Highlighted by a must-see edition of the Preakness Stakes following a controversial Kentucky Derby, which added more confusion than clarification to the 3-year-old division, Pimlico Race Course will begin a 12-day meet Thursday. Racing will be held on a Thursday-through-Sunday basis with the exception of May 19, the day after the Preakness, when the track will be dark. The meet concludes with a Memorial Day program on Monday, May 27. First post will be 1:10 p.m. except on the Preakness card (10:30 a.m.) and May 17, Black-Eyed Susan Day (11:30 a.m.). Little has changed in the last year regarding the future of Pimlico, which is in need of a drastic, costly renovation, as the years-long fight between The Stronach Group and the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland continues. The Stronach Group has made it abundantly clear it plans to consolidate racing in the state to suburban Laurel Park, while Baltimore officials are tenaciously trying to hold on to a major event that generates revenue for the city. The Stronach Group has committed to holding the Preakness at Pimlico through 2020. The Pimlico stakes schedule is worth $3.8 million and consists of 16 races, all of which will be held on the Black-Eyed Susan and Preakness programs. The $1.5 million Preakness will be supported by eight stakes, one more than in past years. The $100,000 Searching, a 1 1/2-mile turf race for fillies and mares, is a new addition to the schedule. In another change, the $200,000 Chick Lang, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, has been elevated to a Grade 3. The prior day is highlighted by the Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, and the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special, which has been lengthened from 1 3/16 miles to 1 1/4 miles. In total, there will be seven stakes that day. The Friday and Saturday cards of Preakness week will each have 14 races. A Black-Eyed Susan-Preakness daily double and seven guaranteed betting pools are scheduled. On Saturday, the late pick four will have a $2 million guarantee and the late pick five a $1 million guarantee. Both wagers will end on the Preakness. There will also be a $500,000 guarantee on the middle pick four (races 6-9) and a $250,000 guarantee on the early pick five that begins on race 2. On Friday, there will be $300,000-guaranteed pools on the late pick five (races 7-11), late pick four (11-14), and the middle pick four (8-11). McCarthy, Trombetta top Laurel standings Jockey Trevor McCarthy and trainer Mike Trombetta topped their respective divisions at the 19-day Laurel Park spring meet, which ended on Sunday. McCarthy’s title was his third straight since he resumed riding in Maryland full time last September. McCarthy, who will turn 25 on May 16, won 22 races, twice as many as runner-up Horacio Karamanos. Trombetta, 52, went 12 for 44, a win average of 27 percent. Trombetta ended a string of four consecutive meet titles by Claudio Gonzalez, who finished in second place with nine wins. This the second time Trombetta has led the standings at a Maryland meet. He tied for the title at the 2015 Laurel spring session.