Preakness 2026 at Laurel Park will be 'tremendously different' than Pimlico

Sam Cohn, The Baltimore Sun on May 15, 2026

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BALTIMORE — Every year since 1909, after each Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, an artist has scaled the cupola and painted its weathervane to match the color scheme of the winning horse and jockey.

While most of Pimlico has been bulldozed over, tradition will attempt to carry on.

On Saturday, when a Preakness 151 winner is decided at Laurel Park, a live camera feed about 30 miles away inside the Park Heights construction zone will stream the painting of the cupola on the infield big screen to preserve the Preakness feel.

That last part won’t be easy.

Preakness will run somewhere other than Baltimore for the first time in 118 years. That’s because of an ongoing $400 million renovation at Pimlico that is expected to be completed in time to host Preakness 152 (the grandstand won’t be used until the following spring). The middle jewel of the Triple Crown’s temporary venue can only offer a truncated version of the people’s party.

“It’s gonna be really intimate,” said Scott Wykoff, longtime WBAL reporter and Alibi Breakfast emcee. “This is gonna be kind of like having Preakness in the park in your neighborhood.”

Attendance is capped at around 4,800, compared with the 60,000-plus patrons who visited Pimlico last year. One-quarter of the Laurel infield is a marsh, meaning there won’t be a headliner musical performance such as T-Pain or Jack Harlow. A barren and quiet lawn might leave the Preakness feeling a bit empty.

That said, three tents cropped up northeast of the grandstand, right by the starting line, which will be used for luxury suites. The blue-and-white-trimmed grandstand will house just about everyone else.

“Our goal for Preakness day is to create a beautiful space, whether that’s the signage or the florals or the hospitality elements,” 1/ST vice president of communications Tiffani Steer said. “Things that can really bring an elevated feel to this venue.”

The most glaring example is the winner’s circle.

At Pimlico, it’s the centerpiece of a lively crowd, a landscape invigorated by beautiful bouquets and the foot traffic of brightly dressed patrons.

Laurel’s best attempt is the semi-circle of flower arrangements creating a Preakness-branded winner’s circle on the turf in front of the lake. A field of 14 horses, led by morning-line favorite Iron Honor, will vie for the blanket of Black-Eyed Susans.

The two venues also feature slightly different configurations. Preakness has traditionally been a 1 3/16-mile (9.5 furlongs) race on Pimlico’s 1-mile oval (8 furlongs). Laurel features a slightly longer track, stretching 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs), with a shorter home stretch.

“There aren’t gonna be 50,000 people in the infield and no more running of the urinals that was so well [documented] by The Baltimore Sun,” Wykoff laughed. “It will be different. But I think once things get going, it will be a day of horse racing, a day to not only celebrate thoroughbred racing but celebrate the state of Maryland.”

Added NBC horse racing announcer Larry Collmus: “It’s going to be a hugely different feel because of the capped attendance. It’s only going to be a few thousand of our friends there, rather than the ruckus party that we’re used to with the infield crowd. We’re certainly looking forward to that coming back when we get back to Pimlico, because having that big crowd there is part of the feel. And just being at Pimlico is part of the feel. It’s going to be tremendously different to be at Laurel, but obviously it’s a step that has to be taken to get to the next place.”

Pull up to the corner of Laurel Race Track and Whiskey Bottom roads. Down a short ramp, past the stable’s front gates, is a winding road stretching maybe 5 furlongs. The speed limit is 15 mph, leading to a parking lot a fraction of the size of Pimlico’s. Here, and in more ways than one, Laurel’s subsidiary characteristics focus in frame.

The grandstand isn’t quite as grand. The infield is near empty. There won’t be a Kentucky Derby winner to recoup excitement. Pimlico was an eyesore, too, which is why it’s under renovation, but Laurel Park and this year’s smaller crowd will have to suffice for the long-term goals of horse racing in Baltimore.

Signage around the grandstand that advertises the horse racing weekend shows a picture of a gentleman in green pants and a straw hat. The flyer reads, “Preakness 151” above the three-word slogan: “The Tradition Continues.”

At the very least, it will try.