City Council Accepts Race Track Task Force Recommendations

The City Council accepted a report from the Bowie Race Track Task Force on Monday recommending casual recreational uses and green space conservation at the closed facility.

The report to the City Council can be read here.

The task force was created by the Bowie City Council in 2022 to bring together representatives of the City of Bowie, Bowie State University, and the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), to gain a consensus on future uses for the closed property.

The Bowie Race Track, opened in 1914, put Bowie on the map as a horse racing hub, taking advantage of the local railway to draw crowds from DC, Annapolis, and Baltimore. The track closed in 1985 and was used primarily for horse stabling and training until 2009.

The City of Bowie has long sought control of the unused property, which runs along Racetrack Road up to the Patuxent. Much of the property is protected wetland, but the area of the track and stables are prime locations for recreation and green space.

The track remains owned by Canadian-based Stronach Group, operating locally as the Maryland Jockey Club. The corporation controls most of the horse racing facilities in Maryland, including the tracks at Laurel and Pimlico in Baltimore.

Facing declining audiences, less betting revenue, and doping scandals, the horse racing industry has taken major hits in recent years. State support for significant renovations at Pimlico and Laurel were sought in 2020 to keep the industry afloat. The state benefits from substantial taxes on gambling revenue.

In 2020, the Maryland General Assembly passed a $400 million bill realigning the Maryland horse race industry with significant renovations to the Pimlico race track as well as improvements to the stables and training facilities in Laurel.

The bill included a hard-won clause conveying the unused Bowie race track property to the City of Bowie by the end of December 2023. The bill required the property be used for joint recreational amenities by the City of Bowie and Bowie State University, with portions of the property retained by M-NCPPC.

Following pandemic delays, it was determined that the sought improvements to Pimlico and Laurel would cost almost twice the original $400 million price tag. Rumors abounded that the Maryland Jockey Club would simply shutter its Maryland facilities for good.

The Maryland General Assembly passed a new bill in 2023 creating a new horse racing authority, giving itself a year to address the higher than anticipated costs and chart a new path forward. The bill delayed the conveyance of the Bowie race track to the City of Bowie until the end of 2024.

In spite of the delay, the Bowie Race Track Property Task Force continued its work, hosting a series of public workshops and conducting community surveys to gather ideas for recreational uses at the track.

Over 2,600 residents and stakeholders completed an initial survey, which guided the task force's work. Meetings drew participants from surrounding neighborhood HOAs, Bowie-based conservation and recreational groups, environmental advocates, Maryland equestrian groups, Bowie State students, and regional parks and conservation enthusiasts.

The final report, accepted unanimously by the Bowie City Council, will be the guiding rubric should the property be conveyed to the city by the new 2024 deadline. Concerns remain that the horse racing industry may not survive the new timeframe, which could see the property simply sold, albeit with significant environmental limitations.

The good news is the task force's work and active participation by the university and M-NCPPC could still help see the track conveyed for public use even in the event of upheaval in the horse racing industry.

Learn more about the Bowie Race Track, the task force, and complete reports here.