Skip to Content

News



Letter to the editor: Pimlico redevelopment bill will be vital to Park Heights’ success

News | Posted

At Sinai Hospital, our legacy, and what makes us an integral part of our community, is founded on having taken care of people in Baltimore for more than 150 years. When we moved to the Park Heights community more than six decades ago, we became connected – literally and figuratively – to the surrounding neighborhoods and worked hard to ensure that programs and services we offer meet the needs of those who live nearby.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Plan to renovate horse racing tracks clears Maryland Senate, awaits House approval

News | Posted

A $389 million plan to renovate the Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course tracks and keep the Preakness Stakes race in Baltimore sailed through the Maryland Senate on Friday.The measure now is being considered by the House of Delegates, where the tracks’ owners are optimistic about their chances for approval.“We’re confident that we’re in as good hands in the House as we are in the Senate. We’ve heard favorable things and we’re hopeful,” said Alan Rifkin, general counsel for the Maryland Jockey Club, a subsidiary of the Stronach Group that owns the tracks.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Hi ho, Pimlico: Preakness revival plan deserves its warm reception | COMMENTARY

News | Posted

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the future of keeping the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course seemed dim. Baltimore officials asked a judge to give it ownership of the track, a move that infuriated owner The Stronach Group. Even the longtime president of the Senate (a politician known to have more than a furlong’s worth of clout in Annapolis) was openly speculating that moving the Preakness out of the city to Laurel Park made more sense than trying to renovate Baltimore’s historic facility. It was messy. It was dispiriting. And it looked like a century and a half of tradition was about to gallop out of town.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Maryland lawmakers consider funds for Pimlico and Laurel tracks

News | Posted

Baltimore politicians and neighborhood leaders joined representatives from the company that owns the Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park thoroughbred tracks to make a pitch to state lawmakers Tuesday for a $389 million aid package that would revamp both tracks and keep the storied Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

Read more »

Baltimore Business Journal: Officials, community urge passage of 'history-making' proposal to keep Preakness in Baltimore

News | Posted

Public officials, community members and horse racing advocates from across Maryland urged lawmakers in Annapolis to pass legislation that would allow for an overhaul of the Pimlico Race Course and keep the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

Read more »

Maryland Matters: Bill to Fund Racetrack Renovations Wins Praise from Community Leaders

News | Posted

A proposal to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Maryland’s aging horse tracks won the enthusiastic embrace of community leaders and local elected officials on Tuesday, as members of two key committees held their first in-depth hearings on the plan.

Read more »

WMAR-TV: Proposal to renovate Laurel, Pimlico race tracks would keep Preakness in Baltimore

News | Posted

Lawmakers heard from business leaders, county executives and others about the importance of Pimlico staying viable and the Preakness Stakes staying in Baltimore City.

Read more »

WBAL: Commentary - Pimlico Deal A Win For City, Track Operator

News | Posted

In a commentary, Don Fry, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, talks about the latest plan to keep the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. Fry hails it as a fruitful compromise for Baltimore and the operator of Pimlico Race Course. The proposal requires the approval of the Maryland General Assembly. Fry said lawmakers shouldn't hesitate.

Read more »

The Business Monthly: Q & A with Alan Rifkin - The future of horse racing

News | Posted

Working for the Maryland Jockey Club, Alan Rifkin led a group that developed a $375 million capital plan that would keep the Preakness in Baltimore, get new facilities at Pimlico and Laurel and boost Maryland racing prosperity. Now, it’s time to hear what the state legislature thinks.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Gov. Hogan appoints Emmet C. Davitt as anti-corruption prosecutor to Maryland Racing Commission

News | Posted

Emmet C. Davitt successfully prosecuted several elected officials, government employees and campaign workers since becoming state prosecutor office in 2010. He retired last year. (Kim Hairston / Baltimore Sun) Gov. Larry Hogan has appointed a former high-ranking anti-corruption prosecutor to the Maryland Racing Commission, filling a vacant seat on a body that has been under scrutiny in recent months. Hogan has nominated former State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt, who retired last year after years of prosecuting corrupt politicians. Davitt has a confirmation hearing before the Maryland Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee on Monday night.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Pimlico legislation needs to cross the finish line | READER COMMENTARY

News | Posted

The plan for Pimlico’s future (Pimlico: a pivotal opportunity for Northwest Baltimore, Jan. 31) is a path to a prosperous, safer future for all the neighborhoods that surround the track and beyond. Both the continuity of a cherished tradition and a solid track for growth, this vision has provided a rallying point that has brought together all the diverse stakeholders in a city rife with division. The importance of keeping community input in the forefront, as well as maintaining and strengthening these ties as the plan goes forward, cannot be underestimated.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Future of Park Heights depends on Pimlico track’s revival plan | READER COMMENTARY

News | Posted

Nothing is more near and dear to me than the Park Heights community and the city of Baltimore. Having been raised on Oakley Avenue, attended the newly improved Pimlico Elementary/Middle School, and been a past chair of the Park Heights Renaissance Corporation Board, where I worked alongside Councilwoman Sharon Green Middleton, my heart breaks when I travel the neighborhood streets and see blight and decay.

Read more »

GBC's Fry calls on Maryland General Assembly to OK $375M Pimlico deal

News | Posted

For more than 140 years, Baltimore has proudly hosted the annual Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of the esteemed Triple Crown, at the historic Pimlico Race Track. As business and civic leaders representing the Greater Baltimore region, the Greater Baltimore Committee honors the tradition of horse racing in Maryland and recognizes the significant economic impact that the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico brings to the region each year.

Read more »

Paulick Report: 'Transformational Plan' For Preakness, Maryland Horse Racing Introduced By Lawmakers

News | Posted

Legislation to rebuild Pimlico and Laurel Park was introduced by Maryland lawmakers on Monday, with Senate President Bill Ferguson telling the Baltimore Sun he is 'confident' the measure that would effectively keep the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore will pass this year.

Read more »

'The goal is to save the Preakness’: Lawmakers to move forward with $375M plan to keep race in Baltimore

News | Posted

Maryland lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would authorize up to $375 million in debt to rebuild the state’s two largest racetracks and keep the storied Preakness horse race in Baltimore. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Guy Guzzone, chairman of the Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee, would provide at least $180 million for work at or near the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore and $155 million at Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County.

Read more »

Baltimore Business Journal: Maryland must ensure Preakness stays in Baltimore, Senate minority leader says

News | Posted

Making sure the Preakness Stakes stays in Baltimore must be one of the top goals for the General Assembly this year, Sen. J.B. Jennings told a group of regional business leaders on Monday.

Read more »

Baltimore Fish Bowl Q&A: Horse trainer H. Graham Motion on Sharing’s Breeders’ Cup win, horse racing reforms and more

News | Posted

At 13-1, Sharing was a bit of a long shot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last November. But with jockey Manuel Franco aboard, the 2 year old stayed near the front of the pack for most of the race and found an extra gear in the stretch run, surging past Sweet Melania for a convincing 1 1/4-length win. Sharing is just the fourth Maryland-bred horse to reach the winner’s circle at the Breeders’ Cup, and the first since Cigar won the Classic in 1995.

Read more »

Blood Horse: Fravel Moves On to the Next Big Thing

News | Posted

Craig Fravel, president and CEO of the Breeders' Cup for an eight-year stretch that began in 2011, accepted a position this fall to become CEO of racing operations for The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate Fields, the Maryland Jockey Club tracks of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, and other tracks in the U.S.

Read more »

JMORE: General Assembly Will Determine Fate of the Pimlico, Laurel Park Plan

News | Posted

For more than 145 years, Baltimore has served as the home of Pimlico Race Course, the nation’s second-oldest racetrack, and the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of horseracing’s Triple Crown series. That beloved local tradition – which every May brings international attention and tens of millions of dollars to Charm City — must be allowed to continue and flourish for many years to come, say supporters of the historic racetrack located in Northwest Baltimore.

Read more »

WBAL: Behind the deal to keep the Preakness In Baltimore

News | Posted

VIDEO: The C4 Show is speaking with a group behind tentative deal between Baltimore City and the owners of Pimlico Race Course to keep the Preakness in Baltimore.

Read more »

MPT: ‘Historic’ deal aims to keep Preakness in city

News | Posted

VIDEO: MPT discusses the future of the horse racing industry in Maryland.

Read more »

Capital Gazette: Robert Di Pietro: Laurel Park development represents the best of regionalism

News | Posted

Those plans, which were discussed at length at a recent town hall meeting convened by Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, are smart and transformational. In fact, as Pittman correctly expressed, the plans represent regionalism at its best.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: Pimlico plan offers new chapter in horse racing, community redevelopment

News | Posted

In contrast to Camden Yards, the proposed Pimlico and Laurel projects will be paid for entirely with funds already dedicated to the racing industry. Taxpayers will not foot the bill. Existing revenues that are already dedicated to the racing industry will be used to pay debt on bonds issued by the Maryland Stadium Authority to rebuild basic infrastructure at Pimlico and Laurel. This means that the project will not compete for any local general fund revenues, which are used to pay for teachers, police and recreation centers, for example.

Read more »

Maryland Thoroughbred Racing Forum

News | Posted

VIDEO: Alan Foreman (MTHA), Alan Rifkin (Maryland Jockey Club) and Bill Cole (City of Baltimore) discuss details of the historic plan for Maryland Racing announced recently

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: The storied Preakness race was in danger of leaving Baltimore. Then the mayor and the track owner had a talk.

News | Posted

Just months ago, the future of the Preakness in Baltimore looked bleak. The city’s then-mayor had been sending insulting letters to the Stronachs, the Canadian family that owns Pimlico Race Course. The city and the track owner were embroiled in a lawsuit featuring yet more insults and allegations. Stronach executives were talking openly of moving the Preakness to their other Maryland racetrack, promoting the idea of building a “Super Track” in Laurel that could host the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: An unlikely path to victory for Baltimore and the Preakness

News | Posted

And then, out of nowhere, this: a plan. After months of talks, it appears a reasonable compromise is at hand that keeps the Preakness in Baltimore, brings much-needed renovations to Pimlico, allows for additional development of the property (including Sinai Hospital’s expansion plans), involves greater community access including athletic fields and use of the club house for special events, and will be paid for chiefly through existing state revenues from gambling.

Read more »

Batlimore Sun: A plan finally emerges for Pimlico

News | Posted

Still, it was widely believed that the Preakness would be moved to Laurel Park until a tentative deal was struck in October to rebuild Old Hilltop and keep the second jewel of the Triple Crown in Baltimore City in perpetuity.

Read more »

Baltimore Sun: ‘Historic’ deal aims to keep Preakness in city

News | Posted

The city of Baltimore and the owners of the historic but dilapidated Pimlico Race Course have come up with a way to keep the prestigious Preakness Stakes at the 149-year-old track in Northwest Baltimore.

Read more »

Bowie Letters: Mayor calls racetrack proposal a win for everyone, more on the election

News | Posted

This progress is an important step for all these partners and bodes well for Maryland, and particularly for the City of Bowie In brief summary: Maryland’s prestige horse race event, The Preakness will remain in Baltimore, the Laurel Race Course will be updated and expanded to become a major horse racing venue and the Bowie Training Facility will no longer be critical to racing operations making a potential Bowie acquisition very possible. This is a win, win, win, win solution.

Read more »