Jim Reasner has traveled from Pennsylvania to see horse races in Maryland for more than 25 years – and this weekend’s Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park closed a happy chapter in his life.
“They used to do a lot of international races here, and I had a lot of good memories,” Mr. Reasner, 79, said during Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Day preliminary runs, growing quiet. “I hate to see it change. I’m too old for change.”
Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course did not host the Preakness, the middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, for the first time in 118 years. That made this weekend’s 151st race likely a last hurrah for Laurel, which opened in 1911 and is slated to become a training facility next year as officials consolidate the state’s declining racing industry.
Mr. Reasner’s friend Bill Butterworth sat next to him at a picnic table in front of the track, sipping a beer while reviewing his race card.
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“It’s my first time in Laurel, and it might be the last time,” said Mr. Butterworth, 61, who has attended the race at Pimlico for more than 15 years. “There’s nothing like watching it live and being with people who love horse racing.”
The legalization of online betting in recent years has accelerated a years-long decline in demand for professional horse racing, leading tracks to shutter nationwide and endangering the sport’s survival.
The joyful horse enthusiasts who milled about Laurel Park in bright spring hats and cotton suits Friday afternoon refused to label themselves as a dying breed. But they agreed that their sport is endangered.
“I hope they revive Maryland horse racing because it’s part of our state’s history,” Leslie Warder said.
She said she drove from Annapolis to attend her first Preakness races as a “bucket list” item.
A Maryland tradition
Organized horse racing in America dates back to before the United States declared independence from Great Britain 250 years ago.
The Maryland Jockey Club, the nation’s oldest sporting organization, was founded in Annapolis in 1743. It launched the Preakness Stakes in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby.
Declining interest consigned the Preakness to New York from 1890 to 1908 before the race returned to Baltimore.
In 2024, Maryland officials adopted a plan to renovate Pimlico, which is in disrepair, under a new private-public partnership to conserve the state’s $2 billion-a-year racing industry. The renovated Pimlico Plus is scheduled to reopen as a statewide racing hub next year, closing Laurel.
Churchill Downs Inc., owner of the Kentucky Derby, is finalizing an $85 million deal to buy the intellectual property rights of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Preakness Stakes from 1/ST Racing. In response, Maryland is considering buying the rights to ensure the Preakness stays in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“I’m going to miss the people,” said Mike Rogers of 1/ST Racing, which hosted the Preakness for the last time this year. “Everyone in Maryland has been great. I can’t talk about what happens next.”
This year’s move to Laurel Park – a facility at the intersection of Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties – shifted millions of dollars in tourism revenue away from Baltimore.
It also reawakened a long-dormant tradition of championship horse racing in suburban Maryland.
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Maryland horse-racing advocates note that the only father-son duo to win the Triple Crown — Gallant Fox in 1930 and his sire Omaha in 1935 — were owned and trained by Belair Stud in Prince George’s County.
Legendary horses Secretariat, Seabiscuit, War Admiral and Affirmed all raced at Laurel.
Several lifelong equestrians walking along the cigar smoke-filled track expressed hope that racing officials might find a way to keep Laurel Park open.
“I’m not saying goodbye,” said Karis Wegeler, who made the drive from Bel Air in northeast Maryland to attend the latest of many Preakness weekends. “They’re closing so many places; they can’t close this one too.”
Ms. Wegeler, who grew up on a farm riding horses, is working to preserve the state’s tradition: Her family owns Rose of Sharon Equestrian School, a nonprofit in Glen Arm that offers therapeutic horseback riding for children.
She watched in rapt attention as the thoroughbred colts trotted to the starting line after the iconic “Call to the Post” bugle call.
“Horses are beautiful, fun and fast,” she said. “What’s not to love?”
Her friend Elaina Thomas wore a black-and-yellow outfit to honor the state flower, the Black-Eyed Susan. She predicted that Pimlico’s renovation would run behind schedule, setting up the smaller Laurel Park to host another Preakness weekend next year.
“The facility here is nicer, cleaner, updated and has better bathrooms,” said Ms. Thomas, who has attended the race for years. “I don’t think Pimlico will be ready next year.”
