Churchill Downs Incorporated said Tuesday it has entered into an agreement to acquire the intellectual property for the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan-Stakes from 1/ST Racing’s Maryland department for $85 million, subject to customary closing conditions.
Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby, plans to license the rights annually to the state of Maryland to stage the races. The parties expect the transaction to close after the next running of the Preakness, which is set to happen at Laurel Park on May 16 while Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is rebuilt as part of a major reconstruction project.
“This acquisition adds one of the most iconic brands in American sports to our portfolio and is consistent with our strategy of investing in premier thoroughbred racing assets with long-term growth potential,” Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO Bill Carstanjen said. “In keeping ownership of the Preakness intellectual property in the racing industry, CDI will support efforts to fully realize the potential of a redeveloped Pimlico and Preakness Stakes within the Triple Crown and the broader sports and entertainment landscape.”
The agreement comes a week after a report surfaced that the Preakness was planning to shift back a week in May, something officials have been discussing for years.
A spokesperson for the Maryland Jockey Club told The Associated Press that the organization is in the negotiation stage of a new media rights agreement, which could play a large role in timing for the Triple Crown, and that it had not yet spoken with Churchill Downs or the New York Racing Association about the date.
Currently, the Preakness takes place two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, which is run on the first Saturday in May, with the Belmont Stakes three weeks later as the third and final leg of the Triple Crown.
The spacing of the racing has been one of the biggest subjects of debate in the sport, especially with several owners and trainers of Derby winners opting in recent years to skip the Preakness.
It didn’t help matters that the old Pimlico Race Course, which opened in 1870, for decades has seen better days.
A section of grandstand has been condemned since 2019, ceiling tiles are missing from the part of the structure that is still safe to occupy and there is a crack in one of the large windows looking out at the track.
The race was moved to nearby Laurel Park while the old Pimlico is knocked down and rebuilt, with the aim of the second jewel of horse racing returning to its historic home in Baltimore in 2027.
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