Will the Preakness Stakes Stay at Pimlico?

With tomorrow marking the running of the 144th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, one of the inevitable questions arises:  Will the Preakness Stakes continue to be run at Old Hilltop in Baltimore, Maryland?

   Baltimore is not receiving good press these days, and the local city government has a lot to do with it.  While other cities are growing, Baltimore has lost almost 25% of its' population over the past 20 years or so.  Pimlico Race Course, once one of the foremost thoroughbred race courses in the United States, is now only open for 12 days of racing each year.  The income generated in those 12 days is not enough to meet the up-keep expenditures.  Indeed, structural problems have caused thousands of grandstand seats to be closed for this years' race.  Closing those seats because the structure is unsafe loses more income.

   A recent example of the city of Baltimore's almost hostile approach to property rights relates to the Preakness Stakes itself.  Pimlico Race Course has thrilled racing fans since 1873, but due to very little usage, the grounds and buildings have deteriorated (as in the case of the grandstand), until it seems that Pimlico's useful life as a thoroughbred race track is over. Pimlico's owners have wanted to relocate the Preakness to Laurel Park, the suburban race track in Laurel, Maryland, and Baltimore city officials are grumbling and complaining about the proposed move and the closure of the grandstand.
  Laurel Park currently has 159 days of racing each year.  It is located on a train line between Washington, D. C. and Baltimore.  Attendance at race tracks and revenue at tracks have been declining for several years, as rival entertainment and gambling options have grown exponentially.  Regarding the condition of Pimlico Race Course and its' buildings, the Maryland Stadium Authority has reported that an almost total demolition and rebuilding would be necessary to bring everything up to current building and crowd control standards.  They estimate the cost would be $424 million for the renovations deemed absolutely necessary.
  The owners of Pimlico (51% is owned by the Stronach Group and 49% by Penn National) would be wise in business if they prefer not to pay that cost up front, or even a significant part of it, since they would be operating two competing facilities (yes, they own Laurel, also) in the same area, while facing shrinking revenue.  So the owners have commenced lobbying the state for subsidies to enhance Laurel Park, and Baltimore city officials are fighting them.  The political tug-of-war is interesting to observe.

  Most recently, the city has unsheathed what it considers to be its ultimate weapon: a lawsuit threatening to use eminent domain to seize both Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness Stakes itself in order to keep the second jewel of the Triple Crown with the city limits of Baltimore.  That lawsuit comes on top of a 1987 law asserting that the Preakness may not be legally shifted out of the city of Baltimore except "in case of emergency."
   This seems extremely reminiscent of what happened back in the early-to-mid 1980s, when the city of Baltimore wanted to seize the NFL team, the Baltimore Colts, to prevent them from moving away from town.  Then owner Robert Irsay packed up all of the teams' belongings and moved them to Indianapolis overnight.....
   What will happen to the Preakness Stakes might be just as eye-opening.

The 1978 Preakness (and Triple Crown) winner, Affirmed (#6)

under the confident ride of Steve Cauthen