The horses in this year’s Preakness Stakes will be 3 years old — born the same year as a state law to spend $375 million in public financing to keep the cherished race in Baltimore and buoy the racing industry in Maryland.
Since 2020, those thoroughbreds have been winning races, maturing and rising to the top of their sport. Meanwhile, the aging Pimlico and Laurel Park racetracks have only gotten older.
Rising construction costs and interest rates, much costlier than anticipated renovations, and a question of who eventually will own Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County have stalled progress on the complex projects.
The path forward remains unclear, as the cost estimate to improve both tracks keeps growing. The construction start date has disappeared around the bend and out of sight; it’s unscheduled, but won’t be this year.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Hayes Gardner over at The Baltimore Sun
