With a handle of $5,536,944 wagered on the 12-race “Preakness Preview Day” program at Laurel Park, the new Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) set a handle record Saturday, according to a release from the organization.
Two “Win Today, See You in May events” were contested Saturday, as well as the first stakes races on turf in the state of Maryland for the year.
The $150,000 Federico Tesio Stakes offered a fees-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the GI Preakness Stakes, while the Weber City Miss Stakes offered the same for the GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. They were won by Pay Billy (Improbable) and Complexity Jane (Complexity), respectively.
The new MJC offered other encouraging statistics:
- 105 entrants on Saturday gave an average of 8.8 starters per race, with a comparative 72 horses in the 11-race Federico Tesio card in 2024, or an average of 6.5 runners per race
- This year's “Preakness Preview Day” card averaged $461,412 per race with a handle of $5,536,944, while last year's comparative card handled $2,889,322, for an average of $262,666 per race
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