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MSA and Medco pivot training plans from Shamrock Farms to Laurel; boards approved LOI and lease amendment
Summary
Maryland Stadium Authority and Medco told the Appropriations Committee they halted work at Shamrock Farms after environmental review flagged a 'fatal flaw,' and their boards approved a nonbinding letter of intent and a lease amendment to pursue negotiations with the Stronach Group for Laurel Park.
Gary McGuigan, executive vice president of the Maryland Stadium Authority, told the committee the authority and Medco began due diligence at Shamrock Farms but discovered costs and environmental issues that made the site infeasible. "We did get a right of entry to Shamrock Farms in March ... and started our due diligence right away," McGuigan said, adding that minimum statutory spend for a training center is $110,000,000 and initial estimates had pushed costs "north of $210,000,000."
McGuigan said the board approved two items the previous day: "one is a nonbinding letter of intent, which allows Medco and MSA to continue negotiations with Stronach for Laurel, in hopes of getting to a purchase agreement in the next month or two. And the second was a lease amendment." The committee was told MDE (Maryland Department of the Environment) issued a letter on Oct. 17 identifying a local waterway with brown trout sensitive to temperature increases; MSA called the trout finding a "fatal flaw" for Shamrock and stopped work in October rather than undertake a lengthy and likely unsuccessful mitigation study.
MSA described the operational model being pursued as a "shipping model": all racing would occur at Pimlico with Laurel serving as a private training facility; the pivot would avoid duplicate permanent horse housing at both sites, add about 1,000 parking spaces for Pimlico race days, and save the Maryland Jockey Club approximately $22.5 million per year in operating costs, MSA said. MSA also provided preliminary budget figures: Pimlico is roughly under $400,000,000 and Laurel just over $120,000,000, figures described as meeting statutory minimum-spend requirements.
Why it matters: the board approvals permit negotiations that could change the ownership and operational model for Laurel Park and shift where training and stable housing are located. The MDE finding on a trout-bearing waterway halted the prior plan and drove the pivot; environmental constraints may affect any future acquisition.
Next steps: MSA and Medco said they would continue negotiations with Stronach, complete environmental review prior to purchase, and return to the committee with updates on acquisition costs, funding sources and community impact.
