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Laurel Park will host a scaled-down Preakness Stakes this Saturday due to renovations at Pimlico. The event will have a limited crowd of 4,800 and no live music, creating a more intimate atmosphere for attendees.
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Laurel Park will host a scaled-down version of the Preakness Stakes Saturday while Pimlico, the traditional home of the second leg of Triple Crown, is being rebuilt. (Photo by John Rydell/Maryland Matters)
Ron Sargent is thrilled that his hometown of Laurel will finally get the chance to host the Preakness Stakes this weekend, the second jewel in thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.
As a kid, Sargent used to walk his own horses to Laurel Park for exercise. For the past 50 years, he’s owned Outback Leather, not far from the track on Main Street, where he makes custom saddles for racehorses and is often called on to make last-minute repairs for jockeys.
So hosting the Preakness at Laurel Park, while Pimlico undergoes a $400 million renovation, is kind of a big deal.
But Sargent is also a realist. He knows that Saturday’s 151st Preakness at Laurel Park will look nothing like the wild spectacle at Pimlico, with crowds often exceeding 120,000. Thousands jammed the infield, creating an often raucous atmosphere with live bands performing all day long.
The Laurel Park crowd will be limited to 4,800. No live music, and no fans or corporate tents will be allowed in the infield, most of which sits in a floodplain and is considered protected wetlands.
“It’s going to be a more intimate atmosphere,” said Dan Illman, director of communications for the Maryland Jockey Club. “People are going to be able to get up close and personal with the horses. You can go down to the paddock and see the horses before the Preakness, and to see the athletes in action, that’s what’s going to be different here.”
The Preakness Stakes is being held at Laurel Park because Pimlico is undergoing a $400 million renovation.
The crowd for the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park is limited to 4,800 attendees.
The Preakness Stakes is expected to return to Pimlico in 2027, even if the renovation is not fully completed.
Attendees can expect a more intimate atmosphere with no live music and the opportunity to see horses up close, unlike the typical large-scale event at Pimlico.
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Churchill Downs buys rights to Preakness, Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Churchill Downs Inc. recently announced it reached an agreement to acquire the intellectual property rights of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/ST Racing, owned by the Canadian-based Stronach Group, for $85 million. The state has 60 days However, the state of Maryland is apparently negotiating a similar deal to purchase full ownership of the Preakness Stakes brand and intellectual property rights. Under state law, Maryland has 60 days to match a similar offer from Churchill Downs. Gov. Wes Moore recently announced the state plans to purchase Laurel Park and convert it into a year-round-training facility. However, a state legislative committee must sign off on the deal and has imposed a 45-day delay on approving the sale to further examine the details. Earlier this year, the state purchased Shamrock Farm in Carroll County with plans to convert it into a training facility. But the project was scrapped amid concerns about escalating development costs and environmental concerns. State Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s) admits “The racing industry is not all that it used to be, and so the state has had to repeatedly try to come up with fixes, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. But on Saturday, we can celebrate having the Preakness in Laurel and not worry about all the moving parts.” SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE