Turcotte’s family said through his longtime business partner and friend Leonard Lusky that the Canada-born jockey died of natural causes Friday at his home in Drummond, New Brunswick.

He won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes twice each, most notably sweeping the three with Secretariat to end horse racing’s Triple Crown drought that dated to Citation in 1948.

“Ron was a great jockey and an inspiration to so many, both within and outside the racing world,” Lusky said. “While he reached the pinnacle of success in his vocation, it was his abundance of faith, courage, and kindness that was the true measure of his greatness.”

Secretariat’s record time of 2:24 in the Belmont, winning by 31 lengths at a 1 1/2-mile distance, still stands 52 years later.

“I still had a lot of horse when I passed the wire,” Turcotte said in 2023, nearly 50 years to the day since riding Secretariat in the Belmont. “He was not tired. … It was amazing.”

Turcotte won 3,032 races over a nearly two-decade career that ended in 1978 when he fell off a horse early in a race and suffered injuries that made him paraplegic. Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund chairman William J. Punk Jr. called Turcotte one of the sport’s greatest champions and ambassadors and praised him for his advocacy and efforts to help fellow fallen riders.

“While his courage as a jockey was on full display to a nation of adoring fans during that electrifying time, it was after he faced a life altering injury that we learned about the true character of Ron Turcotte,” New York Racing Association president and CEO David O’Rourke said. “By devoting himself to supporting fellow jockeys struggling through similar injuries, Ron Turcotte built a legacy defined by kindness and compassion.”

Turcotte was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1979.

“The world may remember Ron as the famous jockey of Secretariat, but to us he was a wonderful husband, a loving father, grandfather, and a great horseman.” the Turcotte family said in a statement through Lusky.

Turcotte was born in Drummond on July 22, 1941, as one of 12 children. He quit school to work as a lumberjack before moving to Toronto to get involved in horse racing, first as a hotwalker and then a jockey, becoming the leading rider at Woodbine Racetrack before rising to the Triple Crown level.

Woodbine chairman Jim Lawson said Turcotte was “a true Canadian icon whose impact on horse racing is immeasurable.”

“Ron carried himself with humility, strength and dignity,” Lawson said. “His legacy in racing, both here at Woodbine and around the world, will live forever.”

Turcotte won the Preakness in 1965 aboard Tom Rolfe and the Derby and Belmont in 1972 with Riva Ridge. But it was his time with Secretariat that made Turcotte a household name in racing, and he called it “love at first ride.”

“He was the type of horse that you’ll never see again,” Turcotte said two years ago. “He was doing something that you’ve never seen before and will probably never see again.”

Turcotte was the last surviving member of Secretariat’s team: The colt died in 1989, groom Eddie Sweat in 1998, trainer Lucien Laurin in 2000, owner Penny Chenery in 2017 and exercise rider Charlie Davis in 2018.

“Ron Turcotte was an icon and will forever be fondly remembered as the trusted partner of legendary Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner Secretariat, arguably the most popular thoroughbred in history,” Churchill Downs Racetrack president Mike Anderson said. “Ron’s many accomplishments on the racetrack and his deep passion for horse racing brought countless fans to the sport. He will be greatly missed.”

The “Races at Fair Hill” on Aug. 30 will be hosted by the Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland in partnership with the Cecil County Breeders Fair, and the event is sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association and the Maryland Racing Commission.

The 1-mile turf track inside the Fair Hill Special Event Zone is scheduled to reopen after the completion of an infrastructure modernization project, which entailed the construction of a sand-based turf course of Kentucky bluegrass with a state-of-the-art irrigation system — the first course of its kind in the state.

Each fall, the Maryland 5 Star — a fixture in sport of eventing that includes dressage, cross-country and show jumping — takes place at Fair Hill, one of only two 5 Star events in the United States and one of seven worldwide. The 2024 Maryland 5 Star generated more than $15 million in direct spending for the state economy, more than $530,000 in local tax receipts and $23.5 million in total business sales in the state.

The horse industry is important to the state, supporting 22,000 direct jobs and driving $713 million in added value to the economy, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

“The historic investments we’re making to ensure the future of horse racing in Maryland are also promoting work, wages, and wealth in communities across the state,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a written statement. “At Fair Hill, we’ve completed track and venue upgrades to usher in a new era of turf track horse racing in Cecil County. Our multifaceted approach will support Maryland’s tourism and agricultural economies, promoting prosperity for years to come.”

Racing at Fair Hill last occurred in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic led to a pause for public events at the space.

“We’re excited to be part of bringing racing back to Cecil County,” said Jeff Newman, senior vice president of events for the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland. “The event on Saturday, August 30 will be a free, family-friendly open house, and we encourage everyone to come out and celebrate the return of live racing to Fair Hill over Labor Day weekend.”

Fair Hill is home to Cecil County Breeders, the National Steeplechase Association and Fair Hill International, a nonprofit organization that helps manage horse events at the site. The natural resource management area has also organized opportunities for youths and families, including the Cecil County Fair, 4-H programs and Pony Club activities.

“Cecil County has a long and storied history with racing at Fair Hill, a longtime community event and cherished tradition that we have missed since the last race event in 2019,” Cecil County Executive Adam Streight said. “We are excited that our partnership with the Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Sports Commission brings horse racing back home, where it belongs.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.

His family said Sunday that Lukas died Saturday night at his Louisville, Kentucky, home. Lukas had been hospitalized with a severe MRSA blood infection that caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened pre-existing chronic conditions.

“Wayne devoted his life not only to horses but to the industry — developing generations of horsemen and horsewomen and growing the game by inviting unsuspecting fans into the winner’s circle,” his family said in a statement. “Whether he was boasting about a maiden 2-year-old as the next Kentucky Derby winner or offering quiet words of advice before a big race, Wayne brought heart, grace, and grit to every corner of the sport. His final days were spent at home in Kentucky, where he chose peace, family, and faith.”

Lukas won 15 Triple Crown races, including the Kentucky Derby four times. Only good friend Bob Baffert has more Triple Crown victories, and Lukas owns a record-tying 20 in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

“The whole secret of this game, I think, is being able to read the horse: Read what he needs, what he doesn’t need, what he can’t do, what he can do,” Lukas said in May before his 34th and final Preakness Stakes. “That’s the whole key. Everybody’s got the blacksmith, everybody’s got to the same bed available, the feed man. We all can hire a good jockey. We all can hire a pretty good exercise rider if we’ve got the means, so what the hell is the difference? The horse is the difference and what we do with him in reading him.”

Lukas was affectionately known around the barns and the racetrack as “Coach” because he coached high school basketball before his professional career with horses began. Even with months to go before his 90th birthday, he would get up on his pony in the early morning hours and go out to the track himself, rather than letting his assistants do the day-to-day work.

“The Maryland Jockey Club mourns the loss of legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a true titan of Thoroughbred racing,” said Bill Knauf, president and general manager of TMJC. “His unmatched accomplishments, unwavering dedication, and enduring influence on the sport have left an indelible mark on racing history. With seven wins in the Preakness Stakes, D. Wayne was not only a champion on the track but a mentor and inspiration to generations of horsemen and women. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the entire racing community. His legacy will forever be part of Maryland Racing and the Preakness Stakes.”

Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Wisconsin as the second of three children, he rose to prominence in the sport with quarter horses in races that are effectively sprints. He moved into thoroughbreds in the late 1970s and won his first Preakness with Codex in 1980.

Lukas has 4,967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, with his horses earning more than $310 million from more than 30,600 starts.

“Today we lost one of the great champions of Churchill Downs and one of the most significant figures in Thoroughbred racing over the last 50 years,” Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said. “We will miss his humor, his wisdom and his unmatched capacity to thrill the fans with the performances of his horses on our sport’s biggest days.”

Achieving something of a career renaissance over the past decade, one he credits to finding the right owners willing to spend money on horses, Lukas won the Preakness last year with Seize the Grey. Asked what motivates him to keep doing his job well into his late 80s, he gave a pep talk fit for a locker room before a big game.

“If you have a passion, you eliminate all the excuses,” Lukas said. “That’s how it works. You get up early. You go without a meal. You drive. You go without sleep — as long as you got the passion. Don’t let that sofa pull you down. It’s a little easy when that alarm goes off to say, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know if I really want to do this today.’ Erase that. The most important decision you’ll ever make in your life is your attitude decision. Make it early, and make the right one.”

Lukas’ family said the 89-year-old has battled a severe MRSA blood infection that has caused significant damage to his heart and digestive system and worsened preexisting chronic conditions. The family said Lukas declined an aggressive treatment plan that doctors proposed involving multiple surgeries over the coming months and 24/7 assistance, instead deciding to return home.

His horses have been transferred to assistant trainer Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl, who has been part of Lukas’ team since 2002.

“Wayne built a legacy that will never be matched,” Nicholl said. “Every decision I make, every horse I saddle, I’ll hear his voice in the back of my mind. This isn’t about filling his shoes — no one can. It’s about honoring everything that he’s built.”

Lukas is one of the most accomplished people in the history of the sport. His 15 Triple Crown victories are second only to good friend Bob Baffert, and Lukas has a record-tying 20 in the Breeders Cup.

He has won the Kentucky Derby four times since 1988. His most recent victory in the Triple Crown came last year with Seize the Grey in the Preakness, his seventh — one short of Baffert’s record.

“Wayne is one of the greatest competitors and most important figures in Thoroughbred racing history,” Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson said. “He transcended the sport of horse racing and took the industry to new levels. The lasting impact of his character and wisdom, from his acute horsemanship to his unmatched attention to detail, will be truly missed. The enormity of this news is immense, and our prayers are with his family and friends around the world during this difficult time.”

Lukas is affectionately known around the barns and the racetrack as “Coach” because he coached high school basketball before his professional career with horses began. Even with only months to go before his 90th birthday, he would get up on his pony in the early morning hours and go out to the track himself, rather than letting his assistants do the day-to-day work.

Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Wisconsin as the second of three children, he rose to prominence in the sport with quarter horses in races that are effectively sprints. He moved into thoroughbreds in the late 1970s and won his first Preakness with Codex in 1980.

Lukas has 4,967 documented victories in thoroughbred racing, with his horses earning more than $310 million from over 30,600 starts.

Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, near the unincorporated area of Winfield, is slated to be the site of Maryland’s new thoroughbred training center, where up to 800 horses will be housed.

The 640-acre farm is about 20 miles from the Pimlico Race Course, the thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes, and the site’s strategic proximity aligns with Pimlico’s highly anticipated major redevelopment set to begin later this year.

The Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority announced in December that it had chosen Shamrock Farm for the new training center, in which it plans to invest $110 million.  In May, the state Board of Public Works approved the purchase of Shamrock Farm.

“The future development of the Shamrock Farms represents a significant change for Winfield and surrounding areas,” Carroll County Commissioner Michael Guerin stated in an email. “My priority is to advocate for the best possible outcomes for the local residents who will be impacted by the proposed facility.”

Guerin, who represents District 4 in Carroll County, which includes Shamrock Farm, held an open forum on the project last month, attended by more than 120 residents. Many were opposed to the idea of a large training facility at 4926 Woodbine Road.

“This meeting provided a valuable opportunity to discuss aspects of the proposed facility, and I was able to gather important feedback,” he said. “The key issues raised included potential impacts on traffic flow and the capacity of our local road network, the Route 26/Woodbine Road intersection, environmental considerations, particularly concerning existing wells and septic systems, and the anticipated broader effect of the facility on the character of the surrounding area.”

Residents voiced concerns about the design of the training center, the capacity of the area’s electrical grid, and fire service to the site. They also want to ensure that Carroll County government has an effective channel for communicating local input throughout all phases of the development process, Guerin said.

“I have already been in direct contact with both the MSA Project Team and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association and greatly appreciate their willingness to discuss these important issues,” he said.

For 33 years, James Geary Jr. has lived next to Shamrock Farm. Geary said his family enjoyed having a horse farm behind his house.

“They bred horses there,” he said. “It was beautiful.”

But when Geary learned that a large training center will be built behind his house, worry set in. Geary thinks that housing 800 horses and building a 75-room dormitory on the farm will have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area.

“Virtually all homes in the vast area around Shamrock Farm are on wells and sewage systems,” he said. “We are concerned with a loss or reduction in capacity of our wells and/or contamination of our wells from a large influx of sewage from the site. Everybody here is on a well.”

Geary worries drainage from the center will also impact Gillis Falls, a local stream that sits partially on Shamrock Farm.

“It ultimately drains into the Patapsco River, Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay,” he said. “Anything they do will affect the Gillis Falls. That is significant.”

Marsha Herbert, owner and operator of Country Hill Farm, a full-service equestrian facility in Westminster, is one Carroll Countian voicing support for the facility. Herbert, a Republican, is running for the District 3 seat on Carroll’s Board of County Commissioners next year. She’s also a former president of the Carroll County Board of Education.

Herbert said as a horse lover, she’s thrilled that Shamrock Farm was chosen to become a state-of-the-art horse training facility. “I’m really tickled about that,” she said.

Have a news tip? Contact Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@baltsun.com, 240-315-7029.

Like last year, it featured the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners. However, unlike last year and for the first time since 2018, one of those two won to secure two of the three legs of the Triple Crown.

“I think they are three really good horses,” Sovereignty trainer Bill Mott said. “I’m glad [Sovereignty] was able to come back and have a race like he did in the Derby.”

It was the second Belmont win for Mott. He spends most of his summer tending to his horses at Saratoga, so winning the Belmont at Saratoga was extra special.

“This is home,” Mott said. “It’s the race we were pointing for after the Derby, and fortunately it worked out very well. … The horse was good. Junior [Alvarado] rode him well.”

It was the second Belmont at Saratoga, with renovations being made to its usual home at Belmont Park on Long Island.

Rodriguez, who made his Triple Crown debut, burst out and led the field of eight in the 1 1/4-mile race until the top of the stretch when Journalism made a surge. Followed closely behind was Sovereignty, with jockey Junior Alvarado aboard. He caught Journalism almost instantly and ran away with it.

The 5-2 second favorite finished in 2:00.69, beating Preakness winner Journalism by three lengths.

“He broke very well again today like he’s been doing,” Alvarado said. “He put himself in a good spot. I was a little shocked how close, but at the same time, I’m happy with how easily he was doing everything. As a jockey, I was very happy where he was.”

Journalism ended up in second again, and Baeza was third — the same 1-2-3 as the Kentucky Derby. Journalism, the only horse to run in all three legs, entered the gate at the Belmont as the 2-1 favorite, with Baeza the third favorite at 7-2.

Sovereignty paid $7 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.30 to show. Journalism returned $3.20 and $2.30, and Baeza paid $2.60.

Sovereignty led off the first leg of the Triple Crown by winning the Derby in early May. The colt also edged Journalism in that race.

After the Derby win, the Godolphin-owned 3-year-old opted out of the Preakness to focus on the Belmont, forfeiting a shot at history to win the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown hasn’t been won since 2018, when Bob Baffert’s Justify won the 105th Belmont Stakes to secure the third jewel.

Despite winning both legs of the Triple Crown that Sovereignty entered, Mott and Godolphin’s Michael Banahan didn’t regret not running him in the Preakness Stakes.

“I think if you leave the races out of it, it’s what was the right thing to do for the horse,” Banahan said. “That’s what we talked about — what was the right thing for the horse to do going forward?”

One of the reasons Mott and Godolphin skipped the Preakness was that they didn’t want to exhaust the horse and wanted a long future for the 3-year-old. There are a couple of stakes races later in the summer for 3-year-olds, but the main one is at the end of the year, the Travers Stakes.

The Travers, at the end of the Saratoga meet, could be another loaded field and potentially another rematch between Journalism and Sovereignty.

“I’d love to come back and take a crack at the Travers in August,” Mott said. “It’s a race I’ve never won, but I think it’s a very important race for a 3-year-old like Sovereignty. I think if he’s healthy, everybody would probably be in agreement that’s the race we would point to.”

Derby winner Sovereignty and runner-up Journalism, who won the Preakness two weeks later, headline the field of eight in the Belmont. Add in Baeza, and the top three finishers from the first Saturday in May are involved.

“We’re delighted to have the first three horses out of the Derby challenging each other again,” said Michael Banahan of Godolphin, which owns Sovereignty. “It’s a quality race. … It should set up well, and may the best horse win.”

Journalism opened as the 8-5 morning line favorite with Sovereignty the second choice at 4-1. Journalism won the Preakness run without Sovereignty after owners and trainer Bill Mott opted to give their horse extra rest.

The intent was to focus on the Belmont rather than chase the chance for Sovereignty to become the sport’s 14th Triple Crown champion and first since Justify in 2018.

“We felt that the best thing for him and to have a career through the whole season, and maybe into next year as well, was spacing his races a little bit,” Banahan said. “Bill Mott, who’s trained horses for us for a long time, is very judicious about where he wants to place his horses. And we put a lot of faith in the recommendations that he would give us.”

Michael McCarthy-trained Journalism is the only horse running in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. And he is the favorite for a reason.

“Journalism is a very tough horse,” said John Shirreffs, who trains Baeza. “One thing about Journalism, (if) he runs his race (like in) Kentucky, Pimlico, he’s very tough. He’s solid. So, it’s going to be a very difficult horse to beat.”

Shirrefs said Baeza is emerging and developing, hoping the half-brother of last year’s Belmont winner, Dornoch, can stride along and get past Sovereignty and Journalism this time.

“Hopefully we get out of the gate well and get a nice pace,” Shirrefs said. “It’s just the how the race unfolds and him not getting into any trouble.”

Long shot Heart of Honor is running again after finishing fifth in the Preakness three weeks ago. New to the Triple Crown trail are Hill Road, Uncaged, Crudo and Rodriguez, who was scratched from the Derby with a minor foot bruise that also caused him to miss the Preakness.

Banahan expects Rodriguez to go to the lead, as so many of Hall of Fame and two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert’s top horses do, and provide the main speed.

“That horse is going to be ready,” Chad Brown, trainer of Hill Road, said of Rodriguez. “You can be assured of that. And it sure looks like he’s by far the fastest horse in the race.”

Brown has won the Preakness twice but never the Belmont. After going to Saratoga with his parents while growing up and getting into horse racing as a result, he’s hoping to end his drought at his home track.

“We have a very unique time in history where there’ll be three Belmont Stakes run total at Saratoga before you’ll never see another one again,” Brown said. “So, to be part of history with that, that would be extra special.”

Saratoga itself is a draw for avid fans, given the track’s place in horse racing history and a nod to its roots, but the debate continues about how to keep the Triple Crown relevant for a casual audience.

Horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the nation, dating back to before the Declaration of Independence. But unlike then, horse racing now has to compete for attention in a crowded sports landscape.

Racetracks like Saratoga have attempted to make the weekend a spectacle, with bands and activities throughout the races in hopes of showing the greatness of horse racing and what a day at the track looks like.

“It’s a great day out, lots of excitement,” said Michael Banahan of Godolphin, who owns Kentucky Derby winner and Belmont contender Sovereignty. “There are a lot of things that go on during the race week, as well. … I think just some people that hadn’t seen that before are beginning to enjoy that.”

The outreach extends beyond the track. Places like America’s Best Racing are working to educate casual fans about everything from betting to how well horses are taken care of and what to expect on race day.

It has connected with celebrities and influencers to get them involved in horse racing. That most recently included TikTok star Griffin Johnson, who was given a small ownership stake in Derby and Preakness horse Sandman.

Johnson showed himself getting ready for the races, bathing Sandman and showing what the colt does on his off day. Through this, the combined accounts of ABR and Johnson totaled 268 million-plus impressions and 111 million views.

“It’s great to have another young horse racing fan in the room,” said ABR’s director of digital marketing, Rachel Miller. “But, obviously, the same formula isn’t going to work forever. It’s going to reach a point where maybe Griffin’s involvement in racing may stall out or Sandman’s not racing anymore. There are just so many unknown variables, especially in this sport, and that’s one of the harder sells.”

There’s another option to draw more viewers, but it’s controversial.

Journalism wins the Preakness Stakes 2025 race at Pimlico | PHOTOS

Ever since Sovereignty didn’t run in the Preakness Stakes, forfeiting a shot at the Triple Crown to rest up for the Belmont, there have been conversations about spreading out the three legs beyond the current gap of two weeks, then three weeks.

Banahan believes spacing out the legs for more rest could attract higher-caliber horses, with more of a chance of the Kentucky Derby winner running, raising interest.

“I’m not too sure if that’ll be the case or not,” Banahan said. “I think the quality of racing is probably what draws people in. I think if we get better horses in all those races, I think they’ll get the casual to tune into those as well. Good competition, good horses in there, that happens by having a little more time between to rest. That’ll be good for us.”

Not everyone agrees that extending the time in between races would increase viewership. Trainer Chad Brown, who has Hill Road in the Belmont, thinks extending the time in between races actually will hurt the Triple Crown.

“I think if you start spreading it out, you run the risk of losing everyone’s attention, too,” Brown said. “That’s a long time for everyone to be invested in watching how this turns out. I think that the average sports fan moves on from sport to sport throughout the year. I think we have to be happy that we have some of them just for the Triple Crown, even if we can’t get them all the way through the bigger stuff. I think extending events runs risks for that.”

Umberto Rispoli squeezed between horses around the top of the stretch and then rode Journalism to a tremendous rally. He kept Journalism near the rail, which saved ground but forced him to slip between Goal Oriented, ridden by Flavien Prat, and Clever Again — with no shortage of contact. Gosger was second by a half-length, Sandman was third and Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented fourth as Journalism prevailed two weeks after finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby.

A stewards inquiry was briefly posted after the Preakness to look at the contact, and then it was removed with no changes.

On Friday, six days after the race, three Maryland stewards — Adam Campola, Ross Pearce and Russell Derderian — posted a brief statement on the Maryland Racing Commission website announcing their decision.

“After reviewing the films and speaking with the riders involved, we, the presiding Stewards of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes, came to the unanimous decision not to take action against Flavien Prat, rider of 4th-place finished Goal Oriented or Umberto Rispoli, rider of 1st-place finisher Journalism,” the statement read.

Rispoli, who became the first jockey from Italy to win a Triple Crown race, said he “got in trouble at the quarter pole” but praised Journalism for continuing to race hard. Trainer Michael McCarthy said he was thankful that nobody got hurt.

“Umberto, all credit to him, he chose to save ground. That’s what it takes to win these races like this,” McCarthy said. “Obviously found himself in a little bit of a conundrum there for six or eight jumps. Thankful that he and the horse came out of it unscathed. That’s the most important thing, win, lose or draw.”

Journalism’s win brought to mind Afleet Alex’s victory in this same race 20 years ago, when the horse and jockey Jeremy Rose nearly went down when they were cut off by another horse at the top of the stretch.

Journalism’s anxious moment was around the same spot at Pimlico, and although he didn’t stumble the way Afleet Alex did, he had to deal with horses on both sides of him.

“Jeremy Rose almost fell off from the horse. That was for me probably the most spectacular Preakness that I ever see,” Rispoli said. “But even what we saw today. This horse, coming back after two weeks from a tough trip in the [Kentucky] Derby … it was an amazing effort. I wish I would have give him a softer race, but this is a part of horse racing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

While Saturday’s feature race was one to remember, officials who pushed for the planned rebuild of Pimlico Race Course may want to forget the flagging attendance record in recent years at the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

At the landmark track’s last major event before being razed in June and then rebuilt in time for Preakness 2027 in a $500 million redevelopment, perceptions of crowd size proved on the mark. It’s part of a larger trend that state officials hope to reverse.

Race organizers said late Sunday that 63,000 people attended races on Friday and Saturday, a number just slightly less than the 63,423 who attended the two-day event last year.  As of Monday, attendance was not available for individual Friday and Saturday sessions, said a spokeswoman for 1/ST, a brand of The Stronach Group, which hosts the race.

In recent years, the Preakness has lost money as attendance has decreased from an average of more than 100,000 in the decade before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, roughly 182,000 attended the weekend, including 131,256 on Preakness Day.

In 2023, an announced 46,999 attended the Preakness, with a combined 65,000 attending both days; and in 2022, 42,055 attended the Saturday event while more than 60,000 attended both days, Stronach had said. Organizers have said they intentionally reshaped events for smaller crowds at the aging facility, which includes facilities that are unused because they have been condemned.

Ebone Granger, a resident of Ashburn, Virginia, has attended Preakness weekend for a decade with a cousin and a friend. They sit in the same section on the club side near the finish line.

“Everybody knows everybody, and the bartender knows us and has our drinks ready,” said Granger, who runs Granger Financial insurance in Sterling, Virginia, with her husband. “This was probably one of our favorite years.”

And she was disappointed that their pricey finish-line tickets this year did not allow them onto the infield, where separate tickets were sold for the Infield Fan Zone, with music, entertainment and a food village.

“There are more food options, music festivals and vendors,” she said. “It enhances everybody’s Preakness experience.”

Curran, who attended with his wife and 14-year-old daughter, said the upper reserved area of the grandstand, where they sat, appeared more vacant than usual and they missed the walk through the infield.

“This was the lowest attended Preakness I’ve seen, maybe because the infield wasn’t open,” he said. “Our area upstairs was pretty dead,” with people showing up closer to the start of the Preakness race.

2025 Preakness Day | PHOTOS

Without access to the infield, “it was like a normal day at the track, but everybody was dressed nicely and everything was expensive.”

Despite lower reported attendance, organizers said the Preakness 150 race day handle hit $110 million, up from the $98.5 million reached last year. Wagering on Black-Eyed Susan Day reached $28.5 million, 1/ST said.

It was reportedly the highest return for the Preakness Stakes alone in four years, even without Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty at Pimlico.

Reduced numbers of attendees may not mean less revenue, especially if organizers have shifted from all-inclusive tickets to a range of ticket prices per event, said Daraius Irani, chief economist and a vice president of strategic partnerships and applied research at Towson University.

“You might have a reduced number of people but more ticket revenue,” he said, and the event may end up safer and with lower cleanup costs.

State officials said Monday the reimagined Pimlico will reinvigorate not only racing but boost economic growth in the surrounding Park Heights neighborhood. Maryland’s racing industry will be managed by a new state-created nonprofit that took over for The Stronach Group at the beginning of this year.

“The future of horse racing is alive and well in Maryland, and the state looks forward to delivering a new, reimagined Pimlico,” said Carter Elliott IV, a spokesman for Gov. Wes Moore.

Have a news tip? Contact Lorraine Mirabella at lmirabella@baltsun.com, (410) 332-6672 and @lmirabella on X.