In an abrupt switch of plans that had seemed cemented for the past year as part of the $400-million “Pimlico Plus” rebuild of Maryland's Thoroughbred racing infrastructure, the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) is abandoning plans to convert its recently purchased Shamrock Farm in Carroll County into an 800-horse training center, and will instead buy Laurel Park from The Stronach Group (TSG) with the intention of turning it into an 1,100-horse training facility.
With Pimlico Race Course now demolished and projected to be rebuilt in time for the 2027 GI Preakness Stakes, Laurel will continue to host the bulk of the state's racing (except for Timonium Fair), as previously planned.
If that ambitious construction schedule stays on deadline, once Pimlico in northwest Baltimore opens for racing in about 16 months, racing will cease at suburban Laurel (28 miles south of Pimlico), and Laurel will transition to training only.
As part of this new plan, the building of hundreds of new stalls at Pimlico will also be scrapped from the MSA's project, rendering Pimlico as a ship-in-only racing venue.
The Baltimore Banner first broke this story Jan. 20, pegging the state's purchase price of Laurel at $50 million, citing “three sources familiar with the deal.”
TDN could not independently confirm that purchase price on Jan. 21, nor could it obtain specifics on why Shamrock was so unexpectedly cast aside.
The MSA's executive vice president of its capital projects development group, Gary McGuigan, did not return a Wednesday phone message prior to deadline for this story.
Bill Knauf, the president and general manager of the non-profit Maryland Jockey Club Inc., (MJC), which took over the management of Laurel and Pimlico at the start of 2025, told TDN in a Wednesday phone interview that he could not comment on the purchase price because negotiations are ongoing.
However, in a news release sent out the day after the Banner broke the story, the MSA touted the training center switch as an overall cost-saver of “roughly $50 million.”
That MSA estimate factors in not having to spend roughly $116 million in previously disclosed expected costs for redeveloping the Shamrock property, which was purchased for $4.48 million in May 2025.
The MSA's savings estimate also includes $26.3 million in construction that would have been budgeted for new barns at Pimlico and $22.5 million shaved off the project by “pursuing alternatives to a previously designed large-scale contiguous event center at Pimlico.”
The MSA further projects $2.5 million saved annually in operating expenses by the MJC “by concentrating all overnight racing staff at Laurel.”
While Knauf wouldn't comment on the price point or why Shamrock fell through, he did express overall optimism for the pivoting of the project.
“We see this as a positive,” Knauf told TDN. “Obviously, everybody's very comfortable with Laurel. It's been around for a long time. It's our hub right now, and so the ability now to keep training here is a really nice thing. We've got offices here that we'll figure out if we can keep those and still utilize them. Obviously, the track is in good shape. It's being used regularly. The turf course will provide a really nice training course.
“Horses, obviously, have been used to shipping to Pimlico from Laurel just on past years, because the Pimlico meet had been fairly quick, so they're used to shipping in and shipping out,” Knauf said.
“It also provides us, obviously, with a lot of benefits at Pimlico by consolidation,” Knauf said. “There are operational efficiencies without training there. One of the larger developments is the main parking lot is restored. It used to be barn area under the old design. Now that will revert back to much-needed parking for the building itself.”
TDN asked Knauf if Laurel seems so much like a winning move, why wasn't it the first choice for a training center?
“That's a good question,” Knauf said. “I can't answer it, because that was before my time [at the MJC] with the MTROA (Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority), leading that process. To your point, I know Laurel was a strong consideration for the training center. Why it strayed from that, I don't know. But now I think we're on the right track, so to speak.”
Shamrock shake…
At the time Shamrock was selected as the training center site in December 2024, the MTROA (which was in charge of the Pimlico Plus project before the state mandated a switch to MSA oversight in 2025) stated that the goal with Shamrock would be “to design and build one of the great equine training centers in the world.”
In a racing and training center development report released in January 2024 by Populous, the architectural firm in charge of the Pimlico Plus design, Shamrock Farm had stood out as a top candidate based on rankings of eight potential sites for Maryland's new training center, which would have occupied 155 acres of Shamrock's overall 640-acre property.
But although Shamrock had scored highest on metrics related to location, topography, transportation access, infrastructure, jurisdictional approvals, cost of acquisition and development, Populous had noted some downsides.
The offsetting cons to the many pros for Shamrock included: “Existing waterways identified on mapping adjacent to proposed training site…Forest cover exists within proximity of site along waterway. Tree clearing not likely…Significant [environmental] Stormwater Management requirements anticipated.”
Although the MSA was aware of these potential downsides at Shamrock, that agency didn't dwell on them at its most recent public meeting Jan. 13.
In fact, during that 35-minute meeting last week, the MSA devoted less than 60 seconds to discussing the $400-million Pimlico Plus project.
“Shamrock Farm, we're still doing due diligence,” said the MSA's McGuigan during the Jan. 13 meeting. “I would note that we did receive a letter from the commissioners of Carroll County. They had concerns about the project, including traffic, the environment, power needs and property values. And that is under review and we will respond.”
“Respond” turned out to be an understatement, with the MSA giving no hint during that open, public meeting about the unexpected, big-ticket project shift that, presumably, had to already be in the pipeline behind the scenes.
Everything old is new again…
As for the 229-acre Laurel property, which was also on that same ranking of eight potential training sites two years ago, it too had some issues listed that initially prevented it from scoring higher as a potential training site.
“As previously determined in the MSA's 2021 Facility Assessment, a majority of existing barns and backstretch facilities have exceeded their service lives and need to be replaced,” the 2024 Populous report on Laurel stated. “Additionally, the Clubhouse and site has a number of outstanding life safety and accessibility violations as well as significant deferred maintenance.”
And although on-track safety issues have calmed over the past several seasons, between 2021 and 2023 Laurel's main track was plagued by repeated freeze/thaw and drainage troubles that coincided with several spates of equine fatalities.
The surface was in such bad shape in April 2021 that Laurel ceased racing on it to begin an emergency rebuild from the base up. When racing resumed, the onset of cold weather revealed problems with seams in the base of the homestretch, then the cushion atop that layer needed substantial reworking to give it more body and depth.
Eight horses died from fractures while racing or training over Laurel's main track between October and November 2021, leading to weeks-long halts in racing through early the winter of 2022.
The problems continued into 2022-23. An investigation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on a cluster of 13 Thoroughbred fatalities at Laurel during that season's winter and spring meets determined that the deaths could not be attributed to any specific, obvious cause.
On Wednesday, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Katharine Voss said via press release that the racing community will welcome the stability that Laurel will offer.
“This plan represents a pivotal opportunity to secure the future of Maryland racing…” Voss said. “This approach delivers long-term certainty for horsemen, stability for thousands of workers, and ensures that Maryland's rich racing heritage remains a strong and sustainable economic engine for generations to come.”
Bargain in the rough?
In terms of financial costs, if the speculated $50-million purchase price for Laurel turns out to be anywhere close to what the eventual final cost is, that dollar amount would seem to be a bargain for the MSA.
With the caveat that apples-to-apples comparisons can be difficult to ascertain based on differing geographic locations, property sizes, and projected uses for the land, here are a few publicly known purchase prices of other recent American racetracks that have been sold:
In October 2025, Sunland Park in New Mexico sold for $301 million (real estate assets $183.7 million, $117.3 for racing and gaming privileges, which will continue).
In 2023, Arlington International Racecourse sold for $197 million. The suburban Chicago racetrack has since been razed but has not yet been redeveloped.
In 2022, Ellis Park got sold to Churchill Downs, Inc., for $79 million, with racing continuing there during the summer on the Kentucky circuit.
In 2017, Suffolk Downs in Boston was sold for $155 million to developers. There has been no racing there since 2019, when brief weekend “festival” meets were last held. The property is currently in a state of stalled construction, with some housing and business projects partially completed.
According to the MSA's news release, a task force will be formed to determine Shamrock Farm's future, including potential use as horse rescue sanctuary space or for recreational development.
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