There’s a lot to like about the first five days of the 2025 Laurel Park meet.

The racing has been superb, with an average field size of 8.02, a favorite strike rate of just over 34%, and an average win payoff of $14.83. The six stakes races have been fantastic, featuring dominating performances, as well as exciting finishes. With competitive racing, coupled with sleek new graphics and an informative online handicapping guide, the new Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) management looks to have hit the ground running. 

However, there’s one important puzzle piece that needs attention – post time management. Laurel has found itself going off on top of other tracks frequently, and it’s hurting the bottom line. So far, total handle for the meet is a bit over $8.4 million, and only one day has cracked the $1.6 million barrier.

That leaves Laurel’s handle through five days off about 20% versus the comparable days a year ago. While handle increases or decreases can seldom be attributed to only one factor, frequently going off near other tracks doesn’t help. (TMJC declined to comment on this piece).

More than three decades into the full-card simulcasting era, and over two decades into the era of internet wagering, the importance of proper post time scheduling is clear. Horseplayers naturally gravitate towards major signals such as Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct, and Oaklawn Park. The average player out in simo-land will only pay attention to medium-sized tracks such as Laurel if no major track has a race in the vicinity. 

On Laurel’s opening day Jan. 17, for instance, the first race went off at 12:27 p.m. However, the first race at Gulfstream went off at 12:26 (while first post for Gulfstream was listed at 12:20, they are known for dragging post time past its advertised time and tend to run the opener at 12:24-12:26 most days). The collective horseplayers of America didn’t have time to catch their breath before Laurel went, and unsurprisingly, the first at Laurel was little-noticed. It handled only $99,478, while Gulfstream’s first took in $827,700. 

It was the same story for the second race. Gulfstream’s second race went off at 12:56, while Laurel’s second sprung the latch at 12:57. Once again, Laurel took it on the chin, handling only $134,824. Laurel soon got off Gulfstream for the rest of the day, but it found itself running near other major tracks: Aqueduct, the Fair Grounds (on the day before its latest Kentucky Derby prep), and Tampa Bay (which is actually more or less in the same position as Laurel).

For the day, Laurel handled only $1,352,577. The racing itself was fantastic, with only one winning favorite and an average field size of 8.9 runners. However, because of post time conflicts with other, more popular venues, hardly anyone who wasn’t laser-focused on Laurel had a chance to pay attention to it.

The first Saturday of the meet was a similar story. The first five races at Laurel went off within minutes of either Gulfstream or Tampa Bay (including direct overlap with the fourth at Gulfstream). Laurel steered out of trouble for the sixth race (which, unsurprisingly, proved the highest-handling race of the day), but its last three went off right after races at Aqueduct. As such, a card headlined by four stakes races handled just $1,552,963.

Laurel did make a shrewd post time move this past weekend. With Oaklawn’s Southwest Stakes card beginning at 12:25, Laurel management knew they ran the risk of having their entire card go off near Oaklawn’s. Instead, they moved back first post time by five minutes, to 12:30. That slid their races neatly between Oaklawn’s and Gulfstream’s, and as such, handle soared, with $2,631,206 wagered on Laurel’s 10-race program. 

Laurel kept its 12:30 first post for Sunday’s program, and handle was strong in the first half of the card, with the first five races handling around $920,000. However, the final few races of the day were somewhat uncomfortably sandwiched between Tampa Bay on one side and Gulfstream on the other, and handle slipped, with the total card handling only $1,563,264.

The racing product has been strong, the presentation is improving, and betting opportunities – including a pair of 12% Pick 5 wagers – are solid. But it sure feels like only dedicated Laurel players are finding the signal right now.

Here’s hoping management’s next move is to find the timing sweet spot.

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