Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Thursday signed into law HB 1524, which, proponents hope, will usher in a new era for the Maryland Thoroughbred industry.

The bill will enable the enactment of the so-called Pimlico Plus plan, developed over the course of several months by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA). That body, created by the General Assembly in 2023, was tasked with carving a new path forward for the industry after the plans embodied in the 2020 Racing and Community Development Act fell apart.

The complex plan will, if carried to fruition, lead to dramatic changes in the industry. The sport will consolidate to one operating racetrack, and that will be a reconstructed Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Laurel Park will close, and in its stead will be a new training center at a location yet to be determined.

Moreover, the new plan will replace the current private track ownership of 1/ST Racing with a nonprofit managing day-to-day racing under the ownership of the state through the MTROA. That approach is more akin to the way the New York Racing Association (NYRA) operates, though there are numerous differences.

In the immediate term, little will change. The Preakness will run May 18 at Pimlico. 1/ST will continue to run day-to-day racing through the end of the year.

But changes will come fast and furious thereafter. The nonprofit will take over day-to-day racing January 1, 2025. 1/ST will continue to own and manage Preakness weekend for a couple of more years before entering into a licensing agreement under which the nonprofit group will lease the intellectual property of the Preakness from 1/ST.

Once construction on Pimlico begins in earnest, the backstretch will close, with the horses stabled there shifted to Laurel Park. The people who live on the Pimlico backside also will need to be accommodated if they follow the horses for which they care to Laurel.

The Preakness is slated to be held at Pimlico this year and in 2025, which is also the 150^th edition of the race. It is expected to be at Laurel the following year before moving to its new, permanent Pimlico home in 2027.

All Maryland flat racing outside of the brief Timonium meet will take place at Laurel while Pimlico is under construction. The new Old Hilltop is expected to be ready for permanent occupancy by the end of 2027.

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