Maryland Million - Getting Better Every Year

The Maryland Million is not just maintaining its status quo, but actually expanding.

The program will distribute a record $1.7 million in purses and nominator awards on this year's Maryland Million Day (Oct. 13 at Laurel Park).

In addition, nearly $1 million will be offered for Maryland Million eligible runners competing in other stakes at Maryland tracks throughout this year.

"It's no longer a one-day program," said Wayne Harrison, newly elected president of Maryland Million Ltd.

Purses for three Maryland Million Day events will rise in 2007 - the Classic (to $300,000) and the Ladies and Turf (to $200,000 each).

Pimlico's opening on April 21, will feature the Spring Festival of Racing, which for the third year in a row will offer an array of opportunities for Maryland Million-eligible runners: three stakes restricted to Maryland-breds or Maryland Million nominees, plus enhancements to the unrestricted Jim McKay Sprint and the state's major Triple Crown prep, the Federico Tesio Stakes.

In addition, Maryland Million-restricted stakes will be run on the undercard of both the Preakness and the Frank J. De Francis Dash.

Last but certainly not least, this year all of Laurel and Pimlico's unrestricted stakes with a purse of less than $100,000 offer purse enhancements for Maryland Million-eligible participants.

It's not all bad in Maryland!

Weekend Update

I am all amped up this morning. I don't know if it is because the great weekend of racing coming up, or the 48oz coffee and hand full of Sudafed I took this morning (I have allergies). My horse racing weekend begins today at Laurel Park with the Overnight Stakes, and continues locally with the Smart Halo Stakes running tomorrow. The rest of the weekend will be filled with Dubai racing fun, and a little race down in Florida.

In other news, Monmouth Park opens for training tomorrow, and I am planning a few weekend trips up to the Garden State.

After her first win, I thought Polliana Oliveira would start getting a few more mounts, but I guess she is busy working horses in the morning.

OTB's in NJ and Real Quiet

New Jersey opens first OTB - 6 years after legislation past to allow off track better facilities, Favorites at Vineland will open to the public on Friday. It is owned by Greenwood Racing, whose holdings include Philadelphia Park, Atlantic City Race Course, and a network of Pennsylvania OTBs.

Favorites comprises 13,500 square feet, and is dominated by an oval sports bar. Fans can watch ballgames and races on high-definition televisions while dining on a grill menu. It will be open noon to midnight, seven days a week.

This place sounds great. I would love to have really OTB in Maryland. We currently have two OTB's (throughout the entire state) that are in remote parts of the state. I think a high end sports bar / OTB would be very successful in Baltimore, and would help create more fans of the sport.....But what do I know?


Real Quiet is back in the breeding shed after being treated at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for abscesses in both hind feet. Syndicate manager Mike Jester said,

"Just to make sure, he covered three mares on each of his last two days at New Bolton. Dr. Dean Richardson and his staff did a great job with him."

Wow...What a great life it must be to be a stallion.



Real Quiet is back in the breeding shed

Magna and Maryland

In an effort to reduce a heavy debt load, Magna Entertainment Corp. officials plan to put up “for sale” signs on some holdings, maybe some in Maryland. In a special Tuesday teleconference presentation for stockholders and analysts, Magna Chief Executive Officer Michael Neuman said the racetrack owner will evaluate its assets and consider sales of several properties.

Magna Entertainment Chairman Frank Stronach started Tuesday’s teleconference by saying Magna, which owns the Maryland Jockey Club (which owns Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, and The Bowie Training Center) is committed to cutting debt in 2007. Magna incurred a net loss of $87.4-million in 2006.

Neuman said Magna would be interested in selling the 162-acre Bowie Training Center in Maryland if an agreement could be reached with state horsemen and officials. As for Magna’s two Maryland racetracks, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, Neuman said the company would like to see more support from state lawmakers, meaning approval of alternative gaming.

“One would hope [racing] can take place [in Maryland] for a long, long time to come. But look, we’re in business to make money and Maryland is surrounded by states that enable tracks to offer alternative gaming,” Neuman said. “Those tracks are using that money to increase purses and that is attracting horsemen out of the state.”

"It’s not enough for Magna to say, ‘Gee, we love racing in Maryland and would like to see it continue forever and ever, amen.’ The state of Maryland has to decide that they want racing to be profitable in Maryland.”

I don't know who would be interested in buying the Magna assets in Maryland, but I sure would like to see some improvements!

Spring Racing

The Spring Condition Book
for Pimlico is now available. Pimlico is about fifteen minutes away from my office, so I plan on catching a whole lot of racing. For my New Jersey friends, Monmouth Condition Book is also available. As promised, they have at least one NJ bred race everyday. Not just Maidens, but also state restricted Allowance, Stakes, and Claimers. I think a new moon will be rising over Jersey!

Is Polliana the new Rosie ?

Jockey agent John Faltynski thinks he’s found the next Rosie Napravnik. While his star client is out of action, recuperating from a back injury, Faltynski has been booking mounts for 7-pound apprentice Polliana Oliveira, who piloted her first winner in Maryland this afternoon. The 25 year old Polliana has been riding for three weeks. Her plan is to continue at Laurel, then onto Pimlico, and maybe Colonial.

Maryland Horse Breeders Awards

Maryland Horse Breeders Association has announced the results of its annual poll.

Les Arcs was named 2006 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, champion older male, sprinter, and turf runner. Bred by James Moran’s Elk Manor Farm in North East, Md., Les Arcs rose as a 6-year-old last season to establish himself as a top sprinter in England.

Champion 2-year-old male: Clifton Park (dk.b./br.c., Allen’s Prospect—Cat Nap, by Storm Cat). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Laura Schrock and Allen’s Prospect Syndicate; owned by Trade Winds Farm (Tom and Connie D’Ambra); trained by Bruce C. Jackson.

Champion 2-year-old filly: Spectacular Malibu (gr./ro.f., Malibu Moon—Spectacular You, by Spectacular Bid). Bred by Charles H. Hadry and Constance H. Hadry; owned by Country Life Farm; trained by Michael J. Trombetta.

Champion 3-year-old male: Ah Day (b.g., Malibu Moon—Endette, by Thirty Eight Paces). Bred by K.T. Leatherbury Assoc., Inc.; owned by The Jim Stable (King T. Leatherbury); trained by King T. Leatherbury.

Champion 3-year-old filly: Livermore Valley (dk.b./br.f., Mt. Livermore—Secret Prospect, by Allen’s Prospect). Bred by Robert Hahn; owned by Conover Stable (Robert Hahn); trained by James T. Ryerson.

Champion older female: Promenade Girl (b.m., 2002, Carson City—Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony). Bred by Sondra and Howard M. Bender; owned by Sondra D. Bender; trained by Lawrence E. Murray.

Champion steeplechaser: Good Night Shirt (ch.g., 2001, Concern—Hot Story, by Two Punch). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman; owned by Sonny and Ann Via; trained by Jack Fisher.

Proposed New Claiming Rules

John Scheinman wrote a really informative article
in the Thoroughbred Times about the proposed changes to the claiming rules in Maryland. The article is chock full of great quotes from the people who will be most effected by the changes, trainer Mike Trombetta and owner Robert Cole. John Scheinman does a great job covering the story from all angles. I started writing a summary of the new rules, but to get a real feel (from a real journalist), read John's article.

A few improvments

My friends at Magna Entertainment have spoken about making some improvements to Pimlico. Well, I would like to make a suggestion.....Happy Valley Race Course in Hong Kong. If you build it, they will come!

Female Jockeys

Todays cover story at Press Box is a called Breaking The Barrier. A story about a bunch of "horse-crazy girls breaking down the gender barrier." They also have a second story that goes into detail about some of the greatest female jockeys. That story is called Riding Into History

Thank you Press Box, you took an opportunity to write some feel good story about racing (that did not include Barbaro).

Do They Fly First Class to Dubai?

- So you have a great horse. You want to race it in the Breeder's Cup or the Dubai World Cup. The question is, "how do I get my horse there?". The answer is Mersant International. Mersant is the expert in horse, zoo animal and fresh fish transport around the world. Two of my hobbies are horse racing and airplanes, so when the two worlds cross each other I get interested.

-Declan's Moon may have lost his confidence when running against other horses, but he beat the timer today when he ran the bullet of 47 horses at Hollywood Park. Five furlongs in 58.2 seconds. He still has the physical ability. Maybe he just needs to see a good sports psychologist or take a Prozac.

-In jockey news, rookie sensation Joe Talamo will be moving from Fairgrounds up to Aqueduct next month. We are naturally big fans of bugboys around here so we wish him luck at the Big A. He will win the jockey title at Fairgrounds this season and is ranked #2 nationally so far in 2007. A lot of nice things have been said about this young man. I look forward to seeing him compete here in New York. In Maryland news, Luis Garcia's little brother Geovany rode his first winner today at Laurel. Jeremy Rose led the celebration for this promising young jock.

Quick Hits 3/21

- I found a good blog about the Texas horse racing scene. Check out
Jim's Texas Racing Blog. I enjoyed reading his take on issues, and the industry in Texas.

- Maryland is even falling behind in Timber Races. Just Kidding! Here is a little story for my friends that follow the retired thoroughbreds during their second career.

- Jockey Jeremy Rose and trainer Scott Lake teamed up on Sunday to win four races out of eight starters. That is pretty amazing. I guess that is why they are both atop the Laurel standings

Times are Changing in the Mid Atlantic

Today I received my copy of theMid Atlantic Thoroughbred. As always, I flip through to look at all the stallion ads and get a quick feel for what stories are included this month. At first glance, I noticed that it was considerably thicker than it has been in the past. Upon further review, I noticed a lot of advertisements for farms and stallions that I had never seen before. I also noticed the many of the articles were about Pennsylvania farms and PA bred horses.
This is all new for the Mid Atlantic region. Once upon a time, as recently as last year, the magazine was almost 80% Maryland racing and advertisements. Not anymore! Our slot enhanced neighbors to the north are not only increasing purses, but overall presence in the regional industry. The increased pages in the magazine were needed for all the new PA breeding and training farms. The secondary business are also starting to advertise.
At this point in my posts, I usually make a comment about the demise of Maryland racing. Today, I want to take a different approach. It may be a little bit longer ride, but I look forward to seeing the great races at Phiily Park and Penn National in the future. Kudos to all the fine horsemen in Pennsylvania. Please keep the momentum going!

Sweetnorthernsaint

I had the opportunity to watch the Johnson Memorial Handicap at Laurel Park today. It was the biggest joke of a race. It was more of an easy work from the gate for Sweetnorthernsaint. "The Saint" ran the one and one eighth mile in 1:51 and won by over four lengths on the muddy sealed track. I don't think Jockey Mario Pino even moved during the race. Now that "The Saint" is $36,000 richer, I wonder what trainer Mike Trombetta has planned next. I think I saw a AOC non winners of 6 in the Pimlico spring book.

Did Barbaro Fake His Death ???

This is a funny little Onion Sports story about Barbero faking his death. Below are a few quotes that I found funny.

"At first I thought I was seeing things, but I'm sure it was him. Same long face, same brown coat, same mane, tail and everything."

"I was at a little eighth-mile track outside of Bakersfield when a big brown 3-year-old won by nine lengths despite a hitch in his gait," said career horseplayer David Carnell. "Won big, too. I thought I'd found the next Barbaro. But the more I think about it, there's no way it was anyone else but Barbaro himself."

On Tuesday, University of Pennsylvania criminologists, acting on a public petition, entered photos of Barbaro taken at the New Bolton Clinic only hours before his death into special face-aging software to determine what Barbaro would look like after two months. Results showed a remarkably similar-looking horse with a slightly longer mane.

If you have a minute, you should read the story. It is funny!

Should we slaughter horses for food?

I came across this article as a link to a completely unrelated story. I have not done any additional homework about this issue, but I wanted to share it with other horse fans. I would say that I am completely against the slaughter of horses, but this article definitely makes you think, a least a little bit.

Maryland Horse Stuff

- Well it looks like Maryland will need to find another location for the Maryland Horse Park. I wondered why they picked the location they did, considering the local politicians were against the plan since day one. I am glad that it did not work out for Ann Arundel County. It would be much smarter to have the horse park in Cecil county, by the Delaware and Pennsylvania borders. The Cecil County location is also on I95, a little road that runs up the east coast of the US.

- Under Armour (NYSE: UA) CEO Kevin Plank has just purchased Sagamore Farm, probably the most prestigious horse farm in Maryland. Originally owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Sagamore Farms' best known racehorses were Discovery, Bed o'Roses, and Native Dancer, all of whom were inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Lets hope that Mr. Plank can restore the old farm to a great Maryland breeding and racing operation.

- Trainer Michael Trombetta said Monday that "owners Joseph Balsamo and Ted Theos made the decision and that Sweetnorthernsaint could race again as early as Saturday in the $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap over 1 1/8 miles at Laurel Park". I'll be watching to entries.......

Quick Hits 3/9/07

- If you like stats, than this is an absolute treat! The Jockey Club has released the 2007 On-Line Stat Book. I spent a good amount of time surfing around the book, and it will probably lead to some good posts, or at least some good research for not so good posts!

- For my friends in New Jersey, Monmouth Park opens for training on April 1, and the racing cards run from May 12 through September 2. The condition book is not yet available online, but I have been told that the will have New Jersey bred races on almost every weekend card. It has also been rumored that the Wednesday and Thursday before the Breeders Cup, racing will return to Monmouth Park with a boat load of New Jersey restricted races. Lets hope all this is true for you NJ bred fans!

- Don't forget to cheer for Birdbirdistheword this weekend, and check out all the happenings on the BirdBirdBlog.

Slots Dead Again

As expected, the slots bill in Maryland will die again. Oh well!
Better Luck Next year!

We lost our bug!

It has been one year since we started this little blog. I guess we become journeyman bloggers today. This started as a way for two brothers to share thoughts about a new interest amongst ourselves and a few friends. Thanks to John at Not to the Swift, we were introduced and accepted into the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance and everything changed. We have tried to offer a different perspective than the other, more accomplished bloggers. We have focused on the Maryland racing scene, some jockeys, some track photos, some breeding, some comedy and of course, ANNA R. NAPRAVNIK. After 210 posts and almost 12,000 hits, we want to thank everyone and say that we are so proud to be a part of the TBA. We hope to improve the quality of our posts this year and look forward to reading all of your great material. Thank you! I think we'll keep the Bugboys name because the Journeymen is already a Steve Perry fan blog. Happy Derby Trail everyone!

Who is this horse ?????

- Trainer Scott Lake sent a 3-year-old gelding named Call Me Clash to Laurel Park on Saturday. The horse shipped in from Philadelphia Park for the $90,000 Horatius Stakes. Call Me Clash led the entire way to beat five others and win by three lengths. In the winner's circle, Lake's Laurel-based assistant Hugh McMahon was asked about the horse, and he said, "This horse shipped in today. I don't know anything about him." McMahon was the trainer of record when Call Me Clash won a 5 1/2 -furlong race on Jan. 5 at Laurel Park......Hmmmmm. Jockey Jeremy Rose, however, rode Call Me Clash in both races.

- The slots bill proposed by Senate President Mike Miller goes to committee tomorrow, but Millers weekend quote was "I predict the bill will pass eventually -- just maybe not this year." - Oh well!

- The rumor around Maryland is that New York and New Jersey will place restrictions on horses from Maryland. The spread of herpes may be a little greater than the press is reporting. Many Maryland owners and trainers are sending horses out of state in preparations for a quarantine.

Thursday Morning Notes

Sweeetnorthernsaint - Trainer Michael Trombetta didn’t hesitate when asked why he has decided to redirect Sweetnorthernsaint from the $6-million Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) to the $1-million Godolphin Mile (Gr.2).

“Invasor and Discreet Cat,” Trombetta saidwith a chuckle.

“We are strongly considering it,” he said, adding that he might not make a firm commitment until near the time he would have to put the horse on a plane bound for Dubai on March 20.

This guy gets it. I read this letter to the editor in the Cumberland Times News, and loved it. Darrell W. "Jake" Stahl of Cumberland, Maryland, THANKS! I am always spouting off about Laurel and Pimlico. I often forget that western Maryland has the most to gain if slots legislation passes. Mr. Rickman (owner of Delaware Park) has already committed to building a new track and resort if he receives a gambling licenses.

As expected, Jeremy Rose is pulling away with the jockey title at Laurel. The surprises are the apprentices on the list.