CHANGES DEBATED to make changes to race.

BALTIMORE — Maryland Jockey Club officials are giving serious consideration to eventually moving the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, from Pimlico Race Course to what would be a refurbished Laurel Park and to holding the race on a Sunday for the first time.

Timothy Ritvo, chief operating officer of the Stronach Group, which operates Pimlico, said there is a “real good possibility” that the Preakness would be moved to Sunday as early as next year to increase business.

Sal Sinatra, vice president of the Stronach Group, said an extensive renovation of Laurel Park — near Laurel, Maryland, between Baltimore and Washington — was being contemplated in anticipation of shifting the Preakness.

“This building is old,” said Sinatra, who met with reporters midway through Saturday’s racing card. “You can’t just add suites. It’s almost a rebuild here. Laurel is a pretty healthy building.”

As he spoke, parts of the track were without running water. The problem was attributed to a broken pipe about 2 miles from the crowded facility.

The Preakness has been run continuously on a Saturday since 1931. It has been preceded by the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, the companion race for 3-year-old fillies. That race would shift to Saturday. The timing may be right because the contract with NBC to televise the Preakness is ending.

Ritvo noted that two of the major races of the summer, the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, and the Pacific Classic, at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club near San Diego, are contested on Sundays and generate large wagering handles.

According to Ritvo, the potential change of day is part of an ongoing discussion.

“We’re obviously trying to drive revenue for ourselves, but we will talk to the horsemen and the breeders to make sure this is something they want to try together,” he said.