The NC State Equine Health Center will host an open house and educational seminar on Jan. 11 focused on horse reproduction.

Lectures will take place during the morning, and labs and demonstrations will be held in the afternoon. Topics include Mare Physiology and Management (Dr. Nick Buchanan, speaker), Embryo Transfer (Dr. Mike Whitacre, speaker), Foal Care (Dr. Scott Bailey, speaker), Stallion Physiology and Management (Dr. Renan Sper, speaker), and Stallion Behavior and Management (Jori Vasgaa, RVT).

A tour of the facility and box lunch will be offered during the noon break. The seminar is open to the public. For more information or to reserve a spot, call (910) 692-8773 by Jan. 20.

n Thoroughbred racing in Maryland has been saved … for now.

The Maryland Jockey Club and its owners, MI Developments and Penn National Gaming, reached an agreement with the Maryland Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association and Maryland Horse Breeders’ Association last week to run 146 days of racing at Laurel Park and Pimlico Racecourse in 2011.

Pimlico (home to the second jewel in racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes) opened in 1870 and is the second oldest track in the U.S. The agreement still requires final approval from the Maryland Racing Commission, which had rejected an earlier proposal from the MJC and jeopardized the entire 2011 racing calendar in Maryland.

n The Carolina Horse Park will offer four winter show jumping and dressage schooling days during January. The schooling days will be held on Jan. 9, Jan. 12, Jan. 26 and Jan. 30. All will begin at 10 a.m. and run through 2 p.m.

The jumper course will start at 2’ and increase in height throughout the day. The cost is $15 per jumping round or $55 for open access to the jumping ring ($35 for Friends of the Park). There will be no charge to use the dressage ring.

All riders must show proof of a horse’s current negative Coggins.

For more information call Abby Schlicht at (910) 875-2074 or e-mail abby@carolinahorsepark.com.

If you have any comments or ideas for features you’d like to see in Hoofbeats, contact Stephanie Diaz by e-mail at MediaPlan88@aol. com.