Did you hear? Racing year-round in Maryland!

The Maryland Jockey Club announced earlier this week that Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course will conduct 149 days of racing in 2015, as approved by the Maryland Racing Commission. The MJC will conduct a winter meeting at Laurel, a spring campaign at Pimlico, a summer stand at Laurel for the first time since 2010 and a fall meeting at Laurel.

The 2015 winter meeting will begin January 1 and run through March 28 with 43 live racing days with live racing. In January and February, racing will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with holiday exceptions. Wednesday racing will be added during March. The stakes schedule for the 2015 Laurel Park winter meet was also approved. The $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap (G2) on February 14 and the $250,000 General George Handicap (G3) two days later headline the 16 stakes program.

Racing will then shift to Pimlico for the spring meeting, which will begin April 2 and run through June 6, Belmont Stakes day. The 37-day stand will feature the 140th running of the Preakness Stakes (G1), the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown on Saturday, May 16.

Prior to the Timonium State Fair meet, live racing returns to the major tracks on August 1 at Laurel Park for an 11-day summer stand. After the Timonium meet, Laurel will conduct a 58-day fall meeting through the end of the year with four days a week of live racing during the months of September, October and November and three days a week of racing in December.