Video edited on Kapwing

The new vision for Maryland racing took another step forward Monday afternoon when the Maryland Racing Commission signed off on the transfer of the license to operate Laurel Park to the new nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club.

The Commission’s unanimous vote clears the way for the new MJC to run day-to-day racing at Laurel in 2025. The Laurel winter meet is scheduled to begin Jan. 17.

“I’m looking forward to the new Maryland Jockey Club to move forward Maryland racing and to make it a great success,” said Commission chairman George Mahoney. “And I know that it will be a great success.”

The Commission’s action marked a turnabout from its December 3 meeting, at which it declined to act on the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority’s (MTROA) request for the transfer. The sticking point then: the new MJC had essentially no money with which to cover its projected $6 million operating deficit in 2025.

The Commission is charged with ensuring the financial viability of its racetrack licensees.

MTROA executive director Marc Broady said at the time he harbored no ill will towards the Commission.

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

The legislation that created the MTROA and put the so-called Pimlico Plus plan into motion allowed the MTROA to advance the nonprofit the funding to bridge the gap until it becomes viable, 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 at the time, simply took longer than anticipated.

In the meantime, the budget amendment was approved, and $10 million was shifted from the Racing and Community Development Financing Fund housed in the Maryland Stadium Authority to the Maryland Racing Operations Fund controlled by the MTROA. MTROA deputy director Swata Gandhi told the meeting that she was “just waiting for wiring instructions” to complete the delivery of the funds to the new nonprofit.

“This meets our statutory requirements for the transfer of the license sufficiently to move forward on this item today,” outgoing Commission executive director Mike Hopkins told the members of the Commission prior to their vote.

With that, the Commission was able to move forward today, clearing the path for a new ownership structure to ring in the new year.

“I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time on Christmas Eve Eve to do this,” Broady said. “I understand totally the [initial] hesitancy and thank you for your due diligence and professionalism in allowing us this time to allow the funds to be transferred over. Everything is good to go now.”

In another notable development for the Pimlico Plus plan, the MTROA today announced it had chosen Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, MD, as the location of the new training center it plans to build, though many steps remain between today and an operating facility. The training center is vital to the overall project because the Pimlico property is too small to house the horses required to support a substantially year-round racing program, which horsemen hope to maintain.

“This project truly continues the path for our racing industry to thrive,” MTROA chairman Greg Cross said in a release.

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