{"id":2561,"date":"2026-06-22T19:38:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2561"},"modified":"2026-06-22T19:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:38:46","slug":"maryland-buys-preakness-stakes-to-keep-triple-crown-racing-in-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2561","title":{"rendered":"Maryland buys Preakness Stakes to keep Triple Crown racing in the state"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Maryland has announced plans to buy the Preakness Stakes, keeping the Triple Crown race in the state and quashing concerns that a for-profit company would move it.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2559\">House committee leaders strike elusive bipartisan deal on kids\u2019 online safety legislation<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club, the state\u2019s nonprofit racing partner, said the offer matches an $85 million bid from Churchill Downs Inc. to acquire the intellectual property rights from 1\/ST Racing.<\/p>\n<p>Churchill, the for-profit owner of the Kentucky Derby, has earned a reputation among equestrians for closing tracks nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the governor just saw that the Preakness really belonged to the state,\u201d Bill Knauf, the jockey club\u2019s president and general manager, said in a Monday phone interview with The Washington Times. \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know what Churchill\u2019s long-term plan was, but this is a permanent solution and a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mr. Knauf said the purchase makes the race financially \u201cself-sustaining in the future,\u201d ending years of profitability struggles under 1\/ST and other owners.<\/p>\n<p>The club assumed management of the Preakness and preliminary Black-Eyed Susan Stakes last year as part of a new private-public partnership.<\/p>\n<p>Under a deal that was nearly finalized, it would have paid Churchill Downs variable fees out of race proceeds to cover the cost of buying it from the Stronach Group, 1\/ST\u2019s Canadian parent company.<\/p>\n<p>Maryland\u2019s decision to block Churchill\u2019s purchase means the club will now pay a fixed annual sum of $6 million directly to the state over the next 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>The Maryland Economic Development Corp. plans to finance the transaction through a tax-exempt revenue bond, ensuring no general fund tax dollars are used.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state of Maryland will secure ownership of these iconic racing assets, ensuring that Maryland remains in firm control of the state\u2019s multibillion-dollar horseracing industry for decades,\u201d Mr. Moore, a Democrat, said Thursday in a statement.<\/p>\n<div>\n<section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Preakness generates $52.7 million of economic activity for the Baltimore metro area each year, a 2019 University of Baltimore study found. That\u2019s on top of millions of dollars in wagering and ticketing revenues.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, it has struggled more than similar events to overcome a decades-long slide in the popularity of professional horse racing.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple Kentucky Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in recent years to rest for the higher-profile Belmont Stakes, leading officials to consider moving the date.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the growing legalization of online betting has deepened the pressure on tracks nationwide to close, endangering the sport\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n<p>Baltimore\u2019s Pimlico Race Course did not host the Preakness for the first time in 118 years last month. This year\u2019s 151st race moved to Laurel Park, which opened in 1911 and will become a training facility next year as officials consolidate the state\u2019s $2 billion-a-year industry.<\/p>\n<p>Officials are renovating Pimlico into a statewide racing hub called Pimlico Plus, slated to reopen for the 2027 race.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2557\">Judge rules Maryland doesn\u2019t have to turn voter list over to Trump administration<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Napoleon Solo, this year\u2019s Preakness winner, brought home $1.2 million of a $2 million purse.<\/p>\n<p>Leslie Warder, a lifelong horse enthusiast who attended her first Preakness Stakes last month, said that she\u2019s happy the state is buying the race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis decision aligns with the overall goals of ensuring the Preakness remains a central part of the Triple Crown and a Maryland tradition,\u201d said Ms. Warder, 50, an Annapolis resident.<\/p>\n<p>On June 5, the governor tapped Dominion Real Estate CEO Nicole Earle to lead the consolidation as chair of the Maryland Racing Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Earle pledged in a statement to \u201ccontribute to the success of Maryland racing as investments in Pimlico and Laurel shape a sustainable future for this longstanding Maryland tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Organized horse racing in America dates back to before the United States declared independence from Great Britain 250 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>The Maryland Jockey Club, the nation\u2019s oldest sporting organization, was founded in Annapolis in 1743. It launched the Preakness Stakes in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby.<\/p>\n<p>Declining interest consigned Preakness to New York from 1890 to 1908 before it returned to Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Knauf, a lifelong fan of the sport who grew up near Saratoga Race Course in New York, managed New Jersey\u2019s Monmouth Race Track before taking over the jockey club.<\/p>\n<p>He touted plans to expand Preakness from a weeklong to a monthlong event and to convert Pimlico into a yearlong activity hub, building on his previous experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFans are going to see something they\u2019ve never seen in Maryland before,\u201d Mr. Knauf said Monday. \u201cI think you\u2019ll have a different focus with everyone aligned around state goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Maryland Board of Public Works will hold a final vote to approve Laurel Park as a year-round training center on July 1.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Knauf said Preakness is on schedule to return to Pimlico next year with renovated barns, paddock, walking ring and \u201csome infrastructure\u201d completed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe building itself won\u2019t be ready until 2028, but we\u2019ll work around that with temporary construction for the seating and hospitality areas,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2555\">A deal with Tehran only strengthens the Islamic republic<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maryland has announced plans to buy the Preakness Stakes, keeping the Triple Crown race in the state and quashing concerns that a for-profit company would move it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1022,142],"tags":[1680,219,1679,220,221],"class_list":["post-2561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-horse-racing","category-sports","tag-churchill-downs-inc","tag-laurel-park","tag-maryland-jockey-club","tag-pimlico-race-course","tag-preakness-stakes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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