What's the future of the Preakness Stakes? 'I'll be floored if they're up and running at a new Pimlico next year'

And for the first time ever, it’s at a racetrack that may be gone soon — Laurel Park, just north of Washington, D. C. — with attendance capped at 4,800.

“It’s still obviously a very historic race,” said trainer Chad Brown, who has won the Preakness twice. “The race still carries a lot of significance in the overall Thoroughbred industry and the breed. ” In the sport’s ideal world, the Preakness would make its triumphant return to Baltimore next year at a sparkling, rebuilt Pimlico that serves as an anchor point for the rebirth of Maryland racing.

But in horse racing’s current reality, where dysfunction and decline have become the norm in all but a handful of places, there is instead deep concern and uncertainty about what the future of the Preakness looks like — particularly in a world where the racetrack is being rebuilt and operated by the state of Maryland. “I’ll be floored if they’re up and running at a new Pimlico next year,” one industry source told Yahoo Sports. The future of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course is in question due to a multitude of issues.

Rob Carr via Getty Images A quick internet search makes it easy to understand the concern. Despite promises that running the Preakness at Laurel this year is a one-off, with a state-funded rebuild of Pimlico on the way, aerial photos from late April posted by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association show little more than a large hole in the ground where the grandstand should be, the beginning of construction on a tunnel to the infield and steel framing of two backstretch barns. Appearances can be deceiving in the middle of a construction project, but having the site ready to host a world-class sporting event — even in a limited form — would seem an ambitious goal in a relatively short 12-month window.