LAUREL, MD. 10-08-14---Horacio Karamanos rode three winners Wednesday afternoon at Laurel Park to vault four spots in the rider standings.

The 41-year-old finished first aboard Cherokee Empire ($8.60-race 2), Northern Smile ($30.20-race 3) and Next Best Thing ($9.60-race 8) and now has 13 victories during the fall meet trailing only Trevor McCarthy (21 wins) and J.D. Acosta (15). Sheldon Russell and Victor Carrasco also have 13 trips to the winners’ circle.

In the trainer standings, Mike Trombetta and Jamie Ness share the lead with eight victories, two more than Hamilton Smith. Three other conditioners have saddled five winners.

POST TIME CHANGE, COLUMBUS DAY CARD

Beginning this Saturday, Laurel Park’s first post will shift to 12:35 p.m. for the balance of the calendar year. Live racing continues on a Wednesday through Saturday schedule (with holiday exceptions) through Dec. 31.

Next week, Laurel will conduct live racing on Monday, Oct. 13 (Columbus Day) instead of Wednesday, Oct. 15.
 

MARYLAND-BRED HALL OF FAMER CIGAR PASSES

Cigar, the Maryland-bred who won Horse of the Year honors in 1995 and 1996, died yesterday evening in Lexington, KY. He was 24. 

Born at Country Life Farm in Harford County on April 18, 1990, the son of Palace Music won 19-of-33 starts for $9,999,815, which ranks third on the all-time list behind only Espoir City, who earned $11.4 million in Japan, and 2007 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Curlin ($10.5 million).

Cigar won 16 consecutive races from October 1994 through July 1996. In his only appearance in Maryland, the Bill Mott trainee teamed up with Jerry Bailey to win the 1995 Pimlico Special (G1) by 2 ¼ lengths at odds of 2-5.

“He is my favorite horse of all time,” Maryland Jockey Club racing secretary Georganne Hale said. “Such a beautiful horse with so much class. There was so much hype during the streak and it was great to be able to witness greatness. I went to the Kentucky Horse Park twice to visit him after his retirement. He was just such a cool horse with so much class. They don’t come around too often.”

Cigar was inducted into the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame in 2002.

About Laurel Park
Laurel Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.