PIMLICO RACE COURSE--BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Historic Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes and second oldest racetrack in the nation behind Saratoga, opened its doors on October 25, 1870. Pimlico has hosted many racing icons for over a century; legendary horses such as Man o’ War, Sir Barton, Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Citation, Secretariat and Cigar have thundered down her stretch in thrilling and memorable competition.
Pimlico was ultimately the result of an interesting dinner party proposition made by Maryland’s then Governor, Oden Bowie. In Saratoga, New York in 1868 Bowie and his friends, prominent racing figures, agreed to race horses that were then just yearlings in two years time to commemorate the evening. The winner would host the losers for dinner. Saratoga and the American Jockey Club bid for the event, but Governor Bowie pledged he would build a model racetrack in his home state if the race were to be run in Baltimore. And so, Pimlico was built.
The name “Pimlico” was given to the area by English settlers in Colonial times, although the “Pemblicoe” spelling appeared on the original settlement charter in 1669. The colonists were from an area near London and brought with them memories of a famous landmark, Olde Ben Pimlico’s Tavern.
Engineered by General John Ellicott, Pimlico was constructed on 70 acres of land, west of Jones Falls; the Maryland Jockey Club purchased the land for $23,500 and built the track for $25,000. On any given race day in the 1800’s Baltimoreans could be seen in horse–drawn carriages parading through Druid Hill Park, then down Green Spring Road and on to the Course.
Later, for greater convenience, a spur was built from Western Maryland Railroad at Arlington to go directly to the grandstand. The racetrack soon became affectionately known as “Old Hilltop”, after a small rise in the infield that was a favorite gathering place for trainers and race enthusiasts to view and cheer on the racers close–up. The infield was a fashionable rendezvous where four–in–hands, “spikes”, tandems, pairs and singles parked and lively guests would congregate between races for a champagne lunch. Today, the nickname remains, but the hill was removed in April 1938 because it obscured the track–level view of the backstretch in the early days of filming races.
In 1904, after a brief hiatus, racing at Pimlico ignited unprecedented recognition and interest from the public and newspapers alike. Race charts began to appear, quite similar to modern day style, instead of mere social reports. Pimlico even survived the anti–gambling movement of 1910, where the sport was banned everywhere except Maryland and Kentucky. Billy Riggs is alleged to have saved eastern racing at this time with his use of the less sinful “French Pools” or pari–mutuel machines instead of bookmarkers and blackboards.
On its journey to becoming a true national treasure, Pimlico has earned its patina of age. It has weathered small and major wars, recessions, depressions – including the Great Depression of the 1930’s – fires, storms, and the simple passage of time. Its vitality has spanned many eras, which included different times and societies, over the course of three centuries.
More than 50 years ago, the youthful president of the Maryland Jockey Club, Alfred G. Vanderbilt. Made an observation that still applies today: “Pimlico is more than a dirt track bound by four streets. It is an accepted American institution, devoted to the best interests of a great sport, graced by time, respected for its honorable past.” (from pimlico.com)
Why it's time to move Preakness from its traditional home at Pimlico
by Chris Korman, May 22, 2017 USA Today
Editor's Note: For the record, the last thing I want to see is for the Preakness to leave Pimlico Race Course and the city of Baltimore. Does Pimlico and the surrounding neighborhood desperately need upgrade and improvement? Absolutely! And it is because of the Preakness that upgrades to the facility and the neighborhood need to happen. The Preakness is one of the crown jewels in all of sports and Baltimore is fortunate to be its host. The city and the state of Maryland need to think big and refurbish Pimlico into a first class facility that will bring new retail, jobs and economic development into Northeast Baltimore.---Rick Benson
Heading South down Route 83 toward Baltimore, you pass a sign for the Inner Harbor and Pimlico.
I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I know it’s not useful. People only need to find the aging race track one, maybe two days a year.
That tradition — running the Preakness at the track it has called home dating back to 1873, and consistently since 1909 — should probably end. I actually wrote a few years ago that I didn’t think the race would or should ever leave, and I’m here to say I was wrong.
A recent study pinned the price for a Pimlico renovation — which would be more of a rebuild — between $250 and $325 million.
While there’s another study underway examining ways to pay for the updates, the track owner, Stronach Group, has already said it does not plan to be the primary financier of this work. It also owns Laurel Park — located halfway between Baltimore and D.C. — where it has already spent $35 million, has plans to invest millions more and would prefer to run the race unless Pimlico is fixed. That leaves the city or state likely handling much of the bill for any Pimlico remake.
That, in 2017, is nearly impossible. Baltimore is facing a $130 million deficit just in its school budget. The police force appears to be overextended and underfunded. The city has already committed to spending more than a billion dollars to fix the sewer system. It also has agreed to issue $660 million in tax incremental funding, one of the largest such deals in the country, to provide infrastructure improvements on the site of a massive $5 billion neighborhood rebuild that would be home to Under Armour’s headquarters. The Orioles’ 30-year lease on Camden Yards ends in 2021, and the club will almost certainly request the city and state handle some of the cost for upgrades needed to keep the facility current.
The list goes on and on. The idea of spending taxpayer money on a sporting event — even one with the history of Preakness — would be unpalatable to so many in Maryland.
Yes, Preakness generates more than $2 million in state and local taxes, and visitors spend millions more on hotels and restaurants. But the economic impact of sports events is almost always overblown, and much of that money would still flow to the same places if the race moved to Laurel. Some Preakness visitors stay in downtown hotels, but many are in suburban areas north of the city or near BWI Airport.
You could probably argue that, over an extended period of time, an investment in Pimlico would pay off in some way. What you can’t argue — and what some local politicians probably will argue — is that a revised Pimlico can save Park Heights, the beaten down neighborhood south and west of the track.
What Park Heights — and Baltimore as a whole — needs is steady, well-paying jobs. A race track — even one that is the centerpiece of a mixed-use development, as has been suggested — will not provide them. There’s been a race track here for nearly a century and a half. It has not been a significant part of the adjacent economy in a long, long time outside of two days a year.
The Stronach Group plans to run 162 racing days this year in Maryland, and 150 of them will be at Laurel. More of those days would presumably shift to Preakness if it was renovated, but that’s not going to generate the sort of career opportunities than can help over years upon years lift a neighborhood out of a cycle that has been decades in the making. There wouldn’t be large enough crowds to warrant significant job creation, and a facility open for live racing not even half the year can’t guarantee anything more than part-time service jobs.
At this point there appears to be neither enough horses nor betting interest in Maryland to run significantly more racing dates per year. So, simply put: the state only needs one track. Stronach has decided it prefers the suburban one.
Running Preakness at Laurel would change the character of the event, as Stronach plans to do away with the infield concert and booze fest that is the draw for thousands upon thousands of the visitors who come to Pimlico on the third Saturday in each May. Luxury seating is the revenue driver in all sports, but especially in an old-money pursuit like horse racing. Preakness at Laurel would cater to them, while minimizing the non-horse racing aspects of the festival. Which is fine. Baltimore can run another event to lure day-drinkers into town.
Losing Pimlico and Preakness would be a temporary blow to Park Heights, but only for as long as the city and Stronach allow it to be. Take the land where the track stands now, and set aside even half of what it would have taken to fix the track for business grants and tax breaks. If, as has often been dreamed, a civic booster steps up — Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, perhaps, or Orioles owner Peter Angelos — and offers to help, divert that money toward industry. Bring real jobs back. That’s how you fix Park Heights. Not with a race — and a track — that have been there all along, generating millions upon millions for others.