Full fall racing schedule returning to Pimlico next month for first time since 2004

BALTIMORE -- For the first time in 18 years, Pimlico Race Course will hold a full fall meet starting next month.

Racing returns to Old Hilltop on Friday, Sept. 4, and will continue on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout the month.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused organizers to push the 2020 Preakness Stakes to October, a full fall slate has not come to Pimlico since 2004, the Maryland Jockey Club said.

Stakes races are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10 and 24. Highlights include the Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup and the All Along on the first Saturday, and the Polynesian and Weather Vane Stakes on the second.

Racing at the Maryland Jockey Club's main track, Laurel Park, is set to conclude this weekend, after which operations will move to the track at the Maryland State Fairgrounds during the state fair.

State regulators approved additional dates at Pimlico last October. 

A Maryland Jockey Club official said the fall schedule in Baltimore would give the turf course at Laurel a one-month break, according to a report in The Racing Biz, a local industry publication.