{"id":257,"date":"2026-05-22T09:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T09:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=257"},"modified":"2026-05-22T09:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T09:36:28","slug":"preakness-racegoers-bid-a-wistful-farewell-to-historic-laurel-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=257","title":{"rendered":"Preakness racegoers bid a wistful farewell to historic Laurel Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jim Reasner has traveled from Pennsylvania to see horse races in Maryland for more than 25 years \u2014 and this weekend\u2019s Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park closed a happy chapter in his life.<\/p>\n

Read more Lawmakers try to fight Trump\u2019s Anti-Weaponization Fund<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThey used to do a lot of international races here, and I had a lot of good memories,\u201d Mr. Reasner, 79, said during Friday\u2019s Black-Eyed Susan Day preliminary runs, growing quiet. \u201cI hate to see it change. I\u2019m too old for change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baltimore\u2019s Pimlico Race Course did not host the Preakness, the middle jewel of horse racing\u2019s Triple Crown, for the first time in 118 years. That made this weekend\u2019s 151st race likely a last hurrah for Laurel, which opened in 1911 and is slated to become a training facility next year as officials consolidate the state\u2019s declining racing industry.<\/p>\n

Mr. Reasner\u2019s friend Bill Butterworth sat next to him at a picnic table in front of the track, sipping a beer while reviewing his race card.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s my first time in Laurel, and it might be the last time,\u201d said Mr. Butterworth, 61, who has attended the race at Pimlico for more than 15 years. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like watching it live and being with people who love horse racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legalization of online betting in recent years has accelerated a yearslong decline in demand for professional horse racing, leading tracks to shutter nationwide and endangering the sport\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

The joyful horse enthusiasts who milled about Laurel Park in bright spring hats and cotton suits Friday afternoon refused to label themselves as a dying breed. But they agreed that their sport is endangered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they revive Maryland horse racing because it\u2019s part of our state\u2019s history,\u201d said Leslie Warder, 50.<\/p>\n

She said she drove from Annapolis to attend her first Preakness races as a \u201cbucket list\u201d item.<\/p>\n

A Maryland tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Organized horse racing in America dates back to before the U.S. declared independence from Britain 250 years ago.<\/p>\n

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

Declining interest consigned the Preakness to New York from 1890 to 1908 before the race returned to Baltimore.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Maryland officials adopted a plan to renovate Pimlico, which is in disrepair, under a new private-public partnership to conserve the state\u2019s $2 billion-a-year racing industry. The renovated Pimlico Plus is scheduled to reopen as a statewide racing hub next year, closing Laurel.<\/p>\n

Read more Six Republicans help Democrats defeat Smithsonian women\u2019s history museum bill<\/a><\/p>\n

Churchill Downs Inc., owner of the Kentucky Derby, is finalizing an $85 million deal to buy the intellectual property rights of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Preakness Stakes from 1\/ST Racing. In response, Maryland is considering buying the rights to ensure the Preakness stays in Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to miss the people,\u201d said Mike Rogers of 1\/ST Racing, which hosted the Preakness for the last time this year. \u201cEveryone in Maryland has been great. I can\u2019t talk about what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s move to Laurel Park \u2014 a facility at the intersection of Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George\u2019s counties \u2014 shifted millions of dollars in tourism revenue away from Baltimore.<\/p>\n

It also reawakened a long-dormant tradition of championship horse racing in suburban Maryland.<\/p>\n

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Maryland horse-racing advocates note that the only father-son duo to win the Triple Crown \u2014 Gallant Fox in 1930 and his sire Omaha in 1935 \u2014 were owned and trained by Belair Stud in Prince George\u2019s County.<\/p>\n

Legendary horses Secretariat, Seabiscuit, War Admiral and Affirmed all raced at Laurel.<\/p>\n

Several lifelong equestrians walking along the cigar smoke-filled track expressed hope that racing officials might find a way to keep Laurel Park open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying goodbye,\u201d said Karis Wegeler, who made the drive from Bel Air in northeast Maryland to attend the latest of many Preakness weekends. \u201cThey\u2019re closing so many places; they can\u2019t close this one too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Wegeler, who grew up on a farm riding horses, is working to preserve the state\u2019s tradition: Her family owns Rose of Sharon Equestrian School, a nonprofit in Glen Arm that offers therapeutic horseback riding for children.<\/p>\n

She watched in rapt attention as the thoroughbred colts trotted to the starting line after the iconic \u201cCall to the Post\u201d bugle call.<\/p>\n

\u201cHorses are beautiful, fun and fast,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat\u2019s not to love?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her friend Elaina Thomas wore a black-and-yellow outfit to honor the state flower, the Black-Eyed Susan. She predicted that Pimlico\u2019s renovation would run behind schedule, setting up the smaller Laurel Park to host another Preakness weekend next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe facility here is nicer, cleaner, updated and has better bathrooms,\u201d said Ms. Thomas, who has attended the race for years. \u201cI don\u2019t think Pimlico will be ready next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Iran negotiations may prevent Trump\u2019s attendance at weekend wedding of son Don Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course did not host the Preakness, the middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, for the first time in 118 years. 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