Work on the long-awaited redevelopment of the Pimlico Race Course will be delayed at least two years and Maryland taxpayers will likely end up being on the hook for millions of dollars in cost overruns.
Plans originally called for redevelopments of both Old Hilltop and Laurel Park to be completed by 2025. No bonds have been sold yet by the state and neither project has broken ground. Gary McGuigan, executive vice president of the Maryland Stadium Authority, which is overseeing the design and construction of both projects, provided state lawmakers with an uncertain outlook during a budget briefing Thursday.
“I don’t have a detailed timeline,” McGuigan said. “I will say the earliest that I see activity at either facility is most likely after the Preakness in 2023.”
The General Assembly passed a law in 2020 that ratified a landmark agreement to keep the Preakness in Northwest Baltimore. The deal called for the Stadium Authority to issue up to $375 million in bonds to finance the reconstruction of both race tracks. Debt service will be paid off with lottery revenue, and lottery will get reimbursed by various state funds dedicated to horse racing.
