Once again, the schedule comes down to the wire, with the owners of Laurel and Pimilco (Frank Stronach’s family) proposing a meager 40 day calendar, and the horsemen opposing the proposal. The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has once again had to pony-up money to the owners of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Track in order to convince them to maintain a full calendar. Just appears to be routine shake-down/extortion scheme to us. Last year, MJC was able to get MTHA to give them $1.7 million, and this year they were able to twist the collective arm of the MTHA for even more. But, the Maryland Racing Commission approved the deal today, and so it is off to the races for now.
For more details, see articles in The Daily Record, The Baltimore Sun and The Blood-Horse.
Fasig-Tipton Timonium Ends Year on High Note
The December Fasig-Tipton Mixed Sales at Timonium enjoyed a dramatic increase for 2011 over 2010, with 260 horses sold (as opposed to 158 last year) for a total of $3.74 million dollars (as opposed to $968,000 in Dec. 2010). Now that is a Merry Christmas!
