In Maryland, possibly reaching the right destination
Frank Vesp- February 3, 2026
Opinion by Frank Vespe
What’s remarkable about the disorderly demise of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA) is that the storm and stressit seems things may end up where they started – and where most riders were probably hoping to end up.
After all that – after the 2020 plan collapsed under its own weight, after the MTROA developed a Pimlico Plus plan that one rider described to me as “the stupidest plan I’ve ever seen,” after the General Assembly blew up the MTROA at the end of the ’25 legislative session – it looks like Laurel Park will survive, now as a training center.
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Phew.
The demise of the MTROA was sudden, surprising and comprehensive. First, the General Assembly closed it abruptly, and before the first four-year term had expired.
Then came a scathing report from the Office of Legislative Audits, accusing the authority of what it called “significant deficiencies” in the MTROA’s internal controls and “significant instances of noncompliance with applicable laws, rules or regulations.”
And now this: the largest purchase she oversaw, that of Shamrock Farm (which, um, was purchased from the family of MTROA board member Tom Rooney) as a training center, which essentially went up in smoke. After, of course, about $4.5 million in public dollars had been spent.
According to the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA), two things caused the deaths: wildly inaccurate cost estimates from the MTROA and a pesky brown trout that lived in a waterway on the property that the Maryland Dept. says. of the Environment needed to be protected.
But while the MSA’s Gary McGuigan called the brown trout the “fatal flaw” in the project, it can also be seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s because, McGuigan said at a recent hearing, turning the rural Shamrock property into a viable training center was quickly becoming a financial quagmire.
“The minimum spending in the statute is $110 million for the training center,” McGuigan told the Maryland General Assembly’s House Appropriations Committee, which is chaired by Del. Ben Barnes, a Democrat who represents Prince George and Anne Arundel counties. “We were looking at a figure of over $210 million.”
The overspending is said to be due to several challenges, including the farm’s hilly topography, water and lack of public amenities.
And so Laurel is back in the race.
You can see why: every dollar over $110 million spent on the training center is one dollar less that can be spent on Pimlico. That’s the long-standing challenge of this project: two complex efforts and only one budget.
“I think we could have anticipated all of this,” said Tana Aubrey, the Laurel-based assistant to coach Mike Trombetta. “When they talked about Shamrock, I thought, ‘That’s a beautiful farm, but there are too many hills, plus the water.’ There are just too many “What about this?” and ‘What about that?’”
It will cost much more to buy Laurel, perhaps as much as $50 million, it is said, although terms are still being negotiated. And converting it into a training center will also require some money; a 2022 report from the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) noted, “Backstretch buildings contain minimal to no fire protection systems and minimal HVAC. Consultants have recommended demolishing them all.”
Additionally, Laurel has faced glitches at times. While conventional wisdom points to the water littering the terrain – an issue Shamrock also faces – experience shows that a properly built and maintained surface can be safe on Maryland’s Central Circuit. Laurel’s fatality rate per 1,000 starters has been below the national average in each of the three full years for which data is available since the 2021 rebuild, according to the Horse Injury Database.
On the plus side, Laurel already has all the race tracks it needs, and if it is to become a training center – even if it becomes one used occasionally for short ‘festival’ grass meets, which would be a welcome addition to the calendar – it won’t need much in the way of public facilities.
Considering how popular Shamrock was, that’s a positive.
Katy Voss, president of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, a veteran local trainer, said in a statement, “By preserving and revitalizing Laurel Park as a premier Thoroughbred training center and aligning it with a redesigned Pimlico, the state and Governor Wes Moore have taken decisive action to preserve a historic industry that has supported Maryland families for generations.”
Frank Perri, a small breeder-owner who lives in Pennsylvania but has bred several Maryland-bred animals, praised the Laurel decision as “smart and good news.”
He added, “I was preparing to breed outside of Maryland in the future. Assuming this decision goes through, I will likely foal in Maryland in the future. I think the Laurel surfaces and location make it better for riders, trainers, riders and jockeys.”
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