Talk of demolishing Pimlico Race Course and building a new racetrack has a long and complicated history all its own.
Now that a plan is finally coming to fruition after years of stops and starts, it’s truly something that must be seen to be believed. Baltimore Banner photographer Jerry Jackson has documented the tear-down from the start.
After the 150th Preakness Stakes was held May 17 and the historic items from the track were packed away for safekeeping, excavators arrived in mid-July to begin demolishing the Old Grandstand, barns and clubhouse.
By the end of September, the last of the recognizable buildings were fully flattened.
Once the site is cleared, crews will get to work erecting the next iteration of Pimlico, a smaller, modern facility that will have extra seating brought in when the middle race of the Triple Crown returns. State officials will run the Preakness at Laurel Park in 2026, with the goal of bringing the race back to Old Hilltop for 2027.
Constructing Pimlico, as well as a training track in Carroll County, will cost the state over $500 million. The Maryland Stadium Authority approved the first round of bonds, worth roughly $234 million, during a board meeting Tuesday.
The Pimlico Race Course being prepared for the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes in April. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Varney, with Flavien Prat aboard, passes the Pimlico grandstand after winning the Donald Butler Memorial Race on Preakness Day in May. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A timelapse of the demolition of the Old Grandstand. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
The early days of demolition in July began with the destruction of one of the barns along Winner Avenue. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
An excavator levels a the barn along Winner Avenue. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
By July 28, piles of debris stood in place of three barns. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
By Aug. 8, demolition was underway on the Old Grandstand. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Signage was removed from the west end of the Pimlico Grandstand by Aug. 15. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Workers box up pieces of the bas relief sculpture that adorned the side of the Pimlico Grandstand. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A timelapse of the demolition of the Grandstand. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Mist is sprayed on the Grandstand to keep the dust down as demolition continues in late August. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A dump truck passes the last remaining piece of the outfield barns. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
By Sept. 25, few recognizable features remain. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A skeleton of the Winner’s Circle, still standing in late September. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A timelapse of the demolition of the Clubhouse. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
The view across the finish line on Sept. 25. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)