Ritvo hoping attendance hits six figures

BALTIMORE – Last year, Preakness Day at Pimlico set an attendance record of 123,469 under ideal weather conditions. That figure was up 5.3 percent from the 2013 figure of 117,309 and 1.7 percent from the previous record of 121,309, which was set in 2012.

Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, which owns the Maryland Jockey Club tracks of Pimlico and Laurel Park, was a bit reluctant when asked Wednesday to predict the attendance for Saturday’s Preakness but said he would be “very happy with a crowd of between 100,000 and 120,000.”

“I know that’s a wide range,” Ritvo said, “but this is my first year overseeing operations here.”

The Saturday weather forecast calls for a 20 percent chance of morning showers and afternoon thunderstorms, with a high temperature of 87 degrees.

Ritvo said he and Maryland Jockey Club general manager Sal Sinatra are still several months away from completing a long-term master plan for Pimlico and Laurel, and that he “wanted to make sure everything is clearly spelled out” before it is released publicly.

There are no longer any horses stabled at the Bowie training center. Bowie opened as a racetrack in 1914 but closed down in 1985. It has since been used as a training center.

Laurel Park absorbed many of the Bowie horses. A new 150-stall barn was recently built at Laurel, and another is under construction.

“I don’t like to say Bowie is closed,” Ritvo said. “There aren’t any horses there, but we still have security personnel on the grounds. We are in the process of determining the future of the property.”