Today, August 5th, Governor Wes Moore held a press conference to announce three developments regarding the Preakness Stakes.

First, the State is moving the Preakness weekend back 8 days to the fourth weekend in May. That will allow three weeks instead of two between the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby. The state is also moving the Preakness Stakes to Sunday instead of Saturday, and moving the Black-Eyed Susan to Saturday instead of Friday.

Second, The Maryland Jockey Club has finalized a six-year deal with NBC Sports to broadcast the Black-Eyed Susan and the Preakness Stakes, as well as two additional racing days that had not been part of any previous NBC Sports deal. Those two days will be the Preakness Preview Day in mid-April the Jim McKay Maryland Million Day in October. Preakness Preview Day includes the $150,000 Frederick Tesio Stakes and the $150,000 Weber City Miss Stakes. The winner of the Frederic Tesio Stakes automatically qualifies for the Preakness Stakes; the winner of the Weber City Miss Stakes automatically qualifies for the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. Taken together, NBC Sports will, for the next six years, cover Maryland racing for a total of 10 hours each year, instead of the previous approx. 2 hours of coverage it has provided in the past.

Third, the State has completed its purchase of the intellectual property rights to both the Preakness Stakes and the Black-Eyed Susan, which eliminates the risk that Maryland could lose the either race to another state. It also means that any revenue from licencing those trademarks will inure to the benefit of the State, not a private party.

How Does the State Fund Thoroughbred Racing?

The Governor reiterated that Maryland’s General Fund is not being used for the State’s investment in racing. The primary source of government funding for Thoroughbred racing comes from government bonds and from slots revenue that is generated at Maryland casinos.

Horse racing in Maryland receives 7% of all of the State’s slots revenue per year, divided 80% to Thoroughbreds and 20% to Standardbreds. Last year, the racing sector received over $95.2 million from Maryland slots revenue. The Thoroughbred portion of that came to over $76 million.

That $76 million is then split into two accounts — the Purse Account and the Racetrack Facility Renewal Account (RFRA).

  • Purse Acccount: The Purse Account funds purse money and breeder awards, which funds are then paid out to individual horsemen. In 2025, the amount allotted for individual horsemen was over $65 million. The breeder awards are restricted to Maryland-breds, but the purse money goes to any horse running in Maryland, regardless of where those horse were foaled or where their connections live.

  • RFRA Money: The Thoroughbred racing sector received $10.8 million in RFRA money in 2025. In years past, that money would have been used to fund matching grants to help private owners defray the cost of maintaining Pimlico and Laurel. Now that the State has purchased both tracks, those funds will be re-directed to service Maryland Stadium Authory bond debt.

What Happens Now?

The re-development of Pimlico Racecourse is underway and The Maryland Jockey Club expects to run the 2027 from the new facility. The construction will not be entirely finished, however, so The Maryland Jockey Club will run the event primarily from the infield and will use temporary clubhouse and grand-stand facilities.

The State expects to hold the Grand Opening for the new clubhouse for the 2028 Preakness weekend. The new clubhouse will, as of right now, contain multiple restaurants as well as a “museum-quality exhibition” woven throughout, to include elements from the original Stall 40 (which houses the Kentucky Derby winner), as well as the tracks historic cupola and weather vane.