On May 9, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed into law the “Pimlico Plus” plan to rebuild the 150-plus-year-old race course, turn the track into a day-to-day hub and transfer the rights of Pimlico from the Stronach Group to the state.
With this year’s Preakness Stakes in the books, all racing will shift to Laurel Park as the process to rebuild Pimlico begins. Pimlico will still host next year’s Preakness, the 150th running of the historic race, but Laurel will host the 2026 Preakness. The hope is that Pimlico will reopen in time for the 2027 Preakness, with year-round racing beginning in 2028.
The Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority was created in 2023 to recommend the next steps for Pimlico, in desperate need of improvements for years only for myriad plans to stall before implementation.
“The operating authority is an entity created legislatively to figure out what to do with Maryland racing,” MTROA executive director Marc Broady said on Glenn Clark Radio May 17. “We had to reevaluate everything that had been done the year prior, which we as we all know did not end in success, and figure out a path forward, make a recommendation to the legislature, which we did on Jan. 5, and then let the legislature and the governor figure out what they wanted to do with our recommendations.”
The law allows Maryland to borrow up to $400 million to rebuild Pimlico, with a yet-to-be-detailed training center also part of the plans. The Stronach Group will transfer control of Pimlico to the state for a dollar along with memorabilia, the Woodlawn Vase and the Maryland Jockey Club name. Stronach still owns the intellectual property of the Preakness, so the group will be paid a licensing fee out of Preakness proceeds.
Stronach will remain partners with the state as the transition unfolds throughout the next few years.
“This is the classic case where it’s the perfect spot for a large government investment because the returns weren’t sufficient for a private operator to put $400 million in,” MTROA chairman Greg Cross said on GCR May 17. “From a state perspective, we’ve got a $3 billion economic impact, so it makes all the sense in the world for the state to make the investment. I support the other investments the state has made, but in this instance, as opposed to giving it to someone who owns a team, we’re giving it to ourselves, so we’re going to control it.”
The hope is that Pimlico no longer will be a one-week-a-year destination but a 365-day hub that features a sportsbook, restaurant and seating for day-to-day customers. That will all connect to a large event space that will be available on Preakness Day and for proms and the like. The Maryland Stadium Authority is collecting construction bids and working with architects on final designs now.
A new hotel is also in the plans. The state is also excited about what the project will mean for Park Heights.
“It’s not just Pimlico with a few days of racing [around] the Preakness and then pretty much an empty area for the remainder of the year,” Broady said. “We’re going to have a lot of activity there. There’s going to be a hotel that we’re looking to get a private operator to help us with. There’s going to be community benefits. There’s going to be interspersed housing throughout the community. There was a $10 million amount that goes directly to the Park Heights community, rightfully so.”
For more from Marc Broady and Greg Cross, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Mitch Stringer/PressBox