winter meet

The Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) kicks off its 2026 season with the opening of the Laurel Park Winter Meet on Friday following a successful 2025 ledger. Between Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, the TMJC staged 119 days of live racing comprising 1,109 races. Average per-race handle was $365,637, an increase of 14.29% over 2024. Average daily handle at Laurel and Pimlico was $3,407,493, representing a 13.49% gain over the previous 12 months. Field size was ahead marginally from 7.48 in 2024 to 7.65 last year. The handle for 'Preakness Preview...

For the sixth time since December Thoroughbred racing on the Southern California circuit has been staged at Los Alamitos Race Course in Orange County, juveniles trained by Bob Baffert swept the winter meet's featured events--the GII Starlet Stakes and GII Los Alamitos Futurity Stakes. One week after Juddmonte homebred Consequent (Into Mischief) took out the fillies' event, earning 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, favored Litmus Test (Nyquist) followed suit in the Dec. 14 Futurity and picked up 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby....

Four stakes written for juveniles--two each for males and females--will be featured during the upcoming six-day winter meeting at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, California. Live racing will take place Friday through Sunday on consecutive weekends between Dec. 5 and 7 and Dec. 12 and 14. The first of the added-money events is the $200,000 GII Starlet Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and a mile and a sixteenth to be run Saturday, Dec. 6. Its male counterpart, the $200,000 GII Los Alamitos Futurity will be contested on Saturday, Dec. 13...

Highlighted by a Winter Carnival program featuring the GIII Barbara Fritchie S. and GIII General George S., as well as the start of Maryland's series for 3-year-olds leading up to the 149th GI Preakness S., Laurel Park will offer 17 stakes worth $1.8 million in purses during its 2024 winter meet. The 38-day winter meet begins Friday, Jan. 5, running Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Saturday, Mar. 30. Daily post time is 12:25 p.m. There will be no live racing Easter Sunday, Mar. 31. Stakes action kicks off Jan. 20...

Jockey Manny Franco captured his fourth winter meet riding title at Aqueduct, posting 63 wins at the meet that ran from Jan. 1 to March 26. Linda Rice paced all trainers with 37 wins, while Windylea Farm secured their first NYRA-circuit owners title with 12 wins. "It means a lot to me. This is what we're here for," said Franco, who is represented by agent John Panagot. "I want to be one of the top riders here on the New York circuit, and I work hard to make it happen....

The six-day winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos will begin Friday, Dec. 9. Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday both weeks with a 12:30 p.m. post time. The meet will be highlighted by the GI Starlet S. Dec. 10, offering 10 points towards the GI Kentucky Oaks, and GII Los Alamitos Futurity S. Dec. 17, with 10 points towards the GI Kentucky Derby. Completing the stakes program are a pair of one-mile races for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California, the $100,000 Soviet Problem S. for fillies Dec. 11 and the...