Report: Preakness track should be demolished

An era of Triple Crown history would end if a recommendation to tear down Pimlico Race Course, the nearly 150-year-old Baltimore track that hosts one of America’s premier horse races, comes to fruition.

The Maryland Stadium Authority recommends demolishing all existing structures at the historic track that hosts the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing, and rebuild it at a cost of $424 million, according to a report issued Thursday.

The condition of the aging Baltimore track presents challenges threatening the “continued existence and the success of the Preakness Stakes,” according to a summary of the conclusions. The Stronach Group, a Canada-based development company that owns and operates Pimlico, has looked at a fresher track it owns in Laurel Park — located about 30 miles south of Pimlico — as a viable option for the Preakness during the rebuild.

A spokeswoman for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he would review the study in coming days.

Pimlico has hosted many of the sport’s most memorable races: Seabiscuit’s match race with War Admiral in 1938; Man o’ War’s debut in 1920 with a stunning win over Upset; and Secretariat’s last-to-first victory during his Triple Crown run in 1973.

The Los Angeles County home stadium of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy will change its name in 2019. The StubHub Center in Carson will become Dignity Health Sports Park on Jan. 1, owner AEG said.

Dignity Health is a multistate health care network with headquarters in San Francisco.