Could Preakness Leave Baltimore?
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Preakness has long been a Baltimore tradition and we just wrapped up a weekend of excitement---but there may come a time when it's no longer here in Baltimore.
Alex DeMetrick has more on that possibility.
As possibilities go, moving the Preakness is the last thing the Maryland Jockey Club wants to do, but there are a lot of factors in play and a final decision is yet to be made.
Rain or shine, this race has been run in Baltimore the past 140 years.
"And I know that as soon as you say or even hint that the Preakness is going to move to Laurel, everybody goes `Oh my God,'" said Maryland Jockey Club vice president Sal Sinatra. "It's not that simple."
It has to do with Pimlico's age. Built in 1870, it is the nation's second oldest track.
"the problem is investing into this building. The structure can't handle building onto it and it would be a total rebuild," Sinatra said.
Costing upwards of half a billion dollars. But the Canadian company that owns the Jockey Club and Pimlico also owns a newer track...sort of. Laurel Park was built in 1911 and Laurel has room to grow. A major overhaul here could make it the state's premier track and a tempting venue for the Preakness.
"If they moved the Preakness to Laurel, we're going to lose hotel rooms, visitation. All the restaurants are going to lose out," said Mike Evitts, Downtown Partnership.
The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore believes moving the race will mean visitors move down the road.
"The economic hit to Baltimore is going to be huge. The big gainers would be Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties," Evitts said.
And a hit to the neighborhood around the track that celebrates the race and cashes in on turning yards to parking lots.
"It brings a lot of money to our neighborhood so I'd rather for it to be here than Laurel," said Karonn Taylor.
There are options at Pimlico. If year-round racing moves to Laurel, barns could be taken down and the land sold to raise money and the Preakness would be reconfigured as a standalone event.
"Maybe in time reducing this meet to a festival meet. That's why we talked about possibly moving the Preakness to Sunday and do a weekend Preakness," Sinatra said.
Stretching the biggest weekend of the year while horses run the rest of the year at Laurel.
Also in the mix is another bit of economics: the Maryland Jockey Club says it is losing between $3,000,000 and $6,000,000 a year running two old tracks.
