Current:Home > StocksMaryland lawmakers consider new plan to rebuild Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness -MacroWatch
Maryland lawmakers consider new plan to rebuild Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness
View
Date:2025-04-15 04:19:55
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A new plan to rebuild Baltimore’s storied but deteriorating Pimlico Race Course and transfer the track to state control is making a late charge down the stretch of Maryland’s legislative session.
The measure, released Thursday with less than a month to go in the session, would use $400 million in state bonds to rebuild the home of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
The plan calls for transferring Pimlico from the Stronach Group, which is the current owner of Pimlico and nearby Laurel Park, to a newly formed nonprofit that would operate under the state.
Greg Cross, chairman of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority, said in a statement Thursday that the authority supported the plan “that will help secure the future of horse racing here in Maryland.”
Cross thanked Belinda Stronach and the Stronach Group for the “professionalism and good faith they brought to this process with the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority.”
“We know the state is eager to see the long overdue improvements to Pimlico and investments in the Park Heights community come to fruition, and the governor looks forward to working with the General Assembly to finalize this deal and pass the authorizing legislation to make it a reality,” Cross said in the statement.
Craig Fravel, executive vice chairman of 1/ST Racing, the Stronach Group’s racing and wagering business, said extensive negotiations have taken place since an announcement in early January outlined a framework for an agreement between the Stronach Group, the Maryland Jockey Club, and the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority.
“That agreement aims to secure a sustainable future for the Maryland Thoroughbred racing industry and ensure the successful operation of Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness in Baltimore,” Fravel said. “We thank Greg Cross and the MTROA board. We look forward to the legislative consideration process and collaborating with the MTROA and Maryland stakeholders to usher in a new era for racing in the state.”
Under the plan, the Preakness would relocate to Laurel Park in 2026 while the new facility is being built, before returning to Pimlico, likely in 2027.
Maryland lawmakers approved a plan in 2020 to rebuild the track, but it never got off the ground. The new plan increases the amount of state bonds to be used from $375 million to $400 million. The plan also calls for a training facility, with details to be determined.
The bill is being introduced late in the General Assembly’s 90-day session, which is scheduled to adjourn April 8, but lawmakers had mentioned the possibility of a proposal coming before them.
“We knew it was coming,” Democratic Sen. Guy Guzzone, chairman of the Senate’s budget committee, told reporters Thursday, noting that “there are a whole host of issues that we’re going to have to review over the coming days.”
veryGood! (7634)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Sam's Club offers up to 70% discounts on new memberships through the weekend
- JPMorgan profit jumps 35%, but CEO says geopolitics and gov’t inaction have led to ‘dangerous time’
- Castellanos hits 2 homers, powers Phillies past Braves 3-1 and into NLCS for 2nd straight season
- Trump's 'stop
- Climate change sees IOC aim to choose hosts of 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics at same time next July
- How long does retirement last? Most American men don't seem to know
- AP Week in Pictures: Asia
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- How Travis Barker’s Daughter Alabama Barker Gets Her Lip Filler to Look Natural
Ranking
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Muslims gather at mosques for first Friday prayers since Israel-Hamas war started
- Muslims gather at mosques for first Friday prayers since Israel-Hamas war started
- Seth Rogen's Wife Lauren Miller Rogen Shares She Had Brain Aneurysm Removed
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Thursday marks 25 years since Matthew Shepard's death, but activists say LGBTQ+ rights are still at risk
- Taylor Swift returns to Arrowhead Stadium to see Travis Kelce and the Chiefs face the Broncos
- Taylor Swift's Sweet Moment With Brittany Mahomes at Kansas City Chiefs Game Hits Different
Recommendation
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Northwestern State football player shot and killed near campus, coach calls it ‘a tremendous loss’
5 Things podcast: Death tolls rise in Israel and Gaza, online hate, nomination for Speaker
Taco Bell adds new menu items: Toasted Breakfast Tacos and vegan sauce for Nacho Fries
Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
Officer shooting in Minnesota: 5 officers suffered gunshot wounds; suspect arrested
At Colorado funeral home where 115 decaying bodies found, troubles went unnoticed by regulators
Why millions of Gaza residents will soon run out of food and clean water