Read Jmore‘s coverage of the ongoing battle over Pimlico Race Course, the future home of The Preakness Stakes and related issues impacting the neighboring Park Heights community.
Is Pimlico in its Home Stretch? — We definitely want to keep the Preakness – and all that it stands for – in Baltimore, writes Michael Olesker. It helps us feel big league. It reminds the whole country that this city’s more than its famous political payoffs and homicide counts. It tells everybody we’re bigger than Laurel. May 6, 2019
Wanted: Someone with Imagination to Rescue Pimlico —
There’s an uneasy sense that history’s about to repeat itself in Baltimore’s long-shot struggle to prevent the Preakness Stakes from galloping out of town and keep Pimlico Race Course alive. March 4, 2019
Saving Old Hilltop — The Maryland Stadium Authority says it would cost $424 million to make the track suitable for continuous hosting of the annual Preakness Stakes. But first they’d have to spend about $100 million for new water lines, sewer pipes — and Old Hilltop’s demolition. Dec. 17, 2018
Despite Optimism, Pimlico’s Future Remains a Big Question Mark —
The Preakness is part of the city of Baltimore’s DNA. But the track is owned by the Stronach Group, whose heart (and wallet) lies elsewhere. The company has made little secret that it’s eyeing its Laurel Park racetrack as the great Triple Crown race’s future home. Oct. 24, 2018
Supreme Court Ruling Could Have Consequences for Pimlico —
Maybe it’s a long shot, and maybe it’s just “Preakness Fever” addling our brains, but some of us are wondering if this week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on sports betting might turn out to be a late-hour death sentence reprieve for Pimlico Race Course. May 16, 2018
Will Pimlico Be Around for the Long Run?
Sixty years ago, Pimlico was drawing crowds across a lengthy racing season. There was no need to make Preakness Day so outlandishly “special.” But by 1998, the track was dependent on that one day to support the rest of its dwindling calendar, and so they’ve been promoting the hell out of it every spring — and hoping to keep the track alive in such a manner. May 1, 2018
Hopeful Words, Plenty of Anxiety —
If Pimlico’s abandoned, it would expose the big geographical buffer that separates those neighborhoods northwest of the track, stretching from Park Heights Avenue down to Falls Road, such as Mount Washington, from those below Belvedere Avenue down to Park Circle, which have long been plagued by poverty, abandoned housing, high crime and drug abuse. April 11, 2018
Pimlico Race Course’s Future Hangs in the Balance —
Everybody’s wondering about Pimlico Race Course, whose future seems tied not only to the tortured demise of thoroughbred horse racing in Maryland but to the track’s uses if ownership decides to shut Old Hilltop down. April 9, 2018
Remembering Pimlico’s Glory Days —
In his heyday, the late Philip “Pacey” Silbert earned a living both honestly and otherwise. He booked bets on the old three-digit street number, and he booked bets on thoroughbred horse races. Boy, could Pimlico Race Course use some guys like Pacey today. March 31, 2017
Pimlico’s Demise Would Seriously Impact Area —
In all the talk about Pimlico Race Course and the future of the city’s beloved Preakness, it’s important to keep something in mind: we’re not just talking about the future of a racetrack, we’re talking about the future of its surrounding Northwest Baltimore neighborhoods. March 1, 2017
Murky Future for Pimlico and the ‘Sport of Kings’ —
The 147-year-old Northwest Baltimore track, already reduced to a mere fraction of its former racing days and an even tinier fraction of its former impact on the American sporting culture, now faces the possible loss of the Preakness, which is its only modern reason for existence and, for more than a decade now, the only day of the year in which the track actually makes money. Feb. 27, 2017
Also see:
From BaltimoreFishbowl.com: Nearly three months after taking the owners of Pimlico Race Course to court over the 149-year-old track’s deterioration, as well as their plans to move the second jewel of the Triple Crown to Laurel Park, the city has withdrawn its lawsuit against the Ontario-based Stronach Group and its subsidiary, the Maryland Jockey Club. June 12, 2019
What Would The Preakness Look Like At Laurel Park?
From PressBox: Many folks feel the likelihood of the Preakness Stakes running off to Laurel Park is as sure a thing as Smarty Jones in his stretch gallop in the 2004 edition of the legendary race. For a quick refresher, Smarty Jones took the lead at the top of the stretch in that Preakness and when he crossed the finish line, there were nearly a dozen lengths between him and the closest colt. May 15, 2019
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