Wednesday’s Preakness press conference produced real wins on broadcast rights, scheduling, and positioning. It also leaned heavily on history. History is not a strategy. Here is the honest scorecard.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Governor Wes Moore held his press conference Wednesday. It was, by the standards of what this series has documented, a genuinely substantive announcement. It was also, by those same standards, incomplete in specific ways that matter for the $633 million in public commitments Maryland has made.
This article has two distinct sections. The first scores what Moore announced against the documented record — fair accountability based on publicly available facts. The second presents MDBayNews’s proposed strategic framework, clearly attributed as this publication’s original analysis, which Moore did not address and was not obligated to address. The distinction matters.
What Moore Announced — And Why It Matters
Sunday, May 23, 2027 — a historic first
The Preakness moves to 22 days after the Kentucky Derby and runs on a Sunday for the first time in 151 years of Triple Crown history. The stated goal: give Derby winners more recovery time and incentive to run the second leg. No Triple Crown race has ever been run on a Sunday. Moore framed it directly: “Let’s be clear — not only is the Triple Crown going to continue, there is no Triple Crown without Preakness. And if you want to win the Triple Crown, we’ll see you in Baltimore next year.”
Black-Eyed Susan gets its own Saturday
The fillies’ race moves to the Saturday before the Sunday Preakness — its own standalone day for the first time. MDBayNews identified the Black-Eyed Susan as the most underutilized asset in Maryland’s portfolio and called for exactly this. It is the right move.
Memorial Day weekend positioning 2028–2031
When the new Pimlico opens, the Preakness runs on Memorial Day Sunday through 2031. Memorial Day is one of the most-watched sports weekends in America. MJC president Bill Knauf said plainly: “Baltimore will become the place to be on Memorial Day weekends.” That is real destination positioning.
Six-year NBC deal through 2032
Ten hours of coverage across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN. The same production team that does the Kentucky Derby comes to Baltimore. NBC beat out Fox, Netflix, and Amazon in a hard-fought bidding war. The 2026 Preakness drew 5.5 million viewers — up 22% — the biggest audience since 2021. Moore said the deal “ensures optimal and accessible coverage for everyone.” NBC Sports SVP Jon Miller — a Maryland native who has attended every Preakness since NBC began carrying it in 2001 — called it “an enhanced schedule, showcasing Maryland’s best races on both Saturday and Sunday.” Netflix and Amazon bidding on Preakness rights is evidence of commercial demand the “dying industry” framing doesn’t account for. The brand has value. Wednesday proved it.
Maryland Million Day and Preakness Preview Day on Peacock
Two additional dates added to the NBC package. Maryland Million showcases Maryland-bred horses — a state-bred showcase festival that has run since 1986 and has been chronically underexposed nationally. Preakness Preview Day features the Federico Tesio and Weber City Miss Stakes, with winners receiving free entry into the Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan. Both on Peacock.
“We did all of this without using a single penny from general fund tax dollars”
Moore’s repeated emphasis on the absence of general fund spending is accurate — Pimlico bonds, the Preakness IP, and Laurel Park are all financed through stadium authority bonds and MEDCO notes repaid by racing revenues and gaming funds. “The taxpayers will benefit from it,” Moore said, “but the taxpayers are not paying for it.” The distinction matters for political accountability even if it doesn’t resolve the bond repayment question.
That is a genuine foundation. The broadcast deal is strong. The scheduling is smart. The Black-Eyed Susan on Saturday is overdue. Moore was right when he said Wednesday: “You cannot control your future if you do not own it.” Maryland owns it now.
“You cannot control your future if you do not own it.”
— Gov. Wes Moore
What the Press Conference Leaned On
Before the Preakness specifics, Moore spent considerable time on Maryland’s broader economic record. “In the last three years,” he said, “we have had over fourteen billion dollars of private investment in our state.” He named Samsung Biologics, AstraZeneca, the Sphere coming to Prince George’s County, the Baltimore Orioles deal, a billion-dollar Microsoft quantum initiative, and said Maryland’s job growth rate “has not just beaten the national average — it has almost doubled the national average.” He also cited the industry itself: “More than twenty-eight thousand Maryland jobs depend on this industry. The horse racing industry generates about three billion dollars to the state of Maryland.”
“The Governor is celebrating the past. The rest of the industry is deciding the future.”
— Sen. Steve Hershey, Monday
The deals are real. But packaging the Preakness announcement alongside the Sphere and the Orioles is doing significant rhetorical work. Moore presented Wednesday’s announcement as part of a coherent economic vision. The documented record shows a governor who spent Monday declining to comment on CDI’s championship series, Tuesday saying “we’ll see you in Baltimore,” and Wednesday presenting a press conference as the plan all along.
Moore also leaned heavily on racing history — Secretariat, War Admiral, 151 years of the Triple Crown. “Winning the Triple Crown,” he said, “that’s the dream of every single jockey, every single owner, every single horse.” He’s right. It is also a backward-looking frame for a forward-looking problem. CDI’s championship series doesn’t eliminate the Triple Crown. It creates a competing incentive structure — $5 million in bonus money — that makes skipping the Preakness financially rational for horses not chasing history.
The NBC deal addresses reach. It doesn’t address the field. A well-produced race with 5.5 million viewers still loses prestige if Derby winners skip it three of every five years.
“History is the foundation. It is not the floor plan.”
“The NBC deal addresses reach. It doesn’t address the field.”
What Was Not Addressed — Fair Accountability
Documented gaps — based on the public record
Governance structure
Moore said Marylanders now own the assets and will make the decisions. Who specifically, in what structure, with what accountability? Not specified Wednesday. The AI-generated meeting notes distributed to press conference attendees flagged it as an unresolved item.
CDI bad faith question
O’Rourke confirmed Monday that NYRA and CDI discussions were “underway for some time” before Maryland’s check cleared. CDI accepted $85 million while the series was in active development. Maryland Code Ann. Bus. Reg. §11-520(d) requires good faith. Moore did not address it. AG Anthony Brown was not mentioned.
Purse structure
The Preakness purse remains $2 million. CDI’s championship series offers a $5 million bonus pool distributed across six races. Moving the race one week later helps scheduling. It does not address the financial incentive for owners and trainers to route horses through CDI and NYRA tracks instead of Pimlico.
CDI series response
Knauf said the MJC “looks forward to more details” on the Thoroughbred Championship Series. That is not a strategic response. Maryland Matters and the Equiery both noted Hershey’s warning: “any development that diminishes the prestige or commercial value of the Preakness should concern those responsible for repaying the bonds.” No response to that concern was offered Wednesday.
Bond repayment model under competitive pressure
The MEDCO bonds are to be repaid from Preakness revenues — wagering, ticketing, sponsorship. If CDI’s series draws top horses away from Pimlico, those revenue streams are under pressure. No economic model for how the bonds get repaid in a scenario where field quality declines was presented Wednesday.
The Indy 500 conflict — unaddressed
Starting in 2028, the Preakness on NBC will share Memorial Day Sunday with the Indianapolis 500 on FOX. The Indy 500 routinely attracts an audience of roughly 5–6 million viewers and has been a Memorial Day weekend institution for more than a century.
In 2027, the events are separated by a week — the Preakness on May 23 and the Indy 500 on May 30 — making this a future challenge rather than an immediate one. Beginning in 2028, however, Maryland will have to determine whether two marquee racing events on the same Sunday strengthen Memorial Day as a national motorsports and racing weekend or divide casual television audiences.
NBC Sports executive Jon Miller almost certainly understood that scheduling dynamic before agreeing to a six-year media rights deal through 2032. That confidence may ultimately prove justified. But the strategy behind it—and how NBC and Maryland expect the two events to coexist—was not addressed Wednesday.
What MDBayNews Has Proposed — Our Framework, Not Moore’s Obligation
MDBayNews original analysis — Maryland on the Map series, August 2026
The following framework was developed and published by MDBayNews across this series. These are this publication’s proposals — not requirements Moore failed to meet. They are presented here because the NBC deal and scheduling changes make them more viable, not less, and because Maryland’s $633 million investment now requires someone to pursue them. Moore may address some or all of these in future announcements. He was not obligated to address them Wednesday.
Independent coalition
Keeneland, Del Mar, Oaklawn, Woodbine are all outside the CDI/NYRA structure, and all have an interest in a championship pathway that doesn’t run through Churchill Downs. Maryland is the natural anchor. The calls need to be made.
Washington D.C. International revival
Maryland ran a world-class international invitational at Laurel for 42 years. Queen Elizabeth II attended. It inspired the Breeders’ Cup. The race died in 1994 because of Breeders’ Cup calendar conflicts in November. A late June/early July date at the new Pimlico — post-Royal Ascot, pre-Arc — solves that conflict entirely. The new Sunday Preakness date and Black-Eyed Susan Saturday create a natural festival weekend in May. The DC International creates a second one in late June.
Maryland Day Stakes — legislative anchor
A late March marquee race timed to the General Assembly session. Coalition partners, lobbyists, and legislators in the same building three weeks before sine die. The annual Maryland Thoroughbred Racing Summit. The Pimlico site plan includes a 1,000-seat event space and a hotel — the infrastructure for this already exists in the construction drawings.
Fillies’ championship series
The Black-Eyed Susan on Saturday now has its own identity. Building a national fillies’ championship series around it — with Keeneland’s Spinster Stakes and Del Mar’s fillies’ races — is a product CDI’s new series doesn’t touch. The MJC has the race. It needs the framework.
CDI accountability under §11-520(d)
The good faith question raised by O’Rourke’s confirmation that the championship series was “underway for some time” before Maryland’s check cleared has not been addressed. Whether AG Anthony Brown examines it is a question MDBayNews has asked his office. We have not received a response.
The Honest Assessment
“Maryland now controls its own destiny. The question is what it does with it.”
Wednesday was a better press conference than Monday’s brief sidewalk comments, and Tuesday’s speculation suggested it would be. The NBC deal is real. The date change is overdue and historic. The Black-Eyed Susan on Saturday is exactly right. The Memorial Day positioning starting in 2028 is a smart destination strategy.
It is also true that Moore spent more time on Secretariat and War Admiral than on how Maryland competes with a six-race championship series offering $5 million in bonus money. History is the foundation. It is not the floor plan.
“The long-term financial implications remain to be seen, but any development that diminishes the prestige or commercial value of the Preakness should concern those responsible for repaying the bonds issued to acquire these rights.”
Sen. Steve Hershey (R), Senate Minority Leader, August 4, 2026
Hershey’s concern is structural. The bonds get repaid from race revenues. The NBC deal helps revenue. The date change may help the field. The coalition and international strategy — if built — makes the whole investment more durable. Wednesday addressed the first two. The third remains unbuilt.
Moore said Wednesday that Maryland now controls its own destiny. That is the right frame. The broadcast foundation is set. The scheduling is right. The facility is under construction. The strategic framework this series proposed — independent coalition, DC International, four-race calendar, Maryland Day Summit — is still a blank page in Annapolis.
The work that was announced Wednesday was necessary. The work that wasn’t announced is what determines whether the $633 million investment pays off.
Maryland on the Map Series
“The Bet That Already Lost” — August 3 · “Blindsided, Again” — August 3 · “Nine Minutes” — August 4 · “The Hand They’re Not Playing” — August 4 · “What CDI Does With Tracks It Owns” — August 4
Sources
Press conference transcript, Governor Wes Moore, Maryland Jockey Club CEO Bill Knauf, NBC Sports SVP Jon Miller, Greater Baltimore Committee CEO Mark Anthony Thompson, August 5, 2026; AI-generated meeting notes from press conference, August 5, 2026; Front Office Sports, Michael McCarthy, “NBC Retains Media Rights to Preakness Stakes,” August 5, 2026; NBC4 Washington, “Preakness moves to new date,” August 5, 2026; Maryland Matters, “Preakness, Pimlico left out of new race series by Churchill Downs, Belmont,” August 4, 2026, including Sen. Steve Hershey statement; The Equiery, “Senator Hershey to Governor Moore: The Preakness Was Just Left Behind,” August 4, 2026; MDBayNews, Maryland on the Map series, April–August 2026.
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