Maryland approves $48.5 million Laurel Park purchase for training center

Maryland’s racing reset took a major step toward becoming permanent as the Maryland Stadium Authority board gave near-unanimous approval to spend $48.5 million to buy Laurel Park and convert it into a training center. The deal covers the racetrack facility itself, including the main track, barns, grandstand and paddock, but not the separate Brock Bridge Road property.

The purchase still has to clear a 45-day review by the Maryland Legislative Policy Committee before returning for final action by the Board of Public Works on June 17. If the schedule holds, closing would come June 29, turning a tentative plan into state ownership of one of the sport’s most important pieces of Maryland infrastructure.

That matters because Laurel is no longer being treated as a temporary fallback. Maryland Stadium Authority project pages say all racing and training is now taking place at Laurel while Pimlico Race Course is demolished and rebuilt, with Preakness 151 set for Laurel on May 16, 2026. Preakness 152 is expected to return to Pimlico in 2027, and the permanent Pimlico clubhouse is projected for 2028, a timeline that makes Laurel the bridge between the old site and the rebuilt one.

The Laurel purchase also ends the state’s reliance on the earlier Shamrock Farm concept, which officials eventually found less attractive because of environmental impacts and construction costs. Maryland Stadium Authority says the Laurel plan saves roughly $50 million compared with Shamrock, while giving the state ownership of a 229-acre site in Anne Arundel County that opened in 1911 and has hosted names that define the sport, from War Admiral and Secretariat to a Led Zeppelin concert.

For horsemen, the stakes are bigger than one board vote. Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association supported the move as a way to preserve the industry’s future, while Maryland Jockey Club president Bill Knauf called Laurel an ideal training center because of its history and status as the state’s current racing hub. Craig Thompson, the Maryland Stadium Authority chair, said the deal secures the state’s historic investment in Maryland horse racing.

The broader plan traces back to the 2020 Racing and Community Development Act and the 2024 bonding authority that gave Maryland the power to finance the overhaul at Pimlico and a new training center. With Laurel now on a clear path to state control, Maryland is betting that one track can carry the sport through the rebuild, protect race dates, and give horsemen a workable home base while Pimlico catches up.