The February 2016 edition of the Horsemen's Newsletter is now online and available for download. To view this edition click here
The Horsemen's Newsletter is published monthly by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and is mailed to each licensed owner and trainer in the state of Maryland.
Exposing horse racing to more and more people is a key element in the Stronach Group’s plans for building Maryland horseracing into a premier sport in the country and a strong performer within the state.
A month ago, the Maryland Jockey Club released the news that its Export Signal’s handle figures in 2015 were up nearly 20 percent over the year before. Now, it is trying to expand the number of people who have access to those signals in the state and build a bigger fan base through the re-establishment and expansion of off track betting sites, or OTBs.
“The primary reason we’re doing this,” says MJC vice president and general manager Sal Sinatra, “is to build convenience for our customers and exposure to racing throughout the state.”
The MJC dipped its toe back in the OTB waters last May when it opened its first new site at Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino leading up to Preakness week. That project has outperformed projections to this point, contributing $7 million in handle to last year’s coffers in about six months of operation.
Sinatra said in late January the popularity of the Horseshoe’s OTB continues and is now expected to produce $12 million in its first year, again beating pre-opening projections by at least $2 million. Now, OTB expansion is moving forward.
On Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m., the Maryland Racing Commission will hold an open hearing in the Mosner Miller building at the Timonium Fairgrounds (pictured) to listen to the MJC’s proposal for an OTB at the racetrack there. The meeting is designed to inform the MRC, area residents and legislators about the OTB project and give interested parties an opportunity to ask questions and voice opinions about the proposed facility.
David Richardson, MTHA Executive Director has commented that the Timonium OTB “is projected to generate over $500,000 annually for the Thoroughbred Purse Account.”
Sinatra and Richardson, along with other industry leaders, had a meeting with several area legislators Jan. 29 to inform them of the plans.
“I think there has been some misunderstanding about what an OTB is,” Sinatra says. “There is concern [in the surrounding community] that it is going to be a casino, which it won’t be and never will be.”
Sinatra said he sees the Timonium OTB which would be located on the second floor of the grandstand, near the newly remodeled restaurant, High Tops Grandstand Grill, as a place those coming to the fairgrounds throughout the year for various other activities will be able to utilize.
Everyone knew the new Horsemen’s Health System launched by the MTHA and Maryland Jockey Club last September was needed, but no one anticipated how quickly patient numbers would rise or how successful the program of new services provided by MedStar doctors would be.
In the four months since Sept. 12, when the new professional quarters at Laurel Park were opened, more than 275 patients have been treated by MedStar physicians for issues as simple as the common cold to those as complicated as the trauma suffered by jockeys falling from their mounts.
“So far, this is probably the most helpful program I’ve seen,” says Mike Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission. “The partnership they’ve created [among the MJC, MTHA and MedStar] is the most productive and professionally run I’ve seen anywhere in the country. The individual record-keeping is tremendous; the availability of doctors to see patients on a regular basis; the rapid access to the MedStar network for things that can’t be dealt with at the racetrack; the welcoming atmosphere; the doctors on a regular schedule, allowing the development of doctor-patient relationships; and the electronic record-keeping that is portable – I really think this is a model program for the country and should be a standard.”
The January 2016 edition of the Horsemen's Newsletter is now online and available for download. To view this edition click here
The Horsemen's Newsletter is published monthly by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and is mailed to each licensed owner and trainer in the state of Maryland.
When Howard Gordon “Gelo” Hall was 11, he had one of the greatest experiences of his life. His dad, Howard, a jockey’s valet who worked at Pimlico Race Course, took him to see the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. It was 1938 and that race was a spectacle he would always remember.
It also was the beginning of his lifelong love affair with thoroughbred racing, a fascination that lasted until his death. Hall passed away suddenly on Dec. 10, 2015, due to a hemorrhage following a recent fall at his Windsor Mill home.
“My dad had two things he believed in deeply,” Gelo’s daughter Janis says. “The track and God, the family came after them. He loved the racetrack.”
At age 14, Gelo went to work for H.L. Straus in Reisterstown breaking horses. From there it was on to Pimlico where he went to work for Frank “Downey” Bonsal. It was just the beginning. He would get his nickname there, while working with his older brother Angelo. Angelo was known as “Big Gelo” and he was known as “Little Gelo.”
“When my uncle left the track, Dad became Gelo and it just stuck forever,” Janis Hall says. “Dad must have been about 14 or so then. I think more people know him as Gelo than anything else. I think a lot of people don’t even know his first name.”
But over the years, it seems everyone came to know Gelo Hall.
The December 2015 edition of the Horsemen's Newsletter is now online and available for download. To view this edition click here
The Horsemen's Newsletter is published monthly by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and is mailed to each licensed owner and trainer in the state of Maryland.
