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Friday, Saturday Pimlico cards to be simulcast at Calder An agreement has been reached to allow the simulcasting of races from Pimlico to Calder on Friday and Saturday, it was announced on Thursday. The races will also be simulcast to the intertrack wagering (ITW) facilities throughout the state of Florida for those two days. Since the beginning of Calder's 2008 season on April 21, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association has prevented the distribution of that state's horse racing signal at Calder and, therefore, the ITW sites in Florida, due to various horsemen's groups' disputes. The blocking of the signal put the simulcast of this Saturday's Preakness to Calder and all of Florida in jeopardy. In 2007, more than $4.6 million was wagered in Florida on the Preakness Day card alone. "While this agreement doesn't solve the overall horsemen's disputes and only allows the Maryland signal to Calder and the Florida ITWs for two days, we believe it is important to our Calder customers and the racing fans throughout Florida to be able to wager on (Saturday's) Preakness Stakes and the entire Pimlico cards on Friday and Saturday," said Steve Sexton, executive vice president of Churchill Downs Inc., Calder's parent company. "Fortunately, this agreement comes in time to notify our Florida customers that they can wager on and enjoy these important races. We look forward to an enthusiastic crowd at Calder for two great days of racing." The Friday card at Pimlico includes the Pimlico Special (G1) and the Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2). The Preakness Stakes Day card on Saturday also includes the Dixie S. (G2) on turf as well as several other stakes features. Undefeated Kentucky Derby (G1) winner BIG BROWN (Boundary) will attempt to win the Preakness and set the stage for a possible sweep of the Triple Crown, which culminates with the Belmont S. (G1) on June 7. Calder opens its admission gates early on Saturday at 10 a.m. (EDT) to accommodate the early post time at Pimlico that day, which is 10:30 a.m. Calder's first live race post time is also earlier at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday.
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