Minutes of Public Meeting - February 11, 2026

DATE: February 11, 2026

TIME: 12:30 PM

PLACE: At Laurel Park, Tycoons Lounge

In accordance with §3-302, General Provisions Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, the Maryland Racing Commission (“Commission” or “MRC”) met in person and by the Google Meet platform in open session at 12:30 p.m. at Laurel Park. Chairman George Mahoney took a roll call of the Commission members and confirmed that all were present either in person or virtually. Chairman Mahoney thanked Bill Knauf and his staff for hosting the Commission Meeting at Laurel Park. Prior to the first agenda item, Chairman George Mahoney asked for a moment of silence for King Leatherbury, Tim Salzman and Thomas Jett.

Approval Of Minutes Of January 14, 2026

The Commission waived a reading of the minutes of its meeting on January 14, 2026. Chairman Mahoney asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Lafferty made the motion. Commissioner Earle seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Maryland Stadium Authority Update

Gary McGuigan of the Maryland Statdium Authority updated the Commission regarding Pimlico, Shamrock Farms and Laurel Park. He highlighted that the original cost to build a training center at Shamrock Farms would be $210 million. He advised the Commission that a Letter of Intent was signed with the Stronach Group to purchase Laurel Park as the new training facility. He said the Pimlico model will now be a “Ship-In Meet” where all horse will be stabled at Laurel Park and shipped into Pimlico for racing. There would be stalls at Pimlico for horses to ship in to, but not to permanently house in. With this pivot in the plan, a redesign was being done.

Mr. McGuigan ended his presentation by stating that Pimlico was starting a major tunnel project that would give access to the infield and that construction and the work should be completed by the end of the year.

Commissioner Zavian asked why there was no testing prior to buying Shamrock Farms? Mr. McGuigan stated that the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority bought it without doing proper due diligence. The Maryland Stadium Authority was not granted access until the middle of summer.

Commissioner Wayson asked when maintenance would start at Laurel Park? Mr. McGuigan responded by saying this was a complex project that had one budget for two projects. They have $520 million. Pimlico will get $400 million with $120 million going to Laurel. Mr. McGuigan said that once they are able to sign the contract with the Stronach Group, they will have a better idea of what needs to be done.

Commissioner Earle asked about how the surrounding community would be affected by moving operations from Pimlico to Laurel Park. Mr. McGuigan responded by saying there was a $26 million savings with the purchase of Laurel and that he would provide other studies to the Commission once he had them.

Commissioner Lillis asked whether there would be money for track safety. Mr. McGuigan stated that track safety was the highest priority, and they would respond to urgent issues with the track first.

Commissioner Zavian followed up with several other questions. She asked how the MSA planned to avoid development issues like those experienced at Shamrock Farms with the purchase of Laurel Park. Mr. McGuigan said they are doing their due diligence to protect the state and the horse community before any agreement is signed. Commissioner Zavian then asked how much of the original cost has changed and how much money in bonds have been released. Mr. McGuigan said the scope of the Pimlico project has changed a lot. Originally, a 1,000-person event center was supposed to be built alongside the new Pimlico Racetrack. That has now been taken out of the plans because they see the clubhouse as the event center. Mr. McGuigan stated that the MSA has statutory authority to issue $400 million in bonds. The first set of bonds have been issued for $238 million with a second series of bonds looking to be issued towards the end of 2026.

Executive Director Report

Executive Director Merz informed the Commission that the thoroughbred rules committee met in late January. The group identified several areas where the language needed to be updated or taken out. The group is reviewing notes from the meeting and the next steps will be to go through the areas identified and strike and rework language. The standardbred committee was having its first meeting at the end of the week.

Executive Director Merz continued his report by updating the Commission on the unified medication rules for harness racing. Mr. Merz reported that the Commissions had received feedback from the Harness Racing Medication Consortium on their recommendations. The process of writing the regulatory language was to start at the end of the month. Once language has been written, it would be shared with each state’s legal counsel to harmonize language. When each state felt comfortable with the language, they would then share it with stakeholder for further evaluation.

Executive Director Merz concluded his by giving a legislative update. Mr. Merz went through several bills and described how they would affect the Commission if enacted. Commissioner Zavian asked for the fiscal policy note for SB639 Historical Horse Racing. Mr. Merz told her once it was uploaded, he would share it with the Commission.

The Maryland Jockey Club Request for Spring Racing Dates

Executive Director Merz advised the Commission that the Maryland Jockey Club requested spring racing dates from April 1-May 3, 2026. Mr. Merz continued that the requests called for 14 live racing days with 19 days of simulcast racing. Racing would be conducted on a Friday to Sunday basis with post time being noon. The meet will be highlighted by the Preakness Preview Day on Saturday April 18. Mr. Merz concluded by saying that Preakness Preview last year was a huge success with a handicapping tournament and with handle just over $5.5 million. Chairman Mahoney asked for a motion to approve the request for spring race dates for the Maryland Jockey Club. Commissioner Lillis made the motion. Commissioner Zavian seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Rosecroft Raceway Update

Lisa Watts gave an update on Rosecroft Raceway. Ms. Watts stated that January weather issues caused the cancelation of racing days and the building was closed for three days. She thanked her track crew for keeping up with maintenance of the racetrack and getting it back into running shape. She ended her report by saying the Annual Golden Gloves Boxing matches were returning to Rosecroft every Saturday until April.

The Maryland Jockey Club Update

Bill Knauf gave the Commission an update on the MJC. Mr. Knauf reported that they had to cancel five racing days in the month of January due to weather. Even with the cancelation, handle was up over last years January numbers. Mr. Knauf thanked his track team for keeping the track in good shape while dealing with the weather. Mr. Knauf noted that MJC was in ongoing talks with Fair Hill regarding racing, and he was hoping to come to an agreement to have racing there in the summer. Mr. Knauf concluded his report by stating his team was working closely with the Stronach Group on Preakness planning.

Equine Medical Director Report

Equine Medical Director, Dr. Elizabeth Daniel, gave her report. Dr. Daniel stated there had been three fatalities in the month of January. Two were during training and one during racing. She noted that two of the fatalities were ship-ins that were not part of the local horse population. Dr. Daniel noted that mortality reviews would be conducted on the three horses.

Public Comment

April Smith from Friends of Pimlico thanks the Maryland Stadium Authority for their presentation and thanked the Commission for having them. She agreed with the MSA that the clubhouse should be the event center and was hoping that they could share the blueprint with the public soon.

Cricket Goodall from the Maryland Horse Breeders Association stated she was working on the Renaissance Awards with the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. It will be the first time they will have the awards during racing.

Jackie Macleod from the Maryland Standardbred Breeders thanked several people for helping put on the awards banquet for the Maryland Standardbred Industry. He announced a new stallion directory and said the state has several new stallions to breed to.

Marylynn Bobbi, racing fan, stated her concern that there was no news regarding Preakness and was hoping to hear something soon.

Hearing no other comments, Chairman Mahoney informed the public the next meeting would be on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. He asked for a motion to conclude the meeting. Commissioner Wayson made the motion. Commissioner Lillis seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

/s/ George Mahoney