The Maryland Racing Commission at its Jan. 2 meeting approved the 2024 schedule for the Maryland Sire Stakes and Maryland Standardbred Race Fund stakes to be held at Rosecroft Raceway and Ocean Downs Casino.

The commission approved the schedule proposed by the Maryland Standardbred Race Fund Advisory Committee. The stakes schedule, which is very close to the 2023 calendar, begins April 23 at Rosecroft and ends Oct. 10 at Rosecroft.

Each track will hold two MSS finals with two preliminary legs for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds by gait and sex. Rosecroft will host its 3-year-old races in the spring and 2-year-old races during the fall meet. Ocean Downs will hold its 3-year-old MSS races in late June and July, with the 2-year-old MSS in late August and early September. The eight MSRF events are scheduled for early to mid-August at Ocean Downs.

Both tracks will also hold two MSS “open” events for 4- and 5-year-old pacers and trotters.

Purses for the MSS and MSRF events are expected to be formalized by the MRC in March.

Rosecroft, which will begin its 2024 winter/spring meet Thursday (Jan. 18), completed what was considered a successful 2023 live schedule the week before Christmas. Mike Rogers, acting president of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Rosecroft, said total pari-mutuel handle on the live product was up 20 percent from 2022, most of it from export of the signal.

“We did pretty well in that regard,” Rogers said, crediting the Standardbred horsemen and the staff at Rosecroft.

Earlier in 2023, Ocean Downs reported a total handle increase on the live product of almost 10 percent for its meet.