Nothing happens by chance – at the legislature or the race track.

The budget analysis for the Maryland Stadium Authority, prepared by our non-partisan professional staff, states, “In March 2016, the Maryland Racing Commission asked MSA to manage a study evaluating Pimlico Race Course’s ability to serve as the permanent home for the Preakness Stakes.”

That’s accurate, but the Racing Commission was not the first player to set foot on the track.

Preakness week 2015, Sal Sinatra, general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, was quoted in the Sun as saying, “Right now, I’d say Laurel is in the lead [to host the Preakness]. My goal is to try and not let that happen.”

“This building is old, you just can’t add suites to it,” Sinatra said of Pimlico. “It’s almost a rebuild here, where Laurel is a pretty healthy building. Laurel you can renovate, so that plays into it as well. … Obviously, we have more acreage over at Laurel than we do here.”

My district includes Pimlico. I’ve been going there since I was in elementary school, not to bet but to watch the races from Jay Slater’s house – across the street from the top of the stretch.

In light of Sinatra’s statements, I asked myself, “Who is a respected neutral party that can study what it would cost to modernize Pimlico, as well as what it would cost the Baltimore region to lose the Preakness?”

The obvious answer was the Maryland Stadium Authority – highly regarded in Annapolis after building Oriole Park, M&T Bank Stadium, the Hippodrome Theatre, and the Comcast Center at College Park.

Don Hutchinson arranged a lunch meeting for me with Tom Kelso, the chairman of the Authority.

We agreed that a consultant study should be funded by the State, the City of Baltimore, and the Maryland Jockey Club, Pimlico’s owner.

Funding commitments were made, and the Racing Commission asked the Authority to manage the study.

At today’s budget hearing, the Authority indicated that it expected the second and final phase of the study to be completed this December.

At the 2019 legislative session, I won’t depend upon chance to win the race and keep the Preakness at Pimlico.

“The horses are on the track.”

That’s what the announcer says when the #1 horse steps on the track to begin the post parade.

Until this week, I thought there would be no bills this session regarding the future of the Preakness.

Phase Two of the study of Pimlico as a suitable location for the race and other development opportunities should be the focus of everyone’s attention.

Today, the Racing Commission authorized its share of the cost of the study, which now goes before the Stadium Authority.

But a bill has just been introduced to create a commission to undertake yet another study – about moving the race to Baltimore County.

I’ve made the argument that keeping the Preakness at Pimlico benefits not just the City of Baltimore but the Baltimore region as well.

This bill gives Baltimore City legislators an opportunity to join forces with our colleagues from Baltimore County in opposition to a bill that would move the race there.

I’ve also learned from a reliable source that there may be another bill this session regarding the Preakness.

This is what I told a Baltimore Sun reporter:

“I am pleased to see Phase Two finally move forward on a schedule that will still enable the 2019 General Assembly to address the issue and keep the Preakness where it belongs – at Pimlico.”

There are now horses on the track in Annapolis.

As you know, keeping the Preakness where it belongs – at Pimlico Race Track, is one of my priorities.

This summer, I’ve been broadening support for that effort and discussing how the track’s neighbors can benefit from a public-private investment in a modernized Pimlico.

An op-ed in support of moving the Preakness to Laurel was published in the Baltimore Sun earlier this month.

My response was co-signed by six business and community leaders.

Dear Editors:

Since we attended our first race at Pimlico, we have learned that the horse in the lead on the backstretch is often not the horse who gets his nose in front at the finish.

That maxim also applies to the policy-making process.

Both state and city governments funded a study by the Maryland Stadium Authority to “determine the extent of [their]…potential support to renovate or rebuild Pimlico Race Course to remain the long-term home for the Preakness Stakes.” (http://www.mdstad.com/sites/default/files/2017-06/PimlicoStudyPhase1.pdf, 3)

The first phase of that study has been completed. It concludes, “[T]here do not appear to be any situational factors that cannot be overcome with regard to continue hosting the Preakness at Pimlico.” (http://www.mdstad.com/sites/default/files/2017-06/PimlicoStudyPhase1.pdf, 63)

The potential price tag for a public-private partnership is $250 – $325 million. That has prompted both the business and the philanthropic community to come forward with proposals that would enhance the public’s use of the site, benefit the surrounding Park Heights community, and lower the public’s share of the cost to build a 21st Century facility.

Closing Pimlico would mean the loss of a major economic asset for the surrounding neighborhoods, the City, and the Baltimore region. In his op-ed, Kevin O’Keefe fails to mention that crucial factor.

This past May, yet another record breaking crowd came to Pimlico to watch the 142nd running there of the Preakness Stakes.

It’s premature to call Laurel the winner and Pimlico the loser when it comes to the future of the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

Delegate Sandy Rosenberg

William H. Cole IV, Baltimore Development Corporation, President and CEO

Mark Fetting, Camp Brightside Fund

Kirby Fowler, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, President

Cheo Hurley, Park Heights Renaissance, Executive Director

Howard Libit, Baltimore Jewish Council, Executive Director

Neil Meltzer, Lifebridge Health, President and CEO

 

When I read the letter after it was published, I realized that I failed to include the Maryland Jockey Club among the funders of the Stadium Authority study. I’ve asked the Sun if there is a way to correct that.

 

140,327 people voted with their feet at this year’s Preakness.

A record crowd demonstrated its support for keeping the race where it belongs – Pimlico Race Track.

In the months ahead, I will continue to work with state and local government officials, the Maryland Jockey Club, and all of the neighborhoods that surround the track to achieve that objective.

The next step is to have Phase Two of the Preakness study authorized by the Maryland Stadium Authority.

That study will estimate the cost of building a new seating facility and propose ways to finance it with a public-private partnership.

For that analysis to be completed by year’s end – in time for the Governor and the General Assembly to resolve this issue next winter, the Stadium Authority must act now and determine the scope of the study.

Governor Hogan has expressed his support for keeping the Preakness in Baltimore.

Mayor Pugh has made very clear her commitment to investing in the neighborhoods near the track and keeping the race there.

The communities south of Pimlico want their residents to be hired for construction jobs if the facility is rebuilt.

All of the track’s neighbors look forward to discussing with the track owners and elected officials possible uses that would keep Pimlico viable.

Unlike the Baltimore Colts, the Preakness cannot be moved in the middle of the night.  Maryland law requires that the race be run at Pimlico.

The Maryland Jockey Club would have to pass a bill to do away with that provision.

Those of us who want to keep the Preakness at Pimlico must also pass a bill – to finance the site’s modernization.

We should stop kicking the can down the road about the future of Pimlico Race Track and its neighbors.  We need to make an informed decision in Annapolis next winter.