Expect quite a bit of exposure to South Florida's balmy weather in Maryland this winter -- at least on the televised racing channel from Gulfstream Park.
The winter meet at the Hallandale, Fla., track has proved so popular with Maryland bettors that Laurel Park is adjusting its winter schedule to coincide with the racing days at the Florida facility.
Starting the week of Jan. 1, Maryland's betting outlets will forgo their usual Monday dark day and conduct live racing, as well as out-of-state simulcasts on Mondays, to present the action from Gulfstream.
Tuesdays will be the new dark day in Maryland, followed by the regular simulcast-only programs on Wednesdays. The new schedule in Maryland will run during the entire Gulfstream meet from Jan. 4 through March 16.
"So many of our players wager on the Gulfstream signal that it seems like the right move to adapt to the Florida schedule," said Laurel/Pimlico operator Joe De Francis. "It's going to cost us revenues from the sale of our out-of-state signal on Tuesdays, but that will more than be made up from the goodwill we generate from our players."
Maryland's eight betting outlets average about $500,000 daily in bets from the Gulfstream card.
The Florida winter meet is one of racing's prime seasonal fixtures. Horse of the Year candidate Holy Bull is expected to make his 1995 debut at Gulfstream, and the track annually plays host to a number of Triple Crown prep races, including the Florida Derby.
NOTES: Jerry Bailey, fourth in the national jockey standings, will be at Laurel Park today to ride favored Special Broad in the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship for owner-breeder Robert Meyerhoff. He also will ride Private Faith in the colt division of the $100,000 stakes. . . . The Thoroughbred Racing Associations presented a final offer to the Jockeys' Guild in an effort to reach a contract agreement. The TRA proposed a three-year deal that would double accident insurance benefits to $100,000 for medical and surgical coverage. In addition, disability pay would go to $200 per week for up to two years, a 100 percent increase. John Giovanni, national manager of the Jockeys' Guild, told the Los Angeles Times: "This could work. . . . I'll take it back to my
executive board, and we'll crunch some numbers."