The Maryland Stadium Authority, which in 2024 announced plans to rebuild Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, has reached a tentative agreement with The Stronach Group to acquire Laurel Park for the purposes of developing it into a year-round Thoroughbred training center when racing operations switch to Pimlico on a full-time basis in 2028. Laurel Park will replace the previously chosen site of Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, Md., as a training facility. It was unclear how much The Stronach Group will receive for the property at Laurel. According to a press release Wednesday from the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA), this deal is projected to save roughly $50 million, presumably the vast majority of that having to deal with costs associated with transforming Shamrock Farm into a training center. “The Maryland Stadium Authority can comment better but there were challenges that were cited and cost prohibitive to continue at Shamrock,” said Bill Knauf, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, which currently runs racing at Laurel and will do so at Pimlico in the future. “Laurel came up and between the MSA and the Maryland Economic Development Corporation [MEDCO], they reached out to the Stronach Group and got a letter of agreement for Laurel.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Calls to a spokesperson at the Maryland Stadium Authority were not returned. According to its press release, while final details will be negotiated in the coming weeks, the Maryland Stadium Authority will assume ownership of Laurel Park, pending necessary approvals and closing procedures. Once finalized, acquisition costs will be paid by the Stadium Authority with available project funds. At that point, the state will pursue methods to offset these costs, to include revenue bonds issued by the MEDCO. The Maryland Jockey Club will continue to oversee daily operations at Laurel Park under state ownership. “This planned approach affords maximum flexibility, cost savings and efficiencies going forward – on behalf of the State and thoroughbred industry.” Tom Sadowski, executive director of the MEDCO, said in the release. Knauff said having Laurel as a training center is preferable than having to start from scratch with a new training center at Shamrock. Laurel can house 1,100 to 1,200 horses while Shamrock was only going to have capacity for around 800, Knauff said. “From our standpoint this is a big positive,” Knauff said. “Obviously, Laurel has a long history of being a racetrack, it’s our hub of racing right now and has been for many years. The staff is very family with it, horsemen are familiar with it, they’ve built their lives around it. Certainly, there’s a comfortability staying at Laurel as a training center.” Trainer Graham Motion called this development “a huge win for all of us” in Maryland racing. “Rather than create a new training center from scratch we already have a track and a turf course and the infrastructure there,” Motion said. “With the money that goes towards it, it should be a tremendous training center.” For the most part, all stabling and training will be done at Laurel with Pimlico – which will have between 200 to 300 ship-in stalls – only available for training during Preakness week and potentially other special events, Knauff said. According to Wednesday’s release, the purchase of Laurel will save the state of Maryland an estimated $26.3 million in construction costs toward hundreds of new stalls at Pimlico, support about 500 jobs in Laurel, and preserve roughly 1,000 parking spaces around the race course. Moreover, by concentrating all overnight racing staff at Laurel Park, the Maryland Jockey Club expects to save $2.5 million annually in operating expenses. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports In May 2024, Maryland’s Board of Public Works approved an agreement to transfer ownership of Pimlico Race Course from The Stronach Group the State of Maryland. The plan was to rebuild Pimlico in order to keep the lucrative Preakness – the second leg of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown in Baltimore – and have one track in the state for racing. At the time, it was announced that the state of Maryland would lease Laurel Park as of Jan. 1, 2025 for three years – at a cost of $1 per year – while construction was going on at Pimlico. All Maryland racing in 2026 – including the Preakness Stakes – will take place at Laurel. While the Preakness is scheduled to return to Pimlico for the 2027 running, virtually all other racing dates in 2027 will take place at Laurel. Pimlico is expected to open as the state’s lone racing facility in the spring of 2028. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.