I enjoyed an afternoon at Laurel Park this past Saturday, the first time I had ever been there. I was on a business trip in the DC area so things timed out right for the stop as I headed back up the east coast. It’s a pretty cool little venue, and if I lived in the area would be my go to for playing off track. Several very nicely renovated areas with carrells for ‘cappers, and a full slate of tracks beyond what’s going on outside.

Outdoors the octagonal covered paddock and walking ring is a sight. I was told it is a historic building by a racing official (sorry I didn’t catch your name) that I was speaking with before racing got underway.

Indoors is nicely air conditioned, which was welcome given the 90 degree temperatures outside.

I’d love to say I capped it all off with a nice score, but it was a slow day at the windows for me as I was interested in exploring the venue as capping the action.

So in this case, the highlight was the nice venue and people, scratching another track off my life list, and the crab cake sandwich at the Tips Restaurant near the clubhouse turn.

Watch runner Bullet Bandit won in the 1st at Mountaineer on Sunday, coming back off one of the most brutal trips/rides I had ever seen last time out. I didn’t see the race this time, but jockey Erik Barberan must have cleaned things up this time around. I was surprised to see him get the return call after the last.

I think I’ll have a watcher or two to offer up this week, and hoping that the weather cools to a modest degree to ensure good racing in the Stars and Stripes festival at Belmont on Saturday.