Change is on the horizon for Maryland racing with legislation passed earlier this year that allowed 1/ST Racing to turn both Pimlico and Laurel over to the state of Maryland. Once that bill was signed, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA) was born. Soon after, Corey Johnsen, a former racetrack executive for Lone Star Park and Kentucky Downs, came on as the MTROA's interim CEO. He joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, to discuss the future of racing in Maryland.
Johnsen, who was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week, called into the show from Baltimore in the studios of Ayers Saint Gross, one of the architectural firms working on the design plans for a new Pimlico.
“We have to be done by the 2027 Preakness, so what happens is you have to make a lot of design decisions today so you can meet your deadlines,” Johnsen explained. “As I think everybody knows, the 2025 Preakness, the 150th running, will be at the old Pimlico. We can do some demolition in advance of that, but we cannot demolish the existing old grandstand. Basically on June 1st, 2025 demolition starts and then you've got the construction process, so it's got to move fast. Plus we're going to be building a $100 million plus training center somewhere in Maryland. That site hasn't been chosen yet, but we have to choose that site within 30 to 60 days.
Johnsen, whose family owns the racing and breeding entity CJ Thoroughbreds, described himself as a kid at Christmas when he was approached with the opportunity to help head up this project.
“Maryland Thoroughbred racing, you could argue, is the birthplace of the sport in America,” he said. “There are so many fine members of the horse community in Maryland….for the last 10 or 15 years there have been a lot of challenges, but they've all hung in there. These are people that are as good of horse people in America– not only the racing and training, but the breeders. I mean, when I'm around them, it's magical. And so add to that this opportunity where we have money and we have some great resources. This is my last charge up the hill. I was working on CJ Thoroughbreds and our charity Hope 4 All a lot, like 40 hours plus a week. Then I got the call in March and I had to think about it. It's such a great opportunity that I said, yeah, here we go.”
Johnsen described the MTROA, which is a non-profit, as a quasi-state agency. He said that one advantage of this already has been the cooperation and enthusiasm they have encountered from with other state entities.
“The Park Heights Renaissance people, the Baltimore Housing Department, transportation entities, the Department of Natural Resources, they all want to help us and it's really going to make a difference in this project,” he said. “Imagine a master-planned Preakness entrance in Park Heights where we're able to work with moving roads and changing different things there. We are going to have a hotel on site. Now, it may not be there in 2027, but it is going to happen. We just had a meeting with the Maryland State Archives group. We are going to archive every piece of history and memorabilia not only in Pimlico but Laurel too, and we are going to incorporate that into the design of the new Pimlico.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, Emma Berry joined the team for News You Can Use, presented by Darley's Night of Thunder, who is currently the leading sire of three-year-olds in Europe this year with 45 individual winners. Berry discussed this week's upcoming King George Stakes with Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), along with the upcoming Glorious Goodwood meeting. Further discussion during this week's show included a roundup of last weekend's racing, with talk of where we might see Coaching Club American Oaks victress Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in her next start, plus a preview of this weekend's racing from Del Mar and Saratoga. This week's show is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, XBTV.com, and WinStar Farm.
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