Maryland track rebuilding plan detailed

Supporters of using state bonds to rebuild both Thoroughbred tracks in Maryland have introduced legislation that details how the plan would be funded.

The legislation would allow a state agency, the Maryland Stadium Authority, to offer $350 million in bonds to fund the construction of new facilities at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course. It has been introduced in the state Senate, with plans to introduce a companion bill in the House of Delegates later this week. Maryland racing officials said this week they are confident that the plan will find support in both chambers of the legislature.

Both Laurel and Pimlico are owned by The Stronach Group, which also owns Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields in California and Gulfstream Park in Florida. Under the plan, The Stronach Group would deed Pimlico to the city of Baltimore and lease the facility for racing purposes. Laurel Park would be converted to a year-round training facility, while Pimlico would be used sparingly, primarily as the host of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, along with a handful of dates leading up to the event.

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The plan was hashed out last year among representatives of The Stronach Group, the state’s horsemen, and local officials in Baltimore and the counties that host the two tracks. Most notably, it mended a fractured relationship between The Stronach Group and the city of Baltimore, which had sparred back and forth for years on The Stronach Group’s threat to move the Preakness to Laurel or elsewhere unless it got help with Pimlico, a dilapidated track in a disadvantaged neighborhood that had half of its grandstand shuttered last year because of structural concerns.

“We would like to thank Maryland’s leadership for their hard work, creative thinking, and commitment to the sustainability of Thoroughbred horse racing in the state,” Belinda Stronach, chairman of The Stronach Group, said in a statement.

If the plan goes through, both tracks will be entirely razed and rebuilt. Pimlico will emerge with a much smaller footprint, with large portions of the property offered for redevelopment. For the Preakness, large temporary structures would be erected at the property each year. At Laurel, three racing surfaces would be installed in order to accommodate year-round training. The Stronach Group’s Bowie training facility would be given to the state and redeveloped for public use.

The legislation was introduced on Monday by Sen. Guy Guzzone, the powerful chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. The Speaker of the House of Delegates, Adrienne Jones, will introduce a companion bill to that chamber later this week, according to racing officials.

Under the legislation, $180 million of the bond issue would be used to redevelop Pimlico. Laurel Park would be provided $155 million for its redevelopment. The bonds would be repaid through annual payments made by The Stronach Group, the state’s horsemen, and the city of Baltimore.

The initial plan used casino subsidies provided to the racing industry to pay off the entirety of the bond issue over the 30-year maturation date, but the legislation tweaked that plan somewhat in order to avoid objections from casinos and skirt the possibility of using some funds intended for education in the future.

Under the new plan, Maryland’s horsemen would contribute $5 million a year to debt service, The Stronach Group would contribute approximately $8.5 million from casino subsidies it receives for capital improvements, and the city of Baltimore would contribute $3.5 million. But after 13 years, the contribution to debt service from the racetrack capital-improvement fund will be made by the state’s lottery corporation, which will allow the subsidies to sunset in 2033 as planned.

The plan also allows for a $2.4 million annual contribution to the city of Baltimore to fund improvements to the neighborhood surrounding Pimlico.