Community concerns voiced in meeting on Pimlico revitalization bill

Supporters of a bill that would require Maryland to issue $400 million in bonds for the reconstruction of Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore assured members of the House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee that the bill would lead to positive outcomes for the neighborhood surrounding the track at a hearing on Tuesday.

The hearing, which lasted two hours, was the first to discuss the ramifications of the bill, which was introduced in the Maryland House on Thursday. In general, members of the Ways and Means Committee expressed support for the bill, but they also attempted to obtain assurances from the bill’s supporters that the reconstruction of Pimlico would lead to economic development throughout the Park Heights neighborhood in Baltimore, where the track is located.

“We really do want to see that progress,” said Del. Caylin Young, whose district is in Baltimore.

Greg Cross, the chairman of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority, which developed the recommendations that led to the legislation, said that authority members have been meeting with constituencies in the neighborhood to answer questions about the plans and receive input on concerns. Cross also said that those constituencies will be involved as the plans for the reconstruction are more fully developed.

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“Our priority is the community,” Cross said.

Under the plan, approximately $275 million will be spent to build a new racetrack on the Pimlico property. The plans also call for a hotel and a 1,000-seat amphitheater on the property, as well as $10 million to build “generic work-force housing” in the neighborhood, Cross said.

The remainder of the money will be used to purchase land and build a year-round training center in Maryland, preferably within a 30-mile radius of the track.

When Pimlico is rebuilt, racing will be consolidated at the track, with approximately 120-150 race days a year. Cross told the committee that previous plans had contemplated consolidating racing at Laurel Park, between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, with only a short, two-week meet at Pimlico surrounding the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“We’re looking at 365 days of economic activity [at Pimlico] now,” Cross said.

The bill has the support of the mayor of Baltimore, according to Justin Williams, the deputy mayor of community and economic development, who said during the hearing that the legislation was about “breathing new life into the community.”

Under the legislation, a new non-profit racetrack operating company will be formed, controlled and owned by the state of Maryland. Pimlico is currently owned by 1/ST Racing, a for-profit, privately held company which has agreed to deed the property to the state. The legislation will require the operating company to pay 1/ST Racing $3 million a year as a “license fee” for the Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, run the day prior to the Preakness, but the operating company will retain all earnings from those two days of racing.

The legislation also has the support of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and the bill is expected to gain passage. The current legislative session ends on April 7.

Members of the Standardbred industry appeared at the end of the hearing to voice their opposition to the bill, which would reduce the industry’s percentage of funding from a program that provides matching funds from the state for capital-improvement projects. The Standardbred industry currently receives 20 percent of the fund, but that share will be reduced to 10 percent under the bill. The Standardbred representatives urged the committee members to either vote against the bill or amend it to protect the industry’s share of the capital-improvement fund.

Maryland currently has two Standardbred tracks, Ocean Downs and Rosecroft. Ocean Downs, which is owned by Churchill Downs Inc., is also a casino. Rosecroft is owned by 1/ST Racing.

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