Maryland is in the home stretch to fully own and operate the Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes by purchasing the intellectual property rights for $85 million.
"With this final acquisition we are not only leveraging the Preakness's iconic status and uplifting our horse racing industry, we are revitalizing the communities that directly benefit from the economic opportunities of the race," said Gov. Wes Moore.
The Maryland Economic Development Corp. is funding the project on behalf of the state by issuing revenue bonds supported by race revenue.
The final step in the deal is part of a 2024 $400 million bond sale used for the ongoing renovation of the Pimlico Race Course.
The Preakness is traditionally held at Pimlico, which is about eight miles north from downtown Baltimore.
It's the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, which begins in May with the Kentucky Derby and ends five weeks later with the Belmont Stakes in New York.
MEDCO bought the rights to the race from 1/ST Maryland LLC which also received an offer for the same amount from Churchill Downs Inc., earlier this year. Churchill Downs owns and runs the Kentucky Derby, which is held in Louisville.
Maryland held the right to first refusal of any sale offer and exercised it by matching the price.
"MEDCO is proud to have had the opportunity to conceive and execute a financial transaction that secures ownership of the Preakness and Black-eyed Susan IP and cements the success of horse racing in Maryland for generations to come," said MEDCO Chief Executive Officer Tom Sadowski.
In May Fitch Ratings affirmed MEDCO lease revenue bonds at AA-plus as part of assigning a AAA rating to Maryland's $800 million state and local facilities loan of 2026.
In March, S&P Global Ratings assigned BBB- minus ratings with a stable outlook to five series of MEDCO's revenue and student housing bonds.
The state will run the two big races while the nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club oversees day-to-day operations at the track.
MJC is partnering with the Oak View Group to explore sponsorship possibilities and KO Productions for event support.
According to the Governor's office, "while the state will now own the IP, it remains open to identifying areas of mutual interest with Churchill Downs and other industry partners to benefit the broader Triple Crown and the sport of horseracing."
According to 2024 numbers from the Maryland Horse Council, the total economic impact of the horse racing industry grew 38% between 2017 and 2022, to $2.9 billion from $2.1 billion.
"The industry's direct contribution to Maryland's GDP grew by 40.5% between 2017 and 2022. The industry is responsible for 28,434 jobs, and horse industry wages total more than $1.24 billion."
In addition to renovating the Pimlico stadium, Maryland is also in the process of buying the thoroughbred-class track at Laurel Park and turning it into a training facility.
Earlier this week the state announced long term plans to keep the headquarters of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens in its current location in Owings Mills.
The terms include up to $120 million in public-private investment to modernize and expand the Under Armour Performance Center.
That deal is looking for a $70 million investment from the team, up to $25 million from Baltimore County and $25 million from the Maryland Department of Commerce.
