The Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority board of directors on Nov. 15 approved reducing Thoroughbred race dates in Maryland next year, with racing pausing in the summer to avoid competition with Colonial Downs in Virginia. The latter track has reaped the rewards of historical horse racing gaming and is expanding its racing schedule from 27 to 47 days in 2025.
Maryland plans to run 127 race days next year, with 114 at Laurel Park, six at Pimlico Race Course, and seven at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. This year, 159 race dates were scheduled in Maryland.
Corey Johnsen, the interim CEO of the MTROA, credited cooperation with Churchill Downs Inc., which owns Colonial Downs, accommodating a schedule that benefits horsemen in the Mid-Atlantic region. He said he and Gary Palmisano, vice president of racing for CDI, began a discussion a couple of months ago, and he proposed Colonial run four days a week rather than three (as occurred this year) to concentrate an expanded 47-day season primarily into July and August. They agreed, Johnsen said, with one week of what he described as minimal overlap in September.
"Their purse structure is going to be about $750,000 per day; ours is more than $400,000," he said. "But if you have two major tracks running at the same time, I think it would have been disastrous. Both of us would have suffered. So the fact that we were able to come together is a real credit to the horse industry."
"The great thing is that there will be 200 live racing opportunities within a fairly reasonable distance," added MTROA voting member Alan Foreman, chairman and CEO of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and longtime counsel of the MTHA. "You've got Colonial and Delaware Park at the same time while we're down, so the horsemen who are stabled here will have the opportunity to race. And quite frankly, it's the summertime when we have this murderous competition for horses and for the betting dollar."
The MTROA is overseeing a historic investment in Maryland horse racing that will ultimately concentrate racing in the state at Pimlico following reconstruction of the outdated facility.
Maryland racing will be conducted at Laurel Park until renovations at Pimlico are complete. However, the 2025 Preakness Stakes—its 150th running—will be held at Pimlico, and the 2026 event will be held at Laurel.
A pause of racing in Maryland while Colonial Downs runs its meet is not new. Johnsen said such a schedule was in place under cooperative management in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"One other thing that we support, and I think is in the works, is trying to allow a Maryland owner or breeder to collect their Maryland incentives, breeder incentives, when their horse runs at Colonial Downs or Delaware Park while Laurel Park is closed," Johnsen added. "That is something that's never been done before."
Such an initiative would likely please the state's breeders, some of whom remain concerned as Maryland lagged behind other states amid purse-aiding gaming expansion, such as in Virginia.
Mike and Josh Pons, who operate Country Life Farm and Merryland Farms in Maryland, emphasized the importance of the breeding industry during the public comment period during the MTROA board meeting.
Josh Pons said there was a need for a "monumental infusion of cash" to save the breeding industry, while Mike Pons called for innovative ideas to spark interest.
"There needs to be something bold come out of here, something very creative, smart," Mike Pons said, mentioning the late broadcaster and Marylander Jim McKay's conceiving the Maryland Million in the 1980s after witnessing the success of the Breeders' Cup.
Mike Pons' call for creative solutions drew the support of National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and CEO Tom Rooney, a Maryland breeder who serves as a voting member on the MTROA board.
Pimlico Plans Evolving
Earlier in the meeting, MTROA chair Greg Cross provided an update on schematic design redevelopment plans at Pimlico.
He said the authority is taking a "deeper dive" into examining not rotating the track as part of the planned reconstruction, a move that would preserve the existing tracks and their history and would shorten the build time necessary. Preserving the existing main track and not having to tear up and redo a turf course would also reduce construction costs.
"So it all seems to be a win, although it's going to stretch out the schematic design process probably another couple months," Cross said.
He also said keeping the existing track would not require a "land swap" with the neighboring community.
In response to questions, Cross said keeping the track in its current location would not allow the track to be "Tapeta-ready," meaning the ability to add a synthetic surface. Additionally, he acknowledged that it would not allow the track to run sprint races longer than six furlongs due to the existing track configuration at Pimlico.
