The Preakness is this weekend, meaning horse racing media will descend on Baltimore, along with the rest of the sport’s A-listers. Andrew Beyer is one such scribe. Though the longtime Washington Post columnist’s journey isn’t very far, he’s apparently tired of making the trip.
Opening up his coverage of a Preakness week that ESPN says has “added importance” for Baltimore, Beyer penned a column calling Pimlico “decrepit, dysfunctional, devoid of charm or glamour.” The Park Heights neighborhood that surrounds it is “inelegant, to say the least, with no restaurants, hotels or shops,” Beyer writes.
He revisits the oft-considered idea of rebuilding Pimlico, but he’s even more taken by another idea. The Maryland Jockey Club’s other track, located in Laurel, has an “abundance of virtues,” Beyer writes. There’s more space. It can also handle traffic, while getting out of Pimlico is a “nightmare.”
And, of course, most importantly, it’s located “midway between Baltimore and D.C.”
