7-Day State Fair Meet Concludes

The Maryland State Fair at Timonium on Sept. 2 ended a successful seven-day meet that included one of its best wagering days in recent memory.

Total pari-mutuel handle for the meet was $4.21 million, down slightly from 2023 but 17% higher than the 2022 figure. The Friday, Aug. 30, program of nine races generated handle of $857,587.

Average daily purses totaled $266,267, which is slightly above the five-year average from 2019 through 2024. (The fair and races were canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.) The number of races increased by one to 64, and average field size was down slightly to 6.25, the second-highest number over the past four seasons.

Anthony Farrior, who by far had the highest number of starters, topped the trainer standings with five victories, one more than John Salzman Jr. Xavier Perez was the top jockey by wins with eight, followed by Arnaldo Bocachica, J.G. Torrealba and Christian Maldonado, each of whom had six.

The leading owner title during the very competitive meet ended in a nine-way tie, each with two wins. They are No Guts No Glory Farm; J R Sanchez Racing; 3 Reasons Racing; Larry Rabold; Barak Farm; Richard Burnsworth; the partnership of John Salzman Jr., Fred Wasserloos and Anthony Geruso; Designated Hitters Racing; and Royal Victory Thoroughbreds.

In the popular $20,000 trainer bonus program, Farrior (94 points) topped the category for trainers that started 65 or more horses from Jan. 1-July 31, followed by Rudy Sanchez (47), Jose Corrales (45), Jamie Ness (35) and Kieron Magee (34). The category for trainers with 64 or fewer starters was led by John Salzman Jr. (27), followed by Charles A. Frock (17), John Salzman Sr, (15), and Gina Robb, Kerry Hohlbein and Troy Singh, each with 10 points.

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