Baltimore County Lawmaker Proposes Moving Preakness

Delegate Pat McDonough, who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, has filed legislation to move the Preakness from Pimlico, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Pimlico is “dead man walking,” McDonough said, explaining his pre-filed legislation called for relocating the race to another site in Baltimore, possibly Port Covington.

By law, the Preakness is only allowed to move from Pimlico if there is an emergency or disaster, or if state legislators revise the Maryland law from 1987 that stated as much, The Baltimore Sun reports.

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In May, Maryland Jockey Club General Manager Sal Sinatra told ABC 2 News that it made sense for the Preakness to move over to the Laurel Race Track, which the organization also operates, as the club seeks to become financially stable.

The organization has been losing millions of dollars each year to maintain both facilities, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Sinatra said the aging Pimlico would require “almost a rebuild,” while Laurel is “a pretty healthy building,” according to The New York Times. Pimlico was built in 1870 and is the second oldest track in the nation, after Saratoga. Laurel Park opened in 1911 and has undergone several renovations.

The jockey club tried moving the prestigious Preakness to Laurel in 1947 but could not clear the hurdle of Annapolis, The Washington Post reported.

When discussions began in May about potentially moving the Preakness from Baltimore City, a spokesperson for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told The Baltimore Sun it was “inconceivable” to move the race from Charm City.