from the Cloverleaf SOA

Fort Washington, MD — Rosecroft Raceway will continue live harness racing with a Fall meet scheduled to begin Sept. 13.

Rosecroft will continue to emphasize its on-going commitment to rebuild the Standardbred industry in Maryland by continuing to offer a 100 percent preference to Maryland connected horses in all races.

“We are committed to Maryland racing and helping to rebuild this industry,” said Chris McErlean, Vice President of Racing for Penn National Gaming, parent company of Rosecroft Raceway. “We are working side by side in conjunction with the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association and the Maryland Standardbred Breeders Association to revive Standardbred racing in Maryland.”

One special focus at the beginning of the 2014 Fall meet will be newly added prep races for 2- and 3-year-old Maryland Sires Stakes eligible horses. The 2-year-old divisions will be raced on Sept. 16 and the 3-year-old division will be raced on Sept. 13. Each prep race will go for a purse of $3,000.

“Horsemen understand that Maryland must have a strong breeding industry to survive. The efforts of the Maryland Standardbred Breeders Association to promote growth in the Maryland Sire Stakes program are admirable and Rosecroft is pleased to see the growth and attention it is now receiving. I am very happy for our racetrack to play a part in this renewal, working with MSBA,” added McErlean.

Maryland Standardbred Breeders President Dan Myer said, “One again Rosecroft has come through for the Maryland breeding industry. We are very pleased to be working with the Rosecroft team to promote the Maryland Sires Stakes.”

Horsemen who are interested in learning more about breeding in Maryland, or participating in our program, may contact Dan Myer at 410.603.1585 or visit the website at www.mdbreeders.org.

Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association President Tom Cooke offered the following comment. “We are very pleased to be working together with our colleagues from MSBA and wish to acknowledge our appreciation for Penn National Gaming and Rosecroft. Penn National has continued to operate Rosecroft under difficult financial situations and their commitment to the Maryland Standardbred horsemen has been fantastic. We are anxious to do our part in helping this partnership continue so Maryland racing thrives.”

The 2014 Rosecroft live racing meet will continue through Dec. 13.

Horsemen may contact Sharon Roberts or Gina Maybee in the CSOA office with questions or for help at 301.567.9636. Racing applications are available online or through the CSOA office and should be submitted by Aug. 25.