Attendance at Pimlico dipped slightly for the 149th Preakness with a total of 63,423 attending races Friday and Saturday.
In 2022, 42,055 attended the Preakness with “60,000+” attending both Friday and Saturday, according to a news release from The Stronach Group, which hosts the race. Last year, an announced 46,999 attended the Preakness, with a combined 65,000 attending both days. A spokesperson for the group did not have specific figures for Friday and Saturday on Sunday evening.
From 2011 to 2019, Preakness Day regularly drew more than 100,000 attendees. In 2019, roughly 182,000 attended the weekend, including 131,256 on Preakness Day.
However, the aged Pimlico Race Course in Northwest Baltimore has seen multiple problems in recent years. The smaller crowds are by design, organizers say.
“The reimagination of the event layout for Preakness festivities reflects 1/ST’s commitment to providing a thoughtfully curated experience for all guests,” the Maryland Jockey Club said in a statement ahead of this year’s race. “The intentional choice to reduce the footprint is designed to offer improved hospitality and entertainment for all in attendance while maintaining the energy and excitement synonymous with the Preakness.”
Preakness weekend has featured infield concerts for more than 15 years and for the second consecutive year, the main act performed after the signature race, rather than beforehand or on Friday evening. Rapper Jack Harlow, a Kentucky native who, fittingly, has a song called “Churchill Downs” after the home of that state’s Derby, performed an 18-song set Saturday after Seize the Grey won the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes.
The Preakness will be a different event in a few years — provided a new plan to renovate Pimlico, after many false starts, is successful. The $400 million blueprint calls for rebuilding the venue and constructing a training track elsewhere in the state. Demolition will begin before next year’s running of the Preakness, the 150th edition, at Pimlico. In 2026, the race will temporarily move to Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County.
By 2027, if the timeline holds, a new Pimlico would host the Preakness. Laurel Park would cease to operate as a racetrack.
At that point, the Preakness would be operated not by Stronach, but by a state-created nonprofit and changes could be coming to the event. The Preakness, which has not been profitable in recent years, might not host concerts down the road and attendance is expected to be higher.
Preliminary designs for the new Pimlico envision seating for 79,000, not including the infield.
Baltimore Sun reporter Dillon Mullan contributed to this article.
