryland Jockey Club and its parent group, 1/ST Racing, have announced that training resumed on April 27 at Laurel Park, with live racing expected to resume April 29 pending Maryland Racing Commission approval. Racing was suspended on April 20 following a spate of horse fatalities that prompted horsemen to withdraw entries from scheduled racing events and demand a track evaluation.
A partial report on the evaluation of the track’s surface conducted by John Passero, a nationally recognized expert on track surfaces, indicated that the track was safe.
“While we await the final report, we are gratified … that his recommendations to the Maryland Racing Commission supports the resumption of racing at Laurel Park,” said Aidan Butler, CEO of 1/ST Racing. “We have not had the opportunity to discuss with the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association their statements to the press as to the resumption of racing but reiterate our position as to track safety and the strong rationale for putting in place our industry standard best practices for horses and riders.”