Maryland’s Pimlico Race Course, which was to have hosted the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, is closed for now, and will get a thorough overhaul while races are on hold. Meanwhile, it’s simulcasting live races from Brazil.

Pimlico Race Course was to have hosted the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, May 16. But racing’s Triple Crown was sidelined due to the coronavirus, and the Baltimore oval is closed until further notice.

The good news is, race fans can still watch and bet. On May 3, the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) began simulcasting full-card horse races from Brazil via the Latin America Racing Channel (LARC).

The races, which originate from the Hipodromo da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro, are scheduled from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays throughout May (all times Eastern). The MJC will expand the LARC calendar as more Latin American tracks resume live racing.

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Track to Get Major Upgrade

Meanwhile, just as many Americans are spending their enforced down time on household projects, Pimlico is doing the same. It will undergo a thorough overhaul while races are on hold.

On May 7, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed the Maryland Stadium Authority’s plan to issue up to $375 million in bonds to overhaul both Pimlico and Laurel Park.

“The legislation paves the way for an enhanced Preakness in Baltimore, the revitalization of year-round racing at Laurel Park and reinvestment in the many communities of interest near and related to the racing industry,” said Belinda Stronach, chairman and president of the Stronach Group, which owns both tracks.

The Pimlico facelift is long overdue: “Old Hilltop” opened in 1870, and is the second oldest racetrack in the U.S., second only to Saratoga, which debuted six years earlier. Racing’s champions have all run here: from Man o’ War to War Admiral, from Seattle Slew to Secretariat. Until the current crisis, live racing had been suspended just once, between 1889 and 1904, when racing was outlawed in the state.

The massive renovation project will transform Pimlico into a multipurpose entertainment complex, with horse racing just one of many activities. The clubhouse and other facilities will be made available for community and civic events. Laurel Park will become a racing and training facility with an equine diagnostic center. It will add new racing and training facilities and modern stables and barns.

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Pimlico Stats

• The Pimlico backstretch houses 665 horses
• The main race track is a 1-mile oval with a 1,152-foot stretch
• The turf racecourse is 7/8 of a mile

Beginner’s Guide to Pari-Mutuels

Pari-mutuel wagering means, literally, a mutuel wager or “betting among ourselves.” It’s similar to a stock transaction. When you buy a $2 ticket on a horse you’re essentially buying one share in the horse’s performance in the race.

The racetrack acts as the broker for the transaction and deducts a commission fixed by the state and shared by the state, track and horsemen. The track’s takeout remains the same, regardless of whether a favorite or a longshot wins.

Beginner’s Guide to Wagers

• To collect, your selection must finish first
• To collect, your selection must finish first or second
• To collect, your selection must finish first, second or third
• Daily Double. To collect, you must select the winners of two consecutive races
• Daily Triple. To collect, you must select the winners of three consecutive races
• To collect, you must pick the first two horses to finish in the exact order
• To collect, you must pick the first two horses to finish, but not in the exact order
• You must pick the first three horses to finish, in the exact order they finish
• Pick Six. Selecting the winners of the last six consecutive races. You must make your Pick 6 wager prior to the first Pick 6 race

Source: Pimlico.com