There’s been a lot of brainless regurgitation of Preakness attendance figures the last few days.
As you’re probably more than aware, not as many people have attended Preakness in recent years as had in the past! In the last three (post-pandemic) years, attendance for the entire weekend has been in the 60,000 range (announced as 63,423 this year). This comes after 131,256 attended Preakness Saturday alone in 2019 (and more than 100,000 in every year of the decade leading up to the pandemic). It doesn’t take a Perry Hall High School man to recognize that the current numbers are, indeed, smaller than the previous numbers!
Often when these numbers are discussed and debated, there’s a minimal amount of context provided. For example, we might acknowledge how miserable the weather was this year or how Pimlico has “seen better days” or something along those lines. But social media typically doesn’t lend itself to greater discussion of why, perhaps, the downturn in attendance may be purposeful from the involved parties. 1/ST Racing recently acknowledged on the record what I had mentioned a few times in recent years. Per The Baltimore Sun:
“The re-imagination of the event layout for Preakness festivities reflects 1/ST’s commitment to providing a thoughtfully curated experience for all guests. The intentional choice to reduce the footprint is designed to offer improved hospitality and entertainment for all in attendance while maintaining the energy and excitement synonymous with the Preakness.”
That probably reads as “spin” to a number of folks. But I’ll say out loud the parts they don’t want to say there. The facility has not been capable of hosting an event of this magnitude for many years. Much of the grandstand has been literally condemned. The bathrooms don’t work. The toilets overflow. The concessions areas have been in poor condition. The elevators are, again quite literally, beyond repair.
There cannot be 100,000-person events at Pimlico as we know it anymore. The people at 1/ST decided to prioritize the most significant hospitality areas (to be fair, where more money can be made) and limit the impact of the rest of the dilapidated mess that the facility has become.
“OK Glenn, so why are you carrying water for the Preakness folks?” you might be asking. “Why does this matter?”
So glad you asked! I ask because it’s easy for “attendance is down at Preakness” to slip into “no one here cares about Preakness anymore” or “it’s not worth the investment the state is making to keep the Preakness.”
Baltimore still cares quite a bit about the Preakness! We don’t have rating figures by market for this year yet, but last year the Preakness received an 11.0 TV rating locally, the top market in the country despite the fact that thousands of fans were at the race.
It makes complete sense that the state is still interested in the event, literally to the point of operating the event itself moving forward. This is still the Preakness we’re talking about. This is an event that is still capable of making a mid-eight-figure economic impact on the region.
But it requires having a viable facility for hosting such an event. Again, this type of math does not require my prestigious Perry Hall (“the Stanford of Eastern Baltimore County,” some call it) diploma.
That’s what the state hopes to accomplish with “Pimlico Plus,” as they’re referring to it. There’s still more that we don’t know than we do in regards to the future of the track. I was surprised that after HB1524 was signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore last week, the state didn’t use the attention paid to the race to further publicize the agreement, celebrate the legal end of the fears that the race would ever leave Baltimore and introduce folks to the newly established nonprofit Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Association (MTROA).
The agreement itself feels like a favorable one for the state and the Park Heights community. But there’s more than a reasonable amount of distrust given the many years we’ve waited for solutions regarding the facility. Hopefully by next year’s Preakness the state and leadership will be ready to show us more renderings of the future track, more plans for events at the facility and more tangible reasons for Baltimore to continue to embrace the sport before the state assumes full control of the race starting in 2028.
MTROA not only needs to work on the functionality of the new track and the operations of the race. They also need to show themselves as involved and active partners with the community. There will be more horse racing at “Pimlico Plus” than there has been in years. The Pimlico and Preakness brands need to exist year-round in our community, not just during the immediate days leading into the race.
As someone not far removed from truly believing the race was leaving our city, I’m encouraged by the potential for what the track and the race can still be for generations to come. The interest in the Preakness is still quite real, as is the event’s relevance in the community … and with a serious opportunity for growth.
Photo Credit: Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club