Laurel Park will run its first turf races of the year this weekend, including three stakes races. Average field sizes at the track will increase significantly as many turf runners either ship back to Maryland or return from long winter breaks. Laurel will not race on Easter Sunday, but the track is easily compensating with loaded cards on Friday and Saturday. The 10-race Friday card will feature five races on turf, while the 12-race Saturday card will feature six. Excluding also-eligible and main-track-only runners, these races boast an average field size of nearly 11, as opposed to the average of eight runners in dirt races across the two cards. Two of the first three turf races on Friday will be $16,000 maiden-claiming races, along with a conditional $40,000 claiming race. The seventh and ninth races will be run under conditional allowance conditions with $49,000 and $53,000 purses. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Because the turf course is 142 feet wide, Laurel can move the portable rail and create six distinct courses on the surface. The All Along course begins on the rail, and the remaining courses are spaced 17 to 18 feet apart, ending with the Fort Marcy course 87 feet out. The 11 turf races on Friday and Saturday will alternate between the All Along course on the rail and the Dahlia course, which sets the rail at 52 feet. The King T. Leatherbury Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs will be run on the Dahlia course Saturday, while two turf stakes at a mile will be run on the All Along course. Other courses will be used later in the season to ensure that the turf does not get overused over a period of several months. Laurel’s first weekend of turf racing coincides with Preakness Preview Day and the 45th running of the Federico Tesio Stakes, which has served as a qualifier for the Preakness since 2016. It will be one of two dirt stakes races on the Saturday card, along with the Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies. In anticipation of a big weekend, Laurel will also host the Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge on Saturday. The one-day handicapping contest will require entrants to pay $500, which will be split evenly as an entry fee and bankroll for betting. The contest is expected to receive 120 entries. If this number is met to accommodate the expected $25,000 prize pool, $4,650 will be awarded to the winner, $1,860 to the runner-up, $1,395 to third, $930 to fourth, and $465 to fifth. Other prizes include a full seat in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and two National Handicapping Championship prize packs, which include entry into the competition and vouchers for travel and a hotel stay. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.