City of Baltimore files suit seeking to keep Preakness at Pimlico

The City of Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against The Stronach Group that seeks to block the company from moving the Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course and to thwart legislation that would allow the state to issue bonds to improve the company’s sister track in Maryland, Laurel Park, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The lawsuit is yet another sign of the deteriorating relationship between The Stronach Group and Baltimore’s mayor, Catherine Pugh, as the company endeavors to build political support within the state for a consolidation of racing at Laurel and the designation of the track as the future site for the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

According to the Sun, the suit asks the Baltimore Circuit Court to grant ownership of the track and the rights to the Preakness to the city, through condemnation. The lawsuit request is highly unusual, but it rests in part on a law passed by the state legislature in 1987 that requires the Preakness to be run at Pimlico except in the case of “a disaster or emergency.” That law was passed three years after the owner of the Baltimore Colts, an NFL team, abruptly relocated the team to Indianapolis, stinging the city and its residents.

The relationship between Pugh and The Stronach Group began showing strains earlier this year when company officials reiterated that they had no plans to devote significant amounts of money to improvements at Pimlico and intended to close the track without substantial help from both local and state governments. The Preakness Stakes annually attracts 100,000 fans to Pimlico, a dilapidated track located in a stressed neighborhood within the city.

Last year, a study conducted by the Maryland Stadium Authority, in consultation with The Stronach Group, estimated that it would cost $424 million to completely rebuild the track as a “suitable host” for the Preakness and the host for a variety of other amenities, including retail and entertainment venues. The study also estimated that the current racing facilities would alternately need $29 million in improvements to remain viable as a racing venue.

TSG officials have been lobbying for a bill that would allow the company to tap casino subsidies as the basis for $120 million in state-issued bonds. The money would be used to improve Laurel and the Bowie Training Center, which is also owned by The Stronach Group.