Towson, MD — The Maryland Racing Commission May 3 approved proposed language that will update state regulations largely related to use of the whip in Standardbred races. The changes are based upon the latest United States Trotting Association whip rules.

The updated language states that drivers may “carry a whip not to exceed four feet plus a snapper not longer than six inches; and use the whip to hit the wheel disc or shaft so long as it does not interfere with another horse or driver.”

A driver shall not “use the whip or crop in a brutal, excessive or indiscriminate manner; cause visible injury to a horse; whip a horse after a race; or whip below the shaft. Whipping action shall be limited to wrist action only with minimal elbow movement. A driver violating any of the whipping rules shall be subject to disciplinary action and/or disqualification.”

Also under the proposed regulation update, drivers shall “keep both feet in the stirrups and a line in each hand from the start of the race until after the finish of the race; have control of their horse at all times; and adjust handholds so as to be taut with elbows in the front of the chest.”

It generally takes a few months for proposed racing regulations to become final in Maryland.

In other business at the meeting, Bobbi Sample, general manager at Ocean Downs Casino, provided an operations update and submitted a capital investment plan update.

Training on the half-mile track began the last week of April and will be offered every Wednesday through Aug. 31 from 7 a.m. to noon. The 45-night live race meet begins earlier than usual this year on Sunday (May 29). Racing will be held beginning at 7:05 p.m. Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, with Thursdays added July 7, 14, 21 and Aug. 4. The meet ends Sept. 7.

Sample said total purses for the meet are expected to reach $5 million, which is believed to be a record for the facility that opened in the summer of 1949. Much of the purse money comes from harness racing’s 20 percent share of the Purse Dedication Account, which receives six percent of video lottery terminal revenue at the state’s six casinos.

State law also devotes one percent of VLT revenue to the Racetrack Facility Renewal Account, which provides matching funds for capital improvements. Requests are made to the MRC for approval of various projects, which must be deemed as racing-related.

Ocean Downs, owned by Churchill Downs Inc., submitted a report on projects completed or pending from 2018-2022. Construction of a new administration building, replacement of the old wooden fence around the racetrack with a vinyl one, and construction of a new state testing barn were completed in 2018-19. The infield toteboard was replaced in 2021. A track resurfacing project that began in 2021 under consultant Greg Coon was partly completed last year and will be completed after the 2022 meet, according to the submitted documents.

The documents also noted that the clubhouse, which has a restaurant/bar and is the location for simulcasting, “has a host of issues that need to be addressed in some way.” The cost to bring the clubhouse up to date without demolition is estimated at $3 million to $4 million. A request for funding for that project has not yet been submitted but is expected to be in the future.