I went to Pimlico.

OK, so why the sloping floor on the ground level of the grandstand? I know it’s old but I believe they could flatten the ground before building, even back then. I am not too sound anymore and that was just a real PITA, certainly not too comfortable. Plus, it seems hazardous, esp. if rainy out and someone wears not quite the right footwear for it.

The tents - when do (some of them, at least) come down? Yes, I know it makes them money and all but they make it so you can’t see about 2/3 of the race. Seriously!?! :confused: It made it barely worth going. Do some of the tents come down the day after the Preakness, I hope?

They did do a nice job with the flowers on the infield, though. And, for Shammy, no parts of the building fell down while we were there. :wink:

Now, I don’t mean to stir the pot & I know some of you like Pimlico. To me, it was one of those - things that make you go hmm . . . ?

should go walk around Suffolk downs sometime. both very old tracks who don’t receive the best of care as they are on the failing side. I agree with the tents, they suck.

“should go walk around Suffolk downs sometime.”

I’ve always wanted to see Suffolk. I love old raceways. Thanks for the reply!

Is the floor sloped like the floor of a church or a theatre? If so, I would assume it was built that way so people in the back could see over the heads of people in front. Just a guess …

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^^ Ah ha, quite possible. Movie theater type slope. Leave it to COTHers to figure things out! Thanks, RPM.

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I am one of those strange people who revere places where history has happened, or family occasions have occurred, etc. The first time I went to The KY Horse Park, I thought I’d found heaven. It certainly is Nirvana for horse people. I still get chills when I walk onto the Devon Horse Show grounds- and I hate most of what happens there.

I went to the Preakness last year, and was totally depressed by Pimlico. Just abysmal internally- from the betting area, to the grandstands. If you wanted to make a piece of history turn to complete crap, this is how you would do it. I actually resent the Stronach Group for owning it, and allowing this to happen. These places are hallowed ground for the sport.

That doesn’t seem to mean much to those with the purse strings.

“I am one of those strange people who revere places where history has happened,”

I totally agree, me too!

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Pimlico is hallowed ground for me. I don’t think it would be the same if everything was shiny and new. And yes it is sloped so people can see from everywhere. The tents make up much of the big money seating since as you saw the Grandstand doesn’t have luxury boxes and the like so they are necessary towards the bottom line. They have huge screens in several locations so even though you can’t see the horses lives for a few seconds, you can always see the screen. You should have told me you were coming, I could have given you the insider’s tour of one of my favorite places in the world.

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(Pimlico is hallowed ground for me.)

Yes, I remembered that as I started my post (and thought, “Oh no, Laurie is not going to like this.”) Is that where you started? I think one’s first raceway (stb term) is always dear to their heart.

(I don’t think it would be the same if everything was shiny and new.)

Oh, absolutely. I loved all the photos of the famous horses of years gone by and stood looking at them for awhile. To realize that they’ve been right there gave me the goosebumps. I pictured the bettors, as they used to dress, going up to the windows. The (Old) shoe board hanging in the paddock was heart warming, too.

It surely is not the grandstand’s fault (?) but I’ve had to have hot packs on my knees for the past two days due to that sloping floor. The tents - a double edged sword, of which the finance side necessarily wins out. I’ve heard of them but wasn’t expecting quite so much of them! (Are they there for the whole (12) meet or do they take some of them down, perhaps, like right away, please?)

(You should have told me you were coming, I could have given you the insider’s tour of one of my favorite places in the world.)

I know you had kindly said that and I’m so kicking myself for not. That would have been awesome. Please excuse, I’ve been​ dealing with some terrible patella problems and just trying to get through the days.

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The tents will be up for the whole meet but they are only in use for two days. They actually take weeks to put up and take down, they start building in March. It’s not that I don’t like what you said, you are welcome to your opinion, I just don’t feel the same way. We went to Italy and saw lots of really, really old stuff that while it needs to be preserved, if they rebuilt it would have ruined it. I would be ok with them redoing Pimlico as long as they kept the race track as it is since that is where the magic actually happened.

This week is my Christmas, I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

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I truly care about these places. Really, I do. I live up near Valley Forge Park. I am 45 minutes from the historical district in Philly. It matters.

But PLEASE do not compare this to anything in Europe. They’ve been at it for hundreds of years- like over 10 hundreds. A lot.

We’ve been at it for less than 300, and Pimlico just isn’t that old. Just decrepit.

Devon has been rebuilt, and overbuilt. It isn’t the country fair that I first showed at as a little kid in 1973. But, at least they have upgraded virtually everything that they can in footing, and the stalls are getting better- those were awful. The box seats- which I believe are older than Pimlico, have all been redone. So, the feeling is there.

Someone needs to take a match to Pimlico, or get serious about renovating this treasure. Letting it fall to ruin is just horrendous.

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Pimlico is a dump. Go there any time other than Preakness week and there is trash all over the place. The grandstand is ugly. The old grandstand burned down and this one was built in the 1960s, so nothing historic about it. The surrounding neighborhood is blight and crime ridden. The track itself is not in good condition, it was partially redone this spring but they did more of a patch job than anything else. I have my fingers crossed and I’m praying to every God there is that nothing breaks down this week.

It needs to be razed and rebuilt along with improvements to the neighborhood, but that does not make financial sense to the current owners and no one else is stepping up to the plate with a bag of money.

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Go to Saratoga sometime and that track is a postercard for preserving history. From the barns to the track itself to the grandstand, paddock, betting areas. It truly is an amazing piece of history that has been so well preserved that it is a destination during the summer no matter what is racing on each day. It is like walking through a century+ old park. There is nothing shiney and new about it; it has simply been well-cared for from the barns and grounds to the grandstand and clockers corner itself. Pimlico should take note.

And I wouldn’t say Europe is all that and a bag of chips. yea; they may have been at it longer than those in the states but they are at the forefront of modernizing things and I wouldn’t say the majority of their tracks are historical pieces of art.

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and Suffolk downs is going to be demolished after the 2018 summer meet to make way for housing. Its truly a shame because it really could be something special. But if you ever do get the chance to go; it is nothing pretty and I’m willing to bet its in much worse shape than Pimlico

Snaffle, thanks for mentioning Saratoga. I was thinking the same thing as I’ve been reading this thread. I was raised in Saratoga and it is my standard for what preserving history should be like. I now go to Pimlico weekly (as a volunteer) and the difference is, well, shocking. However, it hasn’t stopped me from wanting to make sure that backstretch community gets some support. My guess right now is that Pimlico eventually goes away and the Preakness moves to Laurel.

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Saratoga’s handle roughly averages $16,000,000 from all sources on a daily basis (2016). I think Pimlico’s last year was $6,300,000. So Saratoga nets a huge huge amount more than Pimlico per day and it is not open year round for training like Pimlico is, so there is less overhead. There is no money to make Pimlico a Saratoga or even anything close.

I have a lot of love for Pimlico, honestly. Have many good memories there and always enjoyed going on “regular” race days as I always met interesting people.

I don’t know if that track will ever be treated the way it deserves. There’s so little racing there now, and the renovations they’d need to do are pretty expensive. I would love to see the place rehabbed and modernized a little (especially the plumbing), if they could also keep some of the character. I know some people don’t think it has character, especially compared to places like Saratoga, but to me it’s a lot like many parts of Baltimore - a bit gritty from the outside but pretty cool.

I have a feeling the Preakness will move to Laurel eventually, it probably makes financial sense, but it makes me really sad.

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I don’t think Laurel can handle the Preakness crowds without some serious renovating/expansion. They have the parking (far, far more parking than they ever use nowadays) but the grandstand isn’t quite up to the task.

The biggest downside to Laurel in regards to moving the Preakness there is the infield is a swamp. I know they have drained swamps in places like Florida so they could build stuff so I guess it is possible but I am sure that won’t be easy. Without the infield you really can’t get that many people in one place. Belmont doesn’t use their infield but they do have the backyard area which serves the same purpose and is where the bulk of the crowd is on Belmont day during a TC try. So if they do move, chances are they will have to restrict the number of people who can attend which of course will make the prices go way up.

I do like that today the gate crew and lead pony riders are in pink shirts and the starting gate is pink :slight_smile: