Audit Questions Millions In Spending By Now-Defunct Racing Authority

By Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters

October 20, 2025

A now-extinct state board charged with overseeing the redevelopment of Pimlico Race Course and overseeing thoroughbred racing in the state failed to formalize an agreement for $10 million in working capital and ensure that millions in consulting contracts were in the state’s best interest and competitively bid.

The findings are part of a report on the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority released Thursday by the Office of Legislative Audits.

The report found “significant deficiencies” in the operation of the board that auditors said could “adversely affect MTROA’s ability to maintain reliable financial records, operate effectively, and/or comply with applicable laws, rules or regulations.”

Auditors said they also found “significant instances of noncompliance” with state laws and regulations.

The authority was created in 2023 as part of what is seen by many as a last-ditch effort to preserve the state’s horse racing and related industries, revitalize Pimlico and prevent the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, from leaving Baltimore and perhaps Maryland.

The 13-member authority was tasked then with creating a “best in class” racing venue. The authority was to take over the track and consolidate thoroughbred racing in the state. The authority created the nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club last year to manage day-to-day racing operations as the state took over the track as well as the licensing of the Preakness and related races and memorabilia.

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Earlier this year, lawmakers in Annapolis hinted at trouble with the arrangement. Hearings early in the session yielded little additional information.

But in March, as the session was winding down, a budget conference committee added surprise language dissolving the authority and bifurcating racing and redevelopment efforts.

The Maryland Stadium Authority was tasked with overseeing the demolition and construction of a new Pimlico track as well as a modern training facility. The Maryland Economic Development Corp. assumed responsibility for racing operations and community redevelopment.

The redevelopment of Pimlico is now underway under the changes made earlier this year.

The legislative audit sheds light on concerns about the authority handing millions in state money to the jockey club and used to hire consultants.

In one instance, auditors found the authority failed to secure a written agreement with The Maryland Jockey Club governing what auditors described as a $10 million “working capital advance” or loan. A typical agreement should have detailed the roles and responsibilities of the authority and jockey club in managing and operating Pimlico and the training facilities.

“Such agreements are critical for establishing oversight over the $527 million that the General Assembly has committed to the redevelopment of Pimlico and training facilities,” auditors wrote.

The governor’s office, responding for the now-defunct thoroughbred racetrack authority, agreed with many of the findings. But it challenged the idea of $10 million in working capital as “a loan.”

Deputy Chief of Staff Manny Welsh, in a written response, said the 2023 law “does not specify that the working capital authorized in the law be treated” as a loan.

He added that the authority board “did not conduct a vote on any agreements to clarify that the working capital was to be treated as a loan advance or finalize any terms for repayment.”

Auditors, in a note at the end of the report, said they stood by their description.

In the report, auditors wrote that a draft agreement written in February 2025 “referred to the $10 million as an operating loan and as such, this description was included in our analysis. The terminology is also consistent with the description … provided to us by MTROA management during our audit.”

A second finding — which the governor’s office agreed with and deemed accurate — involved five consulting contracts totaling $1.9 million.

Auditors reported that the authority “did not ensure the contracts included clearly defined deliverables and deadlines and that the related invoices were detailed. Therefore, there was a lack of assurance that invoices were appropriate to pay and that the services were provided timely.”