I started going to Pimlico Race Track not long after I started going to Memorial Stadium.

Jay Slater, a classmate at Cross Country Elementary School, lived at Rogers and Merville Aves., across the street from the top of the home stretch.

We would watch the races from his attic window – sometimes the roof.

I was not so visible over the last 14 months as I helped bring about the study of the future of Pimlico that was released last Friday.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-pimlico-study-20170224-story.html

I brought together the funders of the study, the Maryland Stadium Authority; the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation; the Maryland Racing Commission; and the Baltimore Development Corporation.

At our only gathering last winter, I called to order the Third Saturday in May Committee. (That’s when the Preakness is run.)

Pimlico is where the Preakness belongs.

It’s been run there for more than a century. That weekend is a big economic benefit for the Baltimore region.

I’ve remained the designated prodder, helping move the players who can finance Pimlico’s renovation, Governor Hogan, Mayor Pugh, and the Maryland Jockey Club, towards the finish line – an agreement that would keep the Preakness at Pimlico.