For those who aren’t in the local loop, Baltimore’s mayor is following in the footsteps of some of the fine prior politicians…
[URL=“https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/01/politics/baltimore-catherine-pugh/index.html”]https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/01/politics/baltimore-catherine-pugh/index.html
Baltimore can’t manage a mayor much less a racetrack.
Racing’s reputation is killing racing.
Racing’s reality is killing racing.
If that’s the case, then after racing falls, eventing will go next.
Looks like the fine people of Baltimore have succeeded in blocking legislation to fund further improvements to Laurel and a prospective training center. If they can’t have Pimlico, nobody gets anything.
[URL=“https://www.theracingbiz.com/2019/04/04/laurel-super-track-bill-will-not-advance-report-says/”]https://www.theracingbiz.com/2019/04/04/laurel-super-track-bill-will-not-advance-report-says/
"The MJC has said that HB 990 and its companion are essential to its long-term plans. They would allow the company to turn Laurel into a so-called “super track,” incorporating racing and other entertainment options, and to reopen the now-shuttered Bowie Training Center.
Those changes would allow the track to host the Breeders’ Cup and, if Pimlico is closed, the Preakness.
“We must act now, though,” said Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of the Stronach Group, which owns the MJC, in a hearing. “Our window of losing the Breeders’ Cup will pass” if the company can’t guarantee the Laurel plant will be ready.
But the bill has been caught up in the debate over the future of Pimlico. The aging facility, the home of the Preakness, needs a massive infusion of funds to remain a viable host for that event.
Baltimore city political leaders are fighting hard to preserve the track and have sought to paint the MEDCO legislation as a death knell for Old Hilltop. That’s in part because they perceive Laurel’s gain as Pimlico’s loss and in part because the city has identified the RFRA funds as one logical funding source for saving Pimlico."
This is eerily reminiscent of the failure to pass the slots bill back in 2005. MD really got behind the 8 ball on that one, and it was a result of the same type of short-sighted infighting among people who supposedly support racing.
I don’t understand why all the big-name multi-billionaires who love to aim at the Triple Crown can’t form a corporation to infuse money into Pimlico. Maybe owners can’t own race tracks where their own horses race, but if they formed a corporation it would be the owner, not them.
I still don’t get why, if Churchill Downs has been so hugely renovated, Pimlico can’t be. It’s a race track. Used by the same rich people who use Churchill Downs, Belmont, and Saratoga, for crying out loud. Why can’t Baltimore talk to Louisville to learn how to do it?
Or do the rich horsey Marylanders just not want the tradition of the track to go along with the tradition of the Triple Crown?
Makes no sense.
Well for starters the owners don’t want to sell it to anyone so that takes care of that.
If Aqueduct can survive in the Bronx and do relatively well with a season circuit; surely Pimlico can do the same as with any old, struggling track. Management has let it fall to the wayside and age ungracefully and theres no interest from the public to support it. Upgrade some stabling and revitalize the stands and you have a venue that could support racing there. Pimlico is not surviving because no one cares. Stronachs do not care. They just shut down Oregon.
The same thing occurred at Suffolk Downs. Perfect place for some revitalization and some work to draw the people and the place could hold its own. Instead; they let the entire facility fall to the wayside and now its rotting away and supporting racing for only a few days a year for ship ins. It’s heart breaking to see it rot. Mark my words, it’ll be housing in the next 5-10 years.
Having a track that succeeds is much more than just a nice grandstand and facilities. The entire staff needs to be working to constantly draw people to the venue to support it. The horseman and horse owners are not who keep the track alive. In the case of Suffolk Downs, racing for 6 days a year isn’t keeping the place alive.
You need a venue that draws the people and meets the needs of horseman and you need a race schedule that encourages the horsemen and attracts them, draws the crowds and bettors and has a long enough run during the year to keep the place financially viable.
What makes no sense is having to maintain and operate 2 racetracks within 30 miles of eachother catering to the same customers, and then there is Timonium and then there is Virginia.
@snaffle1987 - you can’t really compare Baltimore to NY wrt population and especially purse structure and handle. Which translates to money for the facility.
actually you can. Pimlico is in the slums no different than Aqueduct and even Churchill downs. None of these tracks are in wealthy neighborhoods like Gulfstream. Just because Aqueduct is in NY does not mean its a high roller type of place. In fact, far from it. Perhaps you need to take a visit to Meadowlands and see the type of crowd that place attracts in the evening hours.
The problem with Stronachs is they only want boutique, wealthy-type tracks like Gulfstream. Gulf Stream attracts the wealthy crowd much like Santa Anita where high rollers frequent and the track has this aura of old money, class and prestige. Stronachs are extremely wealthy people who want to keep the sport and tracks alive that attract their own type of clientele. They have no interest in investing and revitalizing old tracks that attract the area’s middle class and poor like Pimlico and Washington did on a regular basis. Those tracks are just lead weights to them…and it’s sad.
snaffle1987… sometimes I don’t get what you say.
Gulfstream Park may not be in a more middle class neighborhood (IDK since I’ve not been there) but they race pretty much year around at Gulfstream. They may have a “boutique” meet with their Championship meet but once that ends and the higher end horses move north, they keep racing.
You complain that the Stronachs cater to the wealthy crowd and not the middle/poor. For many in the middle and poor classes, race betting is out of reach anyway. Is that a smart way to spend expendable income? There may be a few professional horseplayers that would count themselves in as middle class but is the “poor” (whoever those are economically) really a target market for racing? Maybe they can afford gate admission but certainly not much betting. $2 win/place/show tickets aren’t where the horse racing monies come from.
Can you explain the financial model that would support spending millions to upgrade Pimlico and keep it self-supporting?
Oh, and Meadowlands, it’s in New Jersey, a multi-sport facility, offers harness racing 2 (3?) evenings a week. Not sure I see a comparison between this track and Aqueduct or Belmont. Oh, and Meadowlands record attendance was back in 1982 when they also offered a closed circuit broadcast of the Cooney-Holmes fight.
People who live around Churchill Downs would be shocked to hear their cute single family homes referred to as slums. Yes, Pimlico is in an economically depressed area, but slums? Not really.
Have you have been to any of these tracks? Alternatively, have you ever seen a slum?
The neighborhood doesn’t support the track, nor does the personal wealth of the owner. It’s the takeout and overall world-wide handle. MD does not even play on the same field as NY in that respect.
Beginning of the end?
Pimlico’s Northern Grandstand to be closed, found to be unsafe 
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/233105/pimlicos-northern-grandstand-to-be-closed
How convenient that they had the engineering done now. It isn’t like you had to wonder what kind of condition Pimlico has been in for a very, very long time. This goes back to what I said a while ago. Stronach Is trying to tank Pimlico. Going about it this way is just sad. And underhanded
“While the historic structure (of Pimlico’s Old Grandstand) has renovation potential from an architectural/design perspective, the structural integrity of the plywood decking and exposed steel need to be assessed.”
Maryland Stadium Authority Pimlico Study Report, February 2017, page 47
https://www.mdstad.com/…/pimlico-race-course-study-phase-1-2
Well, the post above is what I get for trying to post from my phone. :lol:
Seriously, considering Laurierace’s post and common sense, Stronach knows exactly what the situation is at Pimlico- awful, and getting worse- and is going to let it go down, and then suggest in grandiose fashion that he will allow the Preakness to be run at his other facility- Laurel.
It’s weird because when I posted that it included the link to the report. I even checked it from a different browser to make sure the link worked and now it’s completely gone from the post. The whole point is they knew this two years ago, the only difference is it did not pass the fire marshall inspection this year I imagine.
Not up on all the racing news so begging forgiveness if this is a dumb question …
… but if part of the grandstand is closed due to being in bad condition, and there are questions marks generally, what about the Preakness Stakes to be run there in a few weeks? With all of the attention, tradition and media and all?
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