by Tom Kelley, publicity director, Balmoral Park

Crete, IL — With discussions continuing between management and horsemen to get a contract ironed out that will preserve the Standardbred industry in Illinois, management has announced, in the following statement, that the “normal” Feb. 15 date for nomination payments for the 2014 stakes season has been pushed back to March 1.

“While we hope and expect our live racing product to resume very soon, we felt it would be in the best interests of horsemen in both Illinois and throughout the country to extend the deadline for nomination payments until March 1 in order to allow everything to be finalized.”

Information on the 2014 stakes schedule and nomination forms will be available once a full racing schedule has been announced at www.balmoralpark.com and www.maywoodpark.com.