The Maryland Racing Commission on December 3 tapped the brakes on the fast-moving changeover from private racetrack ownership in Maryland to a nonprofit operator under state auspices.

But a state official said he expects the issue to be resolved within weeks or even days.

The Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), the state agency overseeing the so-called “Pimlico Plus” project, and the new nonprofit track operator, which will carry on the Maryland Jockey Club name, requested this past Tuesday that the Commission approve the transfer of the license to conduct live racing in the state to the new nonprofit. That is a necessary step under state law.

But the nonprofit – which has not yet named a board of directors – currently has no money to cover what it projects will be $6 million in losses next year.

“We’re waiting on documentation” as to how the nonprofit will cover the losses, Commission executive director Mike Hopkins said at the meeting. Because of that uncertainty, the Commission declined to approve the license transfer.

MTROA executive director Marc Broady told The Racing Biz December 6 the nonprofit’s funding issue should be resolved “sometime next week, for sure.”

Assuming the money does arrive shortly, the Commission agreed to call a special meeting to consider and presumably approve the license transfer.

The Commission has a legal responsibility to ensure that whatever entity operates racetracks in Maryland has the financial wherewithal to do so. At the moment, the new nonprofit does not.

“It was always also known that 2025 and 2026 were going to be difficult racing years because Pimlico would be shut down, and there were going to have to be adjustments made until Pimlico was redeveloped, and this new entity started to become profitable,” Broady said. “But until then, there’s going to be a bit of a gap.”

Because of that, the legislation which kicked off the project also “referred to a discretionary advance of $10 million to use as working capital,” Broady said.

That provision allows the MTROA to advance the nonprofit the funding to bridge the gap, though it is anticipated that the nonprofit will repay those funds, if it becomes profitable. The process to free those funds up is known as a “budget amendment,” and that process, Broady said, has simply taken longer than anticipated.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “It just didn’t happen by December 3.”

The advance will come out of the “Racing and Community Development Financing Fund,” the fund designed to finance the rebuild of Pimlico and the purchase and construction of a training center.

Broady said that, while he wasn’t certain, he had sensed heading into the Commission meeting some hesitation on that body’s part to move forward. And he said he understood their position.

“If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t feel 100% comfortable either, because you’re putting your professional reputation on the line,” he said. “And if the money doesn’t come and suddenly the license is transferred to an entity with $0, that’s a problem.”

On another topic, Broady said the announcement of the new training center will come “before Christmas.” The training center is necessary because the Pimlico property is too small to house the horses necessary to support a more or less year-round racing program.

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