Historic Laurel Park Shines Again as Host of 151st Preakness Stakes

Photos: Charles Sisler

Over its 115-year history, Laurel Park has played a major role in thoroughbred racing. It hosted the first-ever international thoroughbred race held in the United States, the DC International, for decades. Six Triple Crown winners raced at Laurel before they became household names, and Seabiscuit trained at Laurel Park prior to his storied race with War Admiral. Back then, the 4,000-seat grandstand would fill up for big races, with hundreds more standing trackside. But today, as interest in racing wanes and offtrack betting options have increased, attendance at Laurel Park for everyday racing is usually in the dozens. In fact, the park usually imposes a cap of 400 spectators, for both logistical and safety reasons. Most races are now run with very few on-site spectators.   

In 2024, with Maryland’s thoroughbred industry in trouble, the state announced a $500-million project to revitalize the industry. That plan included the purchase and total renovation of Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course; moving the Preakness Stakes to Laurel in 2026 and possibly 2027; the purchase and conversion of Carroll County’s Shamrock Farm into a training facility; and the eventual demolition of Laurel Park. Plans to build a mixed-use development on the site of Laurel Park already were being drawn up when fate intervened. Some ecological and financial dealbreakers cropped up related to Shamrock Farm, leading the state to pivot and announce that Laurel Park would become the training facility.

As racing fans who have been on that roller coaster ride know, the state’s plan could change yet again. In the meantime, however, the exciting news was that the Preakness was coming to Laurel, giving it at least one more opportunity for an international spotlight.

A week of excitement

Preakness week started on Monday, May 11, with the post position draw, in which starting gate positions are randomly assigned. Usually done by computer algorithm for everyday racing, major stakes races still use a traditional “pill pull,” in which a numbered pill-shaped object is drawn from a container at the same time as a slip of paper with a horse’s name is drawn from a separate container. An animated full-house crowd was on hand to witness this year’s pull, at which local favorite Taj Mahal drew the first position, while eventual winner Napoleon Solo drew the 10 slot.

For the next few days, trainers and jockeys were at the track by sunrise to take their horses through training runs. Afternoons were fairly quiet on the track, in contrast to the grandstand, where a parade of delivery trucks brought pallet after pallet of restaurant supplies and potted plants.

The traditional Alibi Breakfast filled the Terrace Dining Room on Thursday morning. Hundreds of attendees buzzed with anticipation as they enjoyed a buffet breakfast. Many hung around afterwards to catch the day’s slate of races.

Friday was Black-Eyed Susan Day, which offered a full day of 14 races, six of which were stakes races worth a total of $1 million in purses. Race 13 was the prestigious Black-Eyed-Susan stakes race, a 1-1/8-mile race for three-year-old fillies. The $300,000 purse was won by My Miss Mo, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.

Saturday came at last, and so did the sold-out crowd of over 4,200 people—many of whom were already eating, drinking, and celebrating before the first of the day’s 13 undercard races began at 10:30 am. Social media influencers and TV journalists took selfies and recorded videos from railside, people dressed in colorful Preakness couture and fascinators paraded the concourse, and teller booths set up throughout the grandstand took in a steady stream of bettors all day. Live music wafted from the Governor’s Tent, and dedicated bartenders served private parties in grandstand suites.

The signature race, the 151st Preakness Stakes, occurred at 6:50 pm as the 13th race of the day. With a maximum-allowable field of 14 horses, it seemed to take almost as long to gate the horses as it did to run the 1-3/16-mile race. Much of the crowd, including Maryland Governor Wes Moore, was cheering for Laurel-trained Taj Mahal, who started out strong but finished a disappointing 10th. The winner was Napoleon Solo, ridden by Paco Lopez and trained by Chad Summers, who bested pre-race favorite Iron Honor to take the $1.2-million purse.

On Sunday morning, the exodus started the night before continued, with a parade of horse trailers and media trucks being packed and driven off, and cleanup crews removing most of the evidence of the previous day’s events. By afternoon, the grandstand sat empty and silent once again, but with another memorable event added to its life story.

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Diane Mezzanotte is a staff writer and member of the Board of Directors for The Laurel History Boys. In addition to covering Laurel city municipal news, she also reports on all things from South Laurel.