Rosecroft Raceway will try out a new schedule for its late-season meet under a schedule approved last week by the Maryland Racing Commission.
For previous meets since the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) purchased the track last summer, Rosecroft has raced various weeknights and also offered twilight racing on Sundays. For the meet that will begin on October 1, racing will be held Saturday and Sunday evenings.
Sal Sinatra, MJC president and general manager, told commissioner members that live pari-mutuel handle on most weeknights hasn’t met expectations, so management has decided to give full weekends a try to generate interest in the product when more people may be able to attend.
“We’re trying to build up attendance there,” Sinatra said of Rosecroft, which is open every day and night for full-card simulcasts. The track just south of Washington, D.C., has generated about $30 million in total bets per year.
Post time for each day of the 26-day meet that concludes December 23 will be 6:40 p.m. There will be two special Friday night cards on November 3, first day of the Breeders’ Cup, and November 24, Black Friday. The Potomac, for invitational-type pacers, will return this fall after its debut in 2016.
Laurel Park, also owned by the MJC, last fall began tying interest in Sunday football games to live racing programs, and that effort will be ramped up this year. Sinatra told the MJC the company plans to start integrating some football promotions at Rosecroft for the upcoming meet.
(With files from the Maryland Jockey Club)