New Management Names at Pimlico

The firing of Maryland Jockey Club president Lou Rafetto is going to have some local impact. Rafetto, who was very highly respected by the horsemen and others in the industry, was replaced by Chris Dragone. Drogone, who previously ran some smaller tracks for Magna, will face the usual daunting tasks. To make matters even more challenging for him, Karin DeFrancis is stepping away from her job of running the operations of the Preakness. For good or for bad, this function will be taken over by Dwayne Yuzik who is the new VP of operations.

Whether this is a big step forward or the early slope of a long learning curve remains to be seen. The MWIA has requested a meeting with Yuzik.