There’s all kinds of good stuff over on The Racing Biz this week, and if you haven’t been checking it out… hop on that!

For example, did you know that…

• The Maryland Racing Commission voted, at a contentious meeting, to approve a program designed to boost the Maryland breeding industry?  You did if you read it here.
• Midlantic-breds fared well at the recently completed Fasig-Tipton sale?  In fact, their average price rose by more than one-third from 2012 — and that’s saying nothing of a Midlantic-sired  colt who fetched over $300,000– check it here.
• Dave Rodman calls the races in Maryland and Virginia, which will be pretty tricky when they both run on Belmont day?  Our NIck Hahn spoke with him.
• We inaugurated new featured race handicapping this week, and ‘capper Jo Talbot helped you toss some short, but vulnerable, chalk – here?
• Our Preakness coverage wrapped up this week with images and videos galore?  Check out Preakness Day in Pictures, Owner’s-Eye View of Baltimore’s Best Weekend, and Blue the Lucky Preakness Pony to get a flavor!

And, while you’re there, don’t forget to follow The Biz on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Have you been keeping up with The Racing Biz?

If not — well, there’s no time like the present!

Here’s what you’ll find there today:

• The Racing Biz, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, and the Maryland Horse Breeders Association have joined forces to give away two tickets to the Preakness — plus a $1,000 win wager on the big race!  Check out our Preakness Grand Giveaway!
• Preakness coverage?  We’ve got Preakness coverage — and we’ll have a lot more in the coming days!  Right now, you can find…
  • Audio of Nick Hahn’s interview with Shug McGaughey;
  • Daily updates, including Friday’s Lady Legends for the Cure race;
  • Video of “Ghosts of Preakness Past,” 1960s newsreels of Northern Dancer, Carry Back, and others running for the Susies!
  • And more!
• Maryland’s Thoroughbred Hall of Fame inducted its first class this past Saturday, and we were on the spot.

In the days to come, we’ll use all our tools — words, pictures, video, audio — to bring you the flavor of Maryland’s biggest sporting day and the mid-Atlantic’s biggest racing event.  Check us out!

Here’s what you may have been missing if you’re not reading The Racing Biz…

• Looking for mid-Atlantic connections this Derby weekend?  Sure, you are – and here they are!
• Nick Hahn remembers the last Virginia-bred to win a Triple Crown race, Colonial Affair.  That was also the first — and to date only — time a woman has ridden the winner in such a race…
• In Maryland, are we taking steps towards a program to boost the beleaguered breeding industry.  Quite possibly….
• It was a productive — if brief — meet for Atlantic City Race Course.  Now what?  Teresa Genaro looks for the answer.
• And much more!

Are you checking out The Racing Biz?  If not, you ought to.  Here’s what’s been happening over on The Biz:

• Teresa Genaro became the first person ever to leave Keeneland on a Saturday in order to attend the races at Charles Town.  Was it worth it?  Find out here!
• Game on Dude won the Charles Town Classic — and our man Ted Black was first on the scene with a race analysis demonstrating that the official time was off by more than two seconds.  A day later, Charles Town agreed and revised the time.  Read it here, and here.
• In a two-part interview, Maryland Racing Commission chairman Bruce Quade reflected on the last year and explained why the Commission will continue to be an assertive advocate for what it thinks is best for racing.  Here are part one and part two.
• Didn’t make it out to the Decanter wine festival at Pimlico?  It was all about wine, horses, and song, says our man on the spot — but mostly wine.
• In Pennsylvania, new legislation would allow internet gaming — and boost racing purses (here), while Siete de Oros — a PA-bred who fetched all of $2,000 at auction — ran third in the Illinois Derby, to the delight of breeder Glenn Brok (here).
• And on our Racing page, you’ll find every allowance and stake winner, claimed horse, region-bred winners, and handle figs — all in handy-dandy, easy-to-use tables!

C’mon and check us out!

Over at The Racing Biz…

• Part 2 of our interview with Maryland Racing Commission chairman Bruce Quade touches on why he thinks it’s incumbent on the Commission to play a more active role, and what the future holds for Maryland – check it here and you can find part one here.
• Later today, Ted Black reports on why the Charles Town Classic figures to be a riders’ race.
• Wondering who won the features in the region yesterday?  Which horses got claimed?  Which horses bred in the mid-Atlantic won in the mid-Atlantic?  It’s all there, on the racing page.
• Plus lots more!

Check it out at The Racing Biz!

Check out The Racing Biz!

You may have noticed that it’s been kinda quiet here of late.  That’s because I’ve been putting my energy towards launch of The Racing Biz.

The Racing Biz is something brand new: a website focused on the sport, business, and personalities of Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the mid-Atlantic region.  It’ll be your go-to source for news, information, and entertainment about this great sport.

It may be the first day for The Racing Biz, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of great content already there.

In fact, check out part one of a two-part interview with Maryland Racing Commission chair Bruce Quade.  Learn why Colonial Downs decided to barbeque its turf course last week — just six weeks before horses will run over it.  See who’s in the Charles Town Classic on Saturday.  And catch the video of Xavier Perez’s wild ride aboard Spicer Cub.

All that, and lots more to come — at The Racing Biz!