Keep the Preakness in
Maryland hands.
Kentucky-based Churchill Downs is attempting to purchase the Preakness Stakes trademark for $85 million. Under this deal, Maryland would permanently rent its own race — paying escalating fees to a publicly traded company in Louisville forever.
Maryland has the option to purchase the intellectual property (IP) instead. The cost is the same and no taxpayer dollars are required. The difference is who owns Maryland's most iconic sporting event.
Decision deadline: June 21st.
The numbers at a glance
Fact sheet · May 2026Maryland's most iconic race is at a crossroads. The state can own the Preakness — or rent it from out-of-state interests forever.
Letting a Kentucky corporation permanently own Maryland's most iconic race would hand control of our sporting and cultural heritage to investors who have no stake in Baltimore or its communities. Other states that surrendered IP and naming rights to outside owners were promised the event would stay put — and those promises did not survive the next business cycle.
A 45-year comparison.
Maryland controls the Preakness forever. Race permanently anchored to Baltimore.
Maryland licenses the Preakness from out-of-state Churchill in perpetuity. Fees escalate as the race grows.
License fees paid to out-of-state Churchill start at nearly six million per year and increase annually.
New York State owns the IP for the Belmont Stakes while managing operations through partnership agreements. Maryland can follow the same model.
of jobs supported by Maryland's thoroughbred industry, centered in Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood.
We've learned this lesson once before — in the middle of the night.
When promises about staying put don't survive the next business cycle, Baltimore pays the price. Maryland has a narrow window to choose a different outcome this time.
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Stay informedThe window is closing. A decision is due June 21st.