Maryland Jockey Club schedule approved with 120 days at Laurel Park

The Maryland Racing Commission has signed off on the Maryland Jockey Club’s 2026 racing calendar, locking in 120 days of live racing at Laurel Park and a winter meet that kicked off Friday, Jan. 9. The approval gives trainers, owners, jockeys, backstretch workers, and the betting public a firm roadmap for the winter and early spring season.

Laurel Park’s Winter Meet began with a Friday-Saturday pattern through January and will expand to a Friday-Sunday schedule in February, concentrating racing on key weekends to build consistent field sizes and betting pools. The commission’s approval also lists a series of stakes dates and headline events slated for the meet, with additional stakes cards scheduled later in the winter and into spring as part of the club’s 2026 highlights.

Structuring the meet with fewer days in early January and expanded cards in February helps stables manage shipping and stabling needs while giving local horsemen predictable opportunities to place horses. For bettors and local racing circuits, the concentrated weekend schedule aims to improve wagering depth on marquee days and support community attendance when stakes and promotional events are stacked.

Beyond the race card, the Maryland Jockey Club’s calendar includes community-facing programming tied to the winter and spring schedule. Handicapping tournaments will be staged during the meet, alongside stakes cards that double as promotional draws for on-track fans and simulcast audiences. Those events provide extra reasons for local groups, sponsorship partners, and casual fans to show up, volunteer, or engage in the paddock and clubhouse on race days.

Economic and operational impacts are immediate for Laurel Park-area businesses that depend on a steady racing calendar. Hotels, restaurants, and vendor services get clearer lead time for staffing and promotions. For horsemen, the approved schedule offers a predictable pattern for shipping and training blocks, which matters for trainers planning conditionals, claiming strategies, and peak fitness for stakes targets.

The calendar also gives handicappers a season-long narrative to follow: watch early-season form at Friday-Saturday cards in January and adjust strategies for deeper, three-day weekends starting in February when stakes and larger fields are more frequent. Simulcast centers and OTB outlets can plan promotions around those heavier wagering windows.

The takeaway? Mark the key weekends, plan stabling and shipping with the expanded February schedule in mind, and pencil in handicapping tournaments and stakes cards as prime value days for attendance and wagering. Our two cents? Treat January as tune-up time and be ready to turn up the volume on your betting and trackside plans once the Fri-Sun rhythms kick in.