A storied Carroll County farm has been chosen as the site of a $115 million training center that is a key piece in the state’s takeover of the horse racing industry.
Shamrock Farm, a horse breeding farm in Woodbine, was selected Tuesday over the controversial Mitchell Farm site in Harford County. The training center will fill a critical need for stalls to house horses as the state moves to consolidate racing at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.
The training center is a part of the state’s $400 million plan to take over the racing industry and make Pimlico the home of horse racing in Maryland. Earlier this year, the legislature passed a bill allowing the state to take over Pimlico and the Maryland Jockey Club from the Stronach Group, a Canadian company that has overseen the state’s racetracks for decades. Getting the state-of-the-art training center in Carroll County was a big win for Maryland’s thoroughbred community, which did not want to have to travel up to Harford County.
