After witnessing and opining on the entire state of horse racing and the sport in Maryland over the past 35 years on the radio regarding its complete deterioration, Nestor Aparicio only really trusts one voice about the sport of kings: Dick Jerardi. His one time colleague in 1984 has gone off to Philadelphia to become one of the legendary horse racing insiders in the sport and attempts to calm his now-much-older-and-more-cynical friend down about very rational Preakness and Triple Crown concerns as Pimlico goes to war with Churchill and Belmont, and NBC and Fox square off and Wes Moore is holding press conferences. Get the truth here…
The discussion focused on whether the Preakness can remain a leading national event amid schedule disputes, rights battles, and a state-led rebuild.
Schedule Issue
- Problem. Dick said the core issue is the two-week gap between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He noted that modern trainers such as Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, and Sherry DeVoe are less willing to run on that turnaround, even though Bob Baffert has shown it can still work with elite horses.
- Proposed fix. He argued the sport should have moved the Preakness back by four weeks and the Belmont Stakes four weeks after that, or at least to a three-and-three-week spacing.
Rights Battle
- Recent moves. Dick said NBC was open to moving the Preakness, but NYRA and Belmont Park resisted because of concerns about Saratoga races such as the Jim Dandy and the Travers. He also said Fox expected to win Preakness rights starting in 2027 and that Churchill Downs Incorporated bought Stronach-linked handle rights for $85 million before Maryland used its right of first refusal.
- Ownership gap. Dick described horse racing as a fragmented sport with no commissioner, allowing CDI, NYRA, and media partners to act in their own interests rather than protect the Triple Crown.
Maryland Outlook
- What still matters. Dick argued the Preakness remains a major brand despite recent disruption, citing more than $100 million in handle even when it was run at Laurel with a capacity of 4,800. He said only four U.S. racing days typically exceed $100 million in handle: the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, and Breeders’ Cup Saturday.
- Recovery path. He said the Stronach Group damaged the event through neglect of Pimlico, Laurel, and the infield experience, but the new state-backed group now has a chance to rebuild. The next Preakness is expected at Pimlico with temporary facilities, with a broader reset targeted for 2028.
- Open questions. Can the new management restore attendance and the local identity of the event? Should Maryland use purse size or date changes, including a possible $4 million purse strategy, to compete more aggressively with Belmont?
Preakness Stakes
- Nestor framed the week as a turning point for the Preakness, the Triple Crown, and Maryland racing.
- Dick argued the Preakness brand still has national value despite venue instability and lower on-site atmosphere.
Schedule Structure
- The two-week turnaround from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness was identified as the main structural problem.
- Dick cited modern training practices and veterinary science as reasons many trainers avoid the quick return.
- He said a four-week gap before the Preakness and another four weeks before the Belmont Stakes would better fit the sport.
- Bob Baffert was cited as an exception because he has still been willing to run on the shorter schedule.
Rights Conflict
- NBC was described as willing to move the Preakness date, while NYRA and Belmont Park resisted to protect parts of the Saratoga calendar.
- Fox expected to win Preakness rights in 2027, and NYRA was aligned with Fox through daily New York racing coverage and Belmont broadcasts.
- Churchill Downs Incorporated bought Stronach-linked handle rights for $85 million, but Maryland used its right of first refusal.
- Dick said CDI and NYRA then acted together to weaken Maryland’s announcement and advance their own series.
Brand Economics
- Dick said the sport is driven by wagering handle, not just attendance.
- He cited more than $100 million in Preakness handle even at Laurel with a capacity of 4,800.
- He said the biggest national betting days are the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, and Breeders’ Cup Saturday.
Maryland Rebuild
- Dick said the Stronach Group let Pimlico, Laurel, and the infield product decline, which hurt attendance and the event’s local identity.
- The next Preakness is expected to return to Pimlico with temporary facilities, while a more complete rebuild is aimed at 2028.
- He said the new management group, including Bill Noff, should be judged on whether it can rebuild the event as a major public gathering and betting product.
Open Questions
- Can Maryland restore the Preakness as both a strong wagering brand and a major Baltimore event?
- Will Derby winners and top horses continue to choose the Preakness over Belmont under the new schedule?
- Does horse racing need a central authority to prevent major stakeholders from undermining the Triple Crown?
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We call this thing Baltimore Positive. We are doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour after we go to Ocean City because I got to get aniation next week. We’re gonna be doing Mako down there next week on Thursday. Some information for the Maryland Lottery, bunch of other things, including tickets. I love the Kiss Face Bird Raven Scratch Off, so I dig in this. On the 19th, we will be at the Fishmonger’s Daughter eating delicious Fadley’s crab cakes, where I’m heading a little while to watch some Oriole baseball, courtesy of our friends at Curio Wellness and Robbie Leonard. Our friends at GBMC, big thanks to them as well. We did a piece on sleep and getting better sleep and sleep apnea. Want to listen to that as well? And Farnand and Dermot, I’m wearing the gear here. I’m wearing the Happy Sunshine Oriole gear because this guy grew up an Oriole fan back in the days of Frank Robinson and Luis Aparicio. He has been my horse racing connection and my friend. You can Google Dick Girardi and I back to Sports First and the News American. My first byline, your name is on it, Dick Girardi, at the News American in summer of 1984. That was 42 years ago. I’m dragging you in here, and they have dragged what is the remnants and the carcass of what I believe to be the Preakness stakes in the Triple Crown out the door. I got people down in Kentucky who have refused to come on my show because they’re distraught about this and don’t want to come on and just bash the whole industry. No one wants to come on and bash Wes Moore here because he’s the governor. Dick, you’re the only guy I trust at this point. I hope to trust others with information about the history of all of this and where this is going, and Churchill and Belmont and Preakness and and Stronach and going back to De Francis and all of that stuff, I um, this is kind of a dark day for me, and I know you want to talk me out of the tree, and I’m going to give you that opportunity, but I’ve aligned this with something that was very fundamental in your life, in my life, and we had just met right around this time, which was 98 four when the Colts left Baltimore. It’s like, oh my God, they took the team. They, they, they, the team from Diner, the Johnny United. They took the team, and I think they’re taking the Triple Crown and breaking it because it wasn’t working here, and every time for the last 35 years that you and I have convened before the Derby, after the Derby, before the Preakness, after the Preakness, which is when you come on and do this with me, other than Penn State basketball, we have talked about what is to become of this, the whole thing, the Triple Crown, the industry, all of that. I’m gonna leave it to you because I put a post up about for me. It felt like this is never gonna be the same again in any way, and I felt that at Laurel a couple months ago, and like this dream that they’re gonna build this little glass thing up on the hill, and everyone’s gonna run to it, and I, I’m too old to believe bullshit, Dick, and so I’m coming to you, and I need you to set me straight. I love you. How you doing, bud?
Dick Jerardi 3:07
I am doing fine. So it’s a complicated, complex, long-term issue. So in recent years, what’s happened? I think everybody understands the Derby winner, and not very many of the Derby horses have come to Baltimore for one reason, because the Preakness is only two weeks after the Derby. Back in the day, that was fine. If Bob Baffert or Wayne Lucas won the Derby, that was fine. They were going to come, but most of the modern trainers just don’t want to do that. So the schedule should have been amended. I don’t know, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, but nobody did anything for the longest time, and then finally, people just started to say, “Well, hey, this just isn’t going to work. Right when the Derby winner didn’t come this year, didn’t come the year before, didn’t come in 2022. Now
Nestor Aparicio 3:51
that says to me the Triple Crown’s not important to these people. That’s what it says to me. It says it’s not important enough to risk my horse.
Dick Jerardi 3:59
I don’t. I don’t think that’s the answer. I think the answer is that the whole sport and the way horses are trained have completely changed to the point where they don’t feel comfortable. And I’ll mention some of the trainers: Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, Sherry Devoe. This year, they just simply don’t feel comfortable running their horse in two weeks. So, well, scientific
Nestor Aparicio 4:19
science would back that up, right?
Dick Jerardi 4:20
Correct. Veterinary science
Nestor Aparicio 4:22
would back that
Dick Jerardi 4:22
up. Yeah. Okay. Look, it can be done. Baffert has proved within the last decade that it could be done, right? He’s won two triple crowns with that format, but you got to have a great horse to do it, and you got to have a great trainer who’s willing to take that take that chance. So the and an owner
Nestor Aparicio 4:39
that needs to take the chance too, right?
Dick Jerardi 4:41
Of course, the solution has been obvious for a couple of decades now. Move the Preakness back four weeks, and then move the Belmont back four weeks from that. Well, in recent years, it became apparent that NBC, which owes the rights to the Derby, and just re. Gained the rights to the Preakness was willing to move the Preakness, maybe three weeks or four weeks. That that’s became become obvious. The problem was Belmont Park and Nara didn’t want to move their race, right? They didn’t want to accommodate.
Nestor Aparicio 5:12
Give me the rationale on that, as they have spent a billion dollars rebuilding everything. Well,
Dick Jerardi 5:18
their rationale is, and I think it’s stupid. Their rationale is well. It’ll affect some of their races at Saratoga, like the Jim Dandy and the and the Travers. Well, it wouldn’t affect the Travers at all, and nobody particularly cares about the Jim Dandy. That’s my understanding of their rationale for not wanting to move the Belmont Stakes. I think it’s dumb. I think you could have every year you could have the previous Memorial Day weekend, when that’s four weeks after the Derby or the july 4, and then you then you could have the the Belmont on july 4 weekend, but that’s not what’s happening. So let me give you an indication exactly what took place here this week. So over the last several months, Fox and NBC, among others, have been very interested in getting the rights to the Preakness starting in 2027 because NBC’s contract was up after this year’s Preakness. Fox thought they had it; they felt very confident that they had it, and when they were confident, and keep in mind, Fox is a partner with the New York Racing Association. They do a television show every day that New York runs. That’s not Saratoga. That’s every day of the year. So they’re partners, and they they’ve been televising the Belmont Stakes, I believe, for the last four years. And that
Nestor Aparicio 6:31
probably shows over at the OTB Acosta’s that we sat in, right?
Dick Jerardi 6:34
100% 100% Okay, yeah. I’m just when I’m
Nestor Aparicio 6:38
at a listen, I just want to come sideways for the people in the audience driving around saying on a little horse from a course from a you know mr. Ed right like when I’m at a cost this literally when I walked it was a beautiful day I had lunch out there the other day hi Kevin from Rosedale Federal and I had lunch there and I walked out and they had the big screen TV out where they’re going to have the fair and they had races on from I don’t know where they’re racing from right now, but it was like Saratoga, and and there were gentlemen in the grandstand, and they fixed it up since you’ve even been there last couple of months, Dick. So I’m sitting there like this is where their money is. They got people in Timonium watching and betting, right, and people all over the world, right. So right, okay.
Dick Jerardi 7:17
The two best products in the sport are New York racing and Kentucky racing? Those are the two top products in the game that the players want to bet on. They get the biggest handles. So what happened was there are a couple things happen. Remember back in April when it looked like Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) had purchased what they’re calling the the rights to the Preakness, it wasn’t the Preakness itself, but it was basically a percentage of the handle on Preakness weekend, Friday and Saturday. That’s what they purchased from the Stronach Group, which for some reason retained it. And I don’t know what who was negotiating that deal with the state of Maryland, the Maryland Jockey Club. Why the Stronach Group got to retain that, I don’t know, but anyway, apparently in perpetuity, they they were going to get a percentage of the handle. Well, Churchill Downs then purchased that for 85 million, but the state had the right of first refusal. They could say, hey, you know, we want to purchase that. Well, they did it. The state decided to do that. So, and at the same time, Fox and New York Racing Association think they’re getting the Preakness, right? New York Racing Association association with Fox. Well, in the end, they didn’t get it. Churchill lost the rights, so who ganged up on the Preakness? Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association. This was not a coincidence as to what happened here.
Nestor Aparicio 8:40
And this is not a shock, right? When were you aware that this was sort of possible to go down? Because I, I mean, I, I didn’t see this. This, this felt like a gut punch to me in some way. But I also talked to you and everybody in the industry enough, people I do know enough to know that like this is in the old boxing parlance, the WBA and the WBC. This is not a friendly thing in any way as to the way these people compete. Correct.
Dick Jerardi 9:11
Look, here’s a here’s an analogy. They don’t see it
Nestor Aparicio 9:14
as an industry. They see it as a competition.
Dick Jerardi 9:16
They actually see it as we’re the bullies on the block and we do whatever we want, that’s what CDI and the NIRA think, and they they have the best product. It’s an the analogy is a college football analogy. Look at look at CDI as the SEC, and NIRA as the Big 10, right? They they run college football. Well, they run horse racing. Here here’s the here’s the overriding problem. There’s one event in the sport that breaks through with the general public-it’s the Triple Crown. Why not improve that by going four weeks and four weeks, where you get more of the horses, or at the very least three and three? You know, instead, Beaumont Park announced-they announced on Monday that they’re going to stay with the. Date they’ve always stayed with, knowing that Maryland was about to re-up with NBC for the Preakness and that they were going to move it to three weeks. That was out there. People knew that. That was not a surprise. But they they came in with this thing on Monday just to basically stick it to Maryland racing and the Preakness, which is exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. If you think about this, Nestor, draw it all the way out. Who who who gets hurt here the most? It’s the New York Racing Association. The Belmont Stakes, without a potential Triple Crown winner, is just another nice race. Well, they’ve taken that possibility away in most years. If in fact you don’t think so, it’s the
Speaker 1 10:42
only
Nestor Aparicio 10:42
thing that gave it juice, literally, right? And the only thing that gives the Preakness juice is having the Derby winner show up, right?
Dick Jerardi 10:50
That’s not true. That that’s my whole point. See, here’s what I think you and most of the public are missing. So the Derby winner did not come this year. The Derby winner did not come last year. The Derby winner did not come in 2022. Did it hurt the handle on the Preakness Day at all? No, they handled over 100 million dollars this year at Laurel with a capacity of 4,800 dollars. The Preakness is a brand, and that’s what the state of Maryland wanted. They wanted the Preakness brand. Whether you have the Derby winner or Derby participants, would you rather have that? Of course, but that’s not it. The Preakness has been around for 151 years. It is a huge brand, like the Colts were a huge brand, but they were eventually replaced by the Ravens, which are now a huge brand. I think over the course of
Nestor Aparicio 11:38
years, this has felt like if the Colts would have moved to the Canadian Football League, which they did, you know, like you would go out there and say, “This isn’t the same thing, dude. Dude, you didn’t even come down for the Preakness. I didn’t want to hear, you know, like literally, it was at Laurel. There was nobody there. They had no air conditioning. I went. It did not feel like the Preakness, right? You
Dick Jerardi 12:01
still don’t get it. You don’t. You don’t get it. The horse racing is run by handle, by how much money is bet on the horse races, right? That’s that’s where the money is. There’s four days. You don’t get
Nestor Aparicio 12:12
it that it used to be a community thing here, but you do get it. I don’t want to speak speak wrong to my elders, but say for for our community.
Dick Jerardi 12:19
I’ll get to that in a minute. Okay, relax, calm down. Four days a year, there’s $100 million handle in the United States: Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Breeders’ Cup Saturday. That’s it. Four days. Even this year, Preakness at Laurel, as you said, not happening, not a scene at all. Around the world, they bet $100 million on Preakness Day, right? So that that’s the brand that that you have. That’s what Governor Moore was talking about. That’s what they were buying back. Look, Churchill Downs, they’re kind of ruthless, but they’re not stupid. They knew how much the Preakness brand was worth. That’s why they bid $85 million to get a piece of the action. The state didn’t realize it’s also worth something. Here’s the issue: because Astronic Group did such a terrible job the last decade, they just they basically ruined the Prius. I am
Nestor Aparicio 13:14
clearly aware of that, having attended them all.
Dick Jerardi 13:17
Nobody came toward the end. It was sad at Pimlico. I have
Nestor Aparicio 13:22
watched, dude. Let me just, in case, or in case anybody in Kentucky or New York hears, because Dick’s a big deal. I, I’ve been to 35 Preaknesses, man. I’ve watched the the running of the urinals. I’ve been involved in the running of the urinals. I’ve had my van inside. I did T-shirts. I kissed girls. I kissed boys. I had winners. I had losers. We took busses. We took trains. We took vans. We took cars. We took kegs. We-I mean, I’ve done everything on Preakness and seen all of it.
Dick Jerardi 13:56
Yeah.
Nestor Aparicio 13:56
But but they’ve tried five different ways to get the beer out, the people out, to get the scaffolding out, to get the
Dick Jerardi 14:05
they ruined it
Nestor Aparicio 14:07
in every single way.
Dick Jerardi 14:08
Yeah, they basically took something that was feeding on itself for decades. That was one of the great events in the country, and the Stronic Group absolutely ruined it by first just letting the track fall into disrepair, then losing interest in the infield, which was what separated Pimlico. Just the scene out there, and then just all of it. They just it was so sad the last few times I went. So here’s where Bill Noff and his crew have to figure out in the future. It’s not going to necessarily be next year, right? Because the thing’s not going to be totally finished. But for 2028, they’re going to limit the crowd next year. 2028, they have to start figuring out how to make this thing a big deal again. They can’t do it like the Stronic people are doing it by trying to charge outrageous prices and putting people. It’s it’s Baltimore’s event, the People’s
Nestor Aparicio 14:56
Party, man, right?
Dick Jerardi 14:58
You got to figure out a way to do that. Here’s the good. Bill Noff was at Monmouth Park for years. The Haskell has become a giant event, and he was part of that. He knows how to do this stuff, but it’s going to be a hard road back because of what a mess the Stronic people made of the event. I’m glad they’re gone. Thank God they’re gone. It gives it a chance, but I said that
Nestor Aparicio 15:19
about the Angelos people three years ago, just so you know. All right, you know, like really,
Dick Jerardi 15:24
I understand. And the
Nestor Aparicio 15:25
industry itself, Dick, it’s just sort of like fundamental. And I feel the same way about the Orioles, as they’re about to go into labor hell again. And I’ve seen all the awful decisions from the owner and the bobble. I go go through a Ruchman this week. I mean, nobody at the ballpark. I’m all dressed up in orange about the head there. Thank you, Farnan and Durham, with the comfort guys. I’m very comfortable in this shirt. It’s 90 degrees today, but like at the end of it, I’ve asked. Look, I had Buster on last week. I had Kerchion on last week. I had Janet Marie on. I had Kurt Bodenhausen. I mean, had all these baseball people on, and I keep saying to them, “I know you think Rob Manfred’s a smart guy, knows how to squeeze blood out of a turnip and get some money. But does anybody there really have a plan? Is there anybody there that’s the mad scientist that’s going to come in the room and tell me five years from now what their labor deal, media deal, payroll structure, fan base, revenue model, strategy in ballpark, strategy out of ballpark. As some some of these things shrink, like all of that. Is there anybody that has a plan? And in horse racing, I know there’s not even a Don King. There’s not even a fake commissioner. There’s not even like a Vince McMahon who turned out to be the genius in all of this and owning all of it, like the the clown that has the fist fights on the cage fights on the lawn at the White House. But there is no god or group of gods in horse racing, and I think over the course of our lifetime and my friendship with you, and that you helicopter in as this incredible expert in horse racing, and I helicopter in as the loudmouth from Dundalk who likes horse racing, loves horse racing, would like to be more involved in horse racing, hangs out at the OTB once a week. You know, I’m in there all the time. I can read the form. I’m that guy, and I’ve just watched this thing deteriorate again and again and again. This is my 28th year of owning this radio station. My 35th year of being on the air, and every year I have you and Marty McGee’s quacked out. I mean, I you know Brothers is quacked out. They’re all quacking out on me here. So for me, I want to see this flourish in the way we’ve talked about it, but I’ve not watched anyone at the top have any rein in on how to make it great and work together. And this week, this is where the Colts leaving town is for me. Is I’m like, this feels like it’s never going to be the same again, and I don’t believe Governor Moore at all. I don’t believe I believe you, but I I’m wondering who knows what they’re doing here. Well, like who knows what they’re doing?
Dick Jerardi 18:13
Yeah, here’s the bottom line: there is nobody in charge, right? There is nobody in charge of the sport. There is no commissioner. There never has been. It’s a state. It’s like boxing, right? Each state, the racing commissions. Yeah, that’s it’s been a problem with the sport for years. You would never imagine something like that. This would happen in the NFL or the NBA, where your marquee event is all of a sudden two two pub two of your partners decide to mess up the entire event by going off on their own and creating this series, whatever this is, and I’m not sure they’ve really put a lot of thought into it. I think they just put it out there fast so they could take the. And these people even sit in the
Nestor Aparicio 18:50
room. I mean, who are the mr. Bigs here? Who are the five people, the three people, the two TV partners? Who are the mediators on behalf of the horsemen, the jockeys, the trainers, the owners, everybody should be pissed about this, Dick. You’re calm. I don’t even. I don’t give a nor, but I am. I am beside myself as a media member, citizen, taxpayer who’s now into 85 million apparently to own this. Right, having witnessed it, having been thrown out of the effing press box by the Stronic idiots. I never met Belinda. I never Sal Sinatra. Like I was in a room with him twice. He looked at me and waved me off. Like I, I don’t, I don’t understand this. I try to help them. I got all of that. How are we getting the glass house on the hill, build, and what’s going to be there when we find it? And don’t I don’t want to be sold something I can’t believe or sell back. And the selling back part is all right, Wes, Dick, Bill, any anybody. What’s the what’s gonna what’s it gonna look like five years from now? Because it looks. Like they’re at war. That’s what it looks like to me as like the citizen.
Dick Jerardi 20:03
No, I think that’s a fair statement. That Churchill Downs and Nyra, which hold the big sticks, they’ve decided basically to say, “Hey, we hold all the cards. We have the big stack in this poker game, and we’re going to just knock you out. But having said that, they’re actually saying this new series as the biggest races in the country. It doesn’t. It has a race called the Matt Win, which nobody even knows about, at Churchill Downs. It has a race that doesn’t even have a name yet in September. It’s going to mess up the Pennsylvania Derby a little bit, so I’m not happy about that, but yeah, they didn’t think about any anybody but themselves. They were just out for themselves, not the greater good of the sport. That’s a huge problem, and it’s ongoing. And this is kind of outrageous what they’ve done this week, but I don’t think it ultimately is going to change what the Preakness is or isn’t. It’s up to management now to make this race as good as it possibly can be. Who’s the biggest name in horse racing? Bob Baffert. What did he say about this? He says, “If I win the Derby, I’m running in the Preakness. No question. No, not even a second thought. He doesn’t care if it’s two weeks, three weeks. So then, what
Nestor Aparicio 21:16
happens to the Belmont then?
Dick Jerardi 21:18
Who? That’s that’s their problem. They they mess it up. See, Naira thinks they pull a fast one on everybody. I think because aren’t they just
Nestor Aparicio 21:25
going to throw a billion dollars at these people to not run in the Preakness and to run in their rate? They’re doing it the next week, right? Like the Belmont will run six days out. No, no, no, no, six days or 13 days. They’re
Dick Jerardi 21:34
still five weeks from the Derby. They’re they’re 13 days from the Preakness next year, and that that’s on them. They made this decision. I don’t think thought it all the way through, because so you
Nestor Aparicio 21:46
think this helps the Preakness for real?
Dick Jerardi 21:48
I don’t know that it helps it, but I don’t think it hurts it as bad as everybody thinks. I don’t think it’s the death knell of anything, and things can still change. But the idea that these three racetracks couldn’t find a way to get together and preserve the one thing that the public understands and knows and gets behind in the sport is just absurd.
Nestor Aparicio 22:08
It’s almost like baseball players who are millionaires getting together, baseball owners who are billionaires, and canceling a season or a World Series. I mean, can’t you almost like figure it out, make some money together? You know? Yeah, and
Dick Jerardi 22:20
look, and this sport needs all the help it can get. To your point, the last thing they need is is feuding corporations in in CDI and an alleged not for profit in NIRA feuding with the Maryland Jockey Club. This is well. Here’s where
Nestor Aparicio 22:36
I’m the prick in the media and in the fan base. And if I were reading your work or the work of Charlie Lamb or Clem Florio or name anyone that we love, if I’m reading that work, I’m like, who’s responsible? I can almost hear Clem’s work. Who’s responsible for this? Who’s in charge here? Who’s in charge? Who’s in charge to be sitting in a room to make this happen. Like I can, like I want, I want, I want names. I want not, you know, like that’s
Dick Jerardi 23:07
the point. There isn’t anybody. Oh, okay, that’s what I thought. Basically, in this case, the the corporation CDI, which you know is a multi bazillion dollar corporation. They have casinos. They have have race tracks, and obviously their flagship is Churchill Downs, and the Derby is a gigantic money maker. They can’t. I mean, they bet over the three Triple Crown days this year. For people don’t understand it, there was a half a billion dollars bet on these three days. The Derby was over 300 million. Freakness and Belmont over 105
Nestor Aparicio 23:39
hours.
Dick Jerardi 23:40
Yeah, think about it. So yeah, I mean, well, it’s five. It’s like more like 10 hours each day. Yeah, think about from beginning to end. So I think that what happened was Churchill got upset. They didn’t end up with the rights, the Preakness rights they wanted, and then New York got and slash Fox got upset when they didn’t get the Preakness. So basically, these two were trying to bid on some portion of the Preakness. They didn’t get either, so they got together and said, “Well, screw them. We’ll come up with this series and try to make the Preakness less than what it has been, which is just totally self-defeating when you consider the one thing the public knows is the Triple Crown. Nobody is going to care about this race in mid-September in the middle of college football in the NFL, which is at Churchill Downs, which is supposedly going to hand out bonuses to the top eight finishers, and you know how many horses are even going to run in four of these races? I just think they hastily put this together to take to take the juice away from the announcement yesterday from Governor Moore and and the people that Maryland jockeyed,
Nestor Aparicio 24:43
like I supported Governor Moore, I voted for Governor Moore, I’ve had him on the air. He’s got an open invitation to come on any time, the way he does Face the Nation and all these other things to run for president. He can come on any time he wants and explain this to me, and I I I’d love. I’m on Team Maryland. I’m on Team. More, I’m on team. Get the key bridge rebuilt. I’m on team. Let’s get the harbor place rebuilt. I’m on all of that, and I don’t know where this sits in priorities other than saving face to some degree because that’s what it felt like to me this week a lot. And I’m glad I’ve had you on at least. You wanted me out of the tree, but you got me off the top limb. You know, you got me back down. Where maybe the firefighters, like a pussy cat, can come get me, reach, reach up, and get me down. But here’s where I am. You can tell Nof this. You can tell Wes. Anybody you want. If you want me to explain it to the people, I have to understand it, and I have more. I mean, Dick, I know more about this than anybody you’re going to get on a Zoom with down here. Maybe Scott Wyckoff. Maybe and maybe there’s a couple of people who would know more about this than me because they’re really immersed in it from a media standpoint here. Because people like you are gone, and places like the Sun are dead and gone, and places like the News American don’t exist anymore. And Vince Bagley isn’t putting the race seventh, eighth, and ninth races from Laurel up on this. Like we’re just not there anymore. These people need real help, and they need people like you and me and people who in the Bob Leffler types of the world who’ve been around this to at least be under their tent to some degree to say, hey, you were here when it was good. What made it good to begin with? And I wouldn’t say the girls taking their tops off and how drunk everybody was, and the girls from Kutztown State and Shippensburg and Mercersburg and Lord knows what Steeler hats they would, Phillies hats they would have on when they would be parked in the school busses up and down Northern Parkway 30 years ago, but there’s so much value to the Preakness to me and my heart, and to what it could be here, and to see it fall into disrepair year after anybody can Google me, Google our transcripts in the last 10 years at Baltimore Positive and how I feel about it. You know, like
Dick Jerardi 26:58
I think you’re still missing the whole point. That’s why they got. That’s why Stronic is out of here, right? Because they lost interest. They didn’t care about it. Now the state has said we think this is valuable. We’re going to build a new Pimlico. We think it’s worth doing, and we’re going to. Everything is going to be. I need to know what they’re
Nestor Aparicio 27:13
doing. I need to know what they’re doing. How
Dick Jerardi 27:16
do we know they don’t know what they’re doing? They haven’t had a chance yet. They haven’t even
Nestor Aparicio 27:20
told me what they think they’re doing.
Dick Jerardi 27:22
Well, they’re they’re building it up. They’re starting over, right? They’re going to move all the race dates to Pimlico, a new facility, right? Laurel was in disrepair too, just like Pimlico. But by
Nestor Aparicio 27:34
the way, Pimlico is Pimlico. Excuse me. Freakness isn’t Laurel again in May, correct?
Dick Jerardi 27:39
No, it’s going to be at Pimlico.
Nestor Aparicio 27:41
They’re going to run it, and they’re going to bring in tents in May.
Speaker 1 27:45
That’s correct. So
Nestor Aparicio 27:46
that thing in Laurel was the last time that’s going to happen there. Okay,
Dick Jerardi 27:51
as far as I know, yes.
Nestor Aparicio 27:52
Okay, I just I haven’t driven down, you know, Northern Parkway in a couple of months to see what it is and what I believe it can be. Look, I saw them build these PGA courses up on caves that they can construct fans around a track that they can build outhouses. I mean, they can do that. So I’m okay. I’ll hear that. I’m just trying to see what I believe. If I believe they’re really going to be able to run this race in May over there, okay, I believe that. If you’re telling me,
Dick Jerardi 28:20
yeah, that’s what’s going to happen. They’re going to run. They’re going to run it at Pimlico.
Nestor Aparicio 28:23
Okay. All right.
Dick Jerardi 28:24
They’ve already they’ve already announced that. But yeah, it’s going to be temporary facility and all that kind of stuff. Okay. All right. Because the the building is not we’re going to be close to finish by next year. Okay. But that that’s the plan. And then again, it’s a new group. They haven’t been here that long. They’re anybody’s better than the old group. We would agree with that, right? They were a disaster. They had to go. Fortunately, they are gone, and now they’re completely gone because they don’t hold any rights to anything. They are completely out. So let’s give the new group a shot. See what they do. They have to be better than the old group. The problem is, is this thing so far gone that they can’t get it back? That’s that’s the biggest issue, and I’m talking about attendance and you know Preakness Day itself and what a big deal it was. But let’s give let’s give them a shot, see what they can do.
Nestor Aparicio 29:13
All right, last thing for you on this is my first thought. Now that we’ve talked about this, is all right. So NBC and the state are going to put a big pot full of money out there for this race this year to ensure that the Derby winner shows up. That is, is that the most important thing? Is it the most important thing to next year for their credibility for the governor for for you, me, anybody that’s pimping it, isn’t it pretty important that they win that battle with Belmont? Yeah,
Dick Jerardi 29:48
I think they have an edge anyway because the distance of the Preakness is much more palatable to most horsemen than a mile and a half of the Belmont. They just don’t want to run a mile and a half. If I were Pimlico, I would have actually moved this to Belmont Day. I’d say, hey, you got five weeks. Come right in the Preakness. Here’s a $4 million purse. That’s what I would have done. And let’s see what Belmont must have do in reaction. That would have been my plan. If they want to go to war, let’s go to war.
Nestor Aparicio 30:12
That’s what I thought. Okay, you’ve just answered my question. That that that’s the next move in the chess game. Because what do they say? There will be lawyers, you know. There’ll be attorneys. There’ll be all of that. Dick, I love you, man. Thanks for helping me and helping me understand this because I I want to be at the next 20 preaknesses. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know that, and I want it to be awesome. All right, Dick Girardi, um, promote something for me. What are you doing?
Dick Jerardi 30:39
Let’s go racingparks.com. I write a column every week. You can check that out. We got Let’s Go Racing Good Parks, my TV show that I do with Danny Gibson and Bruce Casella’s right on the website once a week. You can check that out and whatever else is happening.
Nestor Aparicio 30:54
And we are
Dick Jerardi 30:56
well, yeah. Penn State hoops coming up in November.
Nestor Aparicio 30:58
All right, just checking in. I love you, man. Be good. Thank you for your time. I I miss you. See you.
Dick Jerardi 31:02
You got. I hope I
Nestor Aparicio 31:03
haven’t infuriated Dick Girardi one last time. I’ve been trying for 42 years. Back for more Baltimore Positive. Stay with us.
