Great race track and a fun place. It def needs some updating on the inside but the outside is absolutely beautiful.

I didn't see a single horse race but I still had a pretty good time at Preakness today! The place was pretty packed and the weather was horrible (it even rained on us for an hour or so), but the food and the drinks were pretty good! I had food from a BBQ stand that was selling pit beef, pulled pork, hamburgers, etc. and it definitely did the job. The people serving us were a bit grumpy though. I guess I would be too though if all my customers had been partaking in the Mug Club (free refillable beer) experience since 9 am! read more

A recent compliment has prompted me to update my review on Pimlico... well, it's really a review of the Virgin Fest. I forgot to mention how great Bloc Party's performance was. I really enjoyed the songs and the crowd was hyped. That was my first time listening to that band, and I started following their music after I saw the concert. However, I still did not get to really enjoy Foo Fighters, and occasionally get flashbacks from the moshpit. (Blink, blink) read more

Today we were fortunate to be able to take a Behind the Scenes Tour of Pimlico's Stables and Club House with Baltimore Heritage.org. Pimlico is a whirl wind of activity as they are getting ready for the 141st Preakness at Old Hilltop this Saturday, May 21, 2016. Our tour guides were April Smith and Donnie Miller -both a wealth of information. Pimlico opened in 1870 and is truly a Baltimore icon. Although a devastating fire destroyed the old clubhouse in 1966, the seven furlong track, stables for 1000 horses, and even the new grandstands at Pimlico today, still hold loads of Baltimore history and stories. Pimlico sits on approximately, 140 acres of land. Although it was drizzling rain for our entire tour, it was most interesting. We were able to see the stables, the Stakes Barn where the Preakness horses are housed, the Preakness horses exercising on the track, the Grandstand, the Club House dining room, Jockeys' locker room and lounge, the Paddock, the Budweiser Clydesdales horses, the Finish Line and the Winner's Circle. The infield was a wash of white tents. A former jockey took the time to explain what a jockey wears and why. We were surprised at how small the saddles were. Also, that a jockey might start off a race wearing as many as 7 goggles and peals them off as they get dirty. We were able to see the room where the jockeys dress - the colors are determined by the owners of each horse. We also visited with a farrier (who is an equine-foot-care specialist) who shoes horses. He showed us the tools that he uses and some of the horseshoes. Pimlico is a huge place. It was a fascinating tour. read more

I really need to go back and update this review then as this is only for my spending $150 for an infield ticket to the Black Eyed Susan day for the Preakness. However, though I didn't get to experience the inside of the club area or the everyday bleachers, I LOVED my experience. Not focusing on anything that was BES, but the track and the environment was great. I will be back for sure to experience the real thing. read more

I was at the 137th Preakness at "Pimlico Race Course" on 5/19/2012. I had been there before at the 2010 Preakness. I liked it so much in 2010 that I decided to come back. The staff is friendly and attentive which makes a day at the races a great pleasure. Just like in 2010, I also attended the Black Eyed Susan at "Pimlico" the day before. Much smaller crowds on that day but just as enjoyable. Plus you have all the sights and sounds of Baltimore to see. read more

So I'm gonna assume the Preakness is the biggest or one of the biggest events for this venue and after 142 years of putting on this even they still can't figure it out. I paid $120 for tickets and missed the odesza set because I stood in an unorganized, claustrophobic line or crowd of about literally 5 thousand people for TWO AND A HALF hours because they had THREE people scanning tickets for the general admission tickets. Also plan to where shoes that you'll have to throw away because the infield is literally the worst mud pit ever. And I regularly go to music festivals and I know mud. Just look it up on YouTube or Instagram and evidence is there. It also was a 40 minute wait to get water in a 10 person line. The level of incompetency was at a all time high. Basically to sum this up, the venue is unorganized, unkept, and way to expensive. I don't leave reviews really ever but this place earned my 1 review. I will NEVER come back. read more

Pimlico Race Course - Stadiums & Arenas Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Preakness 2016 was legendary, folks! From Fetty Wap and Chainsmokers, to a guy in an avocado suit punching someone, I witnessed it all. On a mild and wet Saturday, the mud was plentiful and the beer was flowing. The facility itself is old and needs a tune up, but Preakness was a blast. read more

I've been here in 2016 and 2017 for the Moonrise music festival, which I have reviewed separately. My experience at the Moonrise festival itself was excellent, but this facility needs some major work. The music festival was in the grassy area away from the horsetrack and bleachers, so the run-down nature of the horsetrack did not detract from the music festival. However, the horsetrack and bleachers from a distance looked very run-down and needing a lot of work. Paint was peeling and so forth. The parking area needs to be repaved. The asphalt is cracking and there is gravel everywhere. The amount of parking is adequate for the facility. The sidewalks are also cracked and need a lot of work. There was a place along the fence where somebody had separated the iron bars wide enough for somebody to get through, and there was a guy sitting there whose job it was to make sure nobody entered through the breach in the fence. The grass needs to be completely replanted and landscaping redone. Based on the reviews here, I think I would be reluctant to come to Preakness. read more

Fascinating and boring place. Previous to my visit here, my conception of race tracks was almost entirely built from Charles Bukowski poems, so I have to say that colored my impressions of the place and it's denizens. There were a lot of older scrubby looking types who may or may not have been in the down-and-out club, but it was easy to imagine they were by their overly fervent cries to a television hanging from the ceiling. The woman working behind the counter selling beer and edibles was surprising in her unwillingness to exert even the least energy to seem remotely civil, but it was a holiday weekend, so I wrote it off on that account. The floors above the first seemed to have been built when there was a much broader interest in racing spanning the classes since they were clearly meant to be exclusive but were very sparsly populated. These spaces were unconscious of the fact that the riff raff below, whose wallets were not deep enough to enter them, were keeping the ship afloat on the very habitual desperation that excluded them. read more

This building needs to be torn down. It is not handicap accessible at all. There is only one elevator and it is a poor excuse for one. It breaks down constantly and is filthy. The entire venue is absolutely disgusting and needs to be cleaned intensely. It smells like stale beer, sweat, and horse shit. The food is over priced, not that good and portions are wimpy. Half the staircases lead you to no where and there is only an up escalator... no down one. If it rains you probably shouldn't go to the top floor because it leaks. For the Preakness event there are tons of people so bathrooms need to be kept stocked and cleaned. Currently there are 3 stalls out of service in one of the most used bathrooms and there were no paper towels or toilet paper in some stalls. I would never actually pay to attend an event here. read more

My first time here was for Moonrise Festival. The area surrounding the racetrack is not nice. Not that I expected it to be but I felt very uneasy. There was an hour wait to get in the first day and that was only with the parking! They were not at ALL prepared for the festival. I got on the block at 3:00 and was okay because I my favorite DJs weren't on for another hour, but AFTER walking from the parking lot, which was kind of far from the entrance, you had to walk down this sketchy street to get to the entrance where all the residence of the homes were outside catcalling all the girls and trying to sell things, which was so uncomfortable. When we got to the actual entrance there was 0 organization, I've been to many festivals but this one took us an HOUR AND A HALF to get in!!! I missed both my favorite DJS, the staff was SO rude. There was no lines, no gates, nothing. Just a blob of people trying to get in. Once we got in the festival itself was amazing, the drinks and food weren't too pricy I've seen worse but the only reason it was good was because it was all outside vendors and not Pimlico itself,but the venue, I would never ever go back. When we were leaving the festival they were giving out free Rockstar drinks but when we approached the gate to leave there was a member of the staff literally yelling and screaming at everyone to throw everything out and I'm not over exaggerating he was flipping out as if someone was trying to fight him. It killed all the good vibes. I was honestly afraid and I'm from NY we see some shit here, so me being afraid says something. As we walked back to our cars there was sketchy men lined up the street catcalling and following all the girls who left the festival, if we had not all been moving as a large group, it would have been very dangerous. I will never ever return to this place!!! Whoever runs Moonrise should know that this place completely put me off ever coming back to the festival. We come to these things for the good vibes and experience and the first day was not that when it came to interacting with the staff of the racecourse. read more

I go to the Preakness every year, and this year is no exception. Even though the building is old, and there are occasional problems, the event itself and the allure for that one day a year gives it a good grade for me. I don't know if I would be going here for the rest of the racing season, but for Preakness day alone, lets give a good grade. read more

First year attending the Preakness. We went with the mug and vine lounge tickets ($140) over the general infield tickets ($80). I was a little apprehensive, because I couldn't find anything on the Mug and Vine Lounge, other than the short blurb on the Preakness website. We had air conditioned bathrooms, free beer and wine, our own food vendors, betting windows and picnic tables. As well as TVs inside the tent area. We wanted to watch the races and get take advantage of the free beer. These tickets were perfect. If we ever go back, we will only do it with the mug and vine tickets. The only downside to the whole trip was the line to get into the track. It was hands down the longest line I have ever been in. Overall, great experience, even with the down pour that came just as they were loading for the big race. If your on the fence trying to decide if they are worth the extra money, the answer is a resounding yes. All it takes to appreciate the tickets, is a quick walk thru the infield Knowing you can escape back to your lounge and get away from it all and enjoy the races. read more

Very hot in the "air conditioned" grand stand Preakness Day. And, how can you let the sewer system back up and close the toilets down with 100K+ guests? Time for some serious renovations! read more

We bought Preakness Village tent tickets for $700 each, directly from the race website. I was a bit apprehensive about paying so much, but after watching Justify win the Kentucky Derby I was fired up and splurged. It was an absolute waste of money that I am still regretting a month later. We had to wait in line for about an hour to get in, which I suppose I understand given that they need to bring the footpath over the track between races to let people in and out. What I found shocking was that once we were across, we were immediately in mud up to our ankles. I get that it rained for several days prior, but that was no secret. For $700 a ticket I'd expect that the organizers would have taken some steps to make sure visitors weren't in a mud bath. We're not snobs. I was an archaeologist for years, and know my way around dirt, but when the price of admission is this high you'd expect some level of effort. The food was also sub-par, akin to something you'd see at a low-end all-inclusive resort or a cruise ship. We ended up leaving before the race itself. The best story we had was my wife almost getting run over by Jamie Foxx's Suburban. If you're thinking of paying up for the Preakness Village tickets I suggest you reconsider. And to think I was considering bringing clients to this thing! That would have been a DISASTER! And by the way, when we made our disappointment known, the powers that be at Pimlico ignored us. read more

Yikes:::Pimlico has gone from BAD to Worse.....THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING!!!! They just ended the live meet last week. Well, guess what??? Along with the grandstand closed as usual after the live meet, they have NOW CLOSED the Sports Palace and the 2nd floor as well, above the clubhouse. They will not even re-open till next April's live meet...WOW!!! They herd ALL the unfortunate patrons in the 1st floor clubhouse with a bunch of SILENT TV's....They did upgrade the TV's but you can NOT hear even ONE race call.....Way to go management---you have now just lost another customer. I will go to Delaware Park or Laurel Park so I can at least hear a few races I bet on----and not be herded like cattle in a "bus station type" atmosphere with SILENT TV's......Unreal, I guess Pimlico will be shutting down in the next 5 years, as did Atlantic City Race Course did early this year.....Looks like that is managements GOAL---to drive the customer away---and prepare for slowly shutting this place down.....Guess what---you are doing a GREAT JOB with these "shut down" changes....Will probably be seeing the Preakness in 2020 at Laurel Park anyway. At least maybe I can actually HEAR THE CALL there !!!!!! read more

Pimlico is in Desperate Need of a Renovation my brother and I took our 75 year old father to the Preakness for an early fathers day gift he suffers from severe arthritis and it is difficult for him to walk so we were using a wheel chair to push him around to transport. The Track was not handicap accessible almost at all. Our seats were on the 3rd floor in the upper grandstand coming into the building we could find no ramps or elevators any where eventually I asked the staff if they had an elevator and was told they didn't know. On my 3rd attempt at asking someone I was told they would find out for me and be right back. Turns out there was an elevator but it was mainly meant for staff to move equipment back and forth between the floors but it still got us to our floor which just left us with 2 more staircases to get to our seats, which we had been told by the ticket office would work well for a wheel chair. Once we got to our section we find that the ceiling is collapsing at several points and the rain is leaking in from out side. There were no working speakers in our section, meaning we couldn't hear any of the announcements and no TV we had to use the section next to us. The staff was not helpful in the least, with the exception of the Bathroom attendant who was very helpful, the rest tended to watch us struggling to maneuver around with out offering assistance or any way to do something easier. Also the fact that the closest bathroom to our section was Up a set of stairs and then down another flight was an annoyance as well. The races were fine except for the weather which no one can blame the track for. But I can't help but feel like we were ripped off when we Payed $145 each for seats in a section that looked like it hasn't been repaired since it was opened originally. With this being your biggest race of the year I don't know how these things could have been so overlooked. read more