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03-19-2019, 11:19 PM
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 997
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Baltimore suing Stronach Group over potential relocation of Preakness Stakes
Quote:
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh sued the owners of Pimlico Race Course in hopes of blocking them from moving the Preakness Stakesor using state bonds to fund improvements at Laurel Park.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Baltimore Circuit Court, Pugh, on behalf of the city, also asks the court to grant ownership of the racetrack and the race to the city through condemnation.
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/ma...319-story.html
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03-19-2019, 11:23 PM
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#2
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Resurrectionist
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Cheyenne, Wy
Posts: 3,615
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Gobbi
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It could get very interesting.
__________________
Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.
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03-19-2019, 11:32 PM
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#3
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Beat up 💪
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Beach life in Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 11,938
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Ritvo Quote.
What they want done at Pimlico I could do at Laurel for a $100 million , rather than $400 million it would cost to renovate pimlico
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03-20-2019, 01:47 AM
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Dark Side of the Moon
Posts: 5,871
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Gobbi
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Condemnation to take a race track....this ought to be entertaining. That would take 20 years to get through the courts.
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03-20-2019, 07:01 AM
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 22,688
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMB@BP
Condemnation to take a race track....this ought to be entertaining. That would take 20 years to get through the courts.
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and watching the city of Baltimore owning and operating a race track also could be entertaining.
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03-20-2019, 10:17 AM
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 316
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davew
and watching the city of Baltimore owning and operating a race track also could be entertaining.
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If this ever came to fruition I would be shocked if the city went in to the racetrack business. I would suspect they might just sell the land off to the highest bidder.
I truly hope this never becomes a possibility.
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03-20-2019, 10:23 AM
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#7
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Just Deplorable
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Lebanon, Ohio
Posts: 8,079
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Especially a city as dysfunctional as Baltimore. One bad stewards' decision, and....
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03-20-2019, 11:19 AM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 8,798
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jocko699
It could get very interesting.
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No it won't. This suit is a loser. They just want some leverage.
EDIT:To explain this more, Baltimore can sieze Pimlico, but they can't seize the Preakness. The Preakness is a trademark. The owner of the trademark can stage a race at 1 3/16th miles anywhere it wishes to in compliance with its contracts with Churchill, NYRA, and NBC. That race will be the Preakness.
Baltimore, if it succeeds, will end up with a racetrack, but will not end up with the contractual right to run a TC race.
Last edited by dilanesp; 03-20-2019 at 11:23 AM.
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03-20-2019, 11:37 AM
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 234
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
No it won't. This suit is a loser. They just want some leverage.
EDIT:To explain this more, Baltimore can sieze Pimlico, but they can't seize the Preakness. The Preakness is a trademark. The owner of the trademark can stage a race at 1 3/16th miles anywhere it wishes to in compliance with its contracts with Churchill, NYRA, and NBC. That race will be the Preakness.
Baltimore, if it succeeds, will end up with a racetrack, but will not end up with the contractual right to run a TC race.
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State law mandates that the Preakness has to be run at Pimlico, with the exception of a "disaster or emergency" that forces it to be run elsewhere. This was always going to be a sticking point with moving the race to Laurel. I think TSG was hoping that the legislature would work with them and just change that law, but that seems to be out the window now.
So if the city won control of the track, for all intents and purposes they would also own the Preakness, because TSG by law couldn't run that race (at least under that name) at Laurel.
But none of that would stop TSG from just setting up a new race in mid-May at Laurel called "The Frankness", and the rest of the industry agreeing that "yeah this is the second leg of the TC now".
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03-20-2019, 11:47 AM
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 8,798
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlsoEligible
State law mandates that the Preakness has to be run at Pimlico, with the exception of a "disaster or emergency" that forces it to be run elsewhere. This was always going to be a sticking point with moving the race to Laurel. I think TSG was hoping that the legislature would work with them and just change that law, but that seems to be out the window now.
So if the city won control of the track, for all intents and purposes they would also own the Preakness, because TSG by law couldn't run that race (at least under that name) at Laurel.
But none of that would stop TSG from just setting up a new race in mid-May at Laurel called "The Frankness", and the rest of the industry agreeing that "yeah this is the second leg of the TC now".
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That "state law" is preempted by federal trademark law, which permits a trademark owner to use the mark in commerce anywhere in the geographic region of exclusive use. It also possibly violates the takings clause as well.
Indeed, if that law WERE enforceable, Baltimore wouldn't be trying to seize the track. They would just seek an injunction.
And it isn't the industry that matters here. It's the contracts with the other TC tracks and NBC. They define the TC. And the City of Baltimore cannot make itself a party to those agreements, and they can't seize the Preakness trademark either.
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03-20-2019, 11:59 AM
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Toronto
Posts: 66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlsoEligible
But none of that would stop TSG from just setting up a new race in mid-May at Laurel called "The Frankness", and the rest of the industry agreeing that "yeah this is the second leg of the TC now".
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I love the name "The Frankness" but "The Freakness" may be more appropriate.
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03-20-2019, 12:03 PM
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 8,798
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_123_ca
I love the name "The Frankness" but "The Freakness" may be more appropriate.
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It will be the Preakness, and I am actually rooting for Stronach to just go ahead and move it. I have a particular distaste for grandstanding local politicians. They are misleading their constituents about this issue and deserve to get egg on their face.
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03-20-2019, 12:58 PM
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#13
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clean money
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 23,568
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Don't know the details, or the behind-the-scenes workings here.
If I wanted to make an uneducated guess - This is negotiation tactics, and the Preakness will move to Laurel 2022.
__________________
Preparation. Discipline. Patience. Decisiveness.
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03-20-2019, 01:57 PM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 15,130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlsoEligible
State law mandates that the Preakness has to be run at Pimlico, with the exception of a "disaster or emergency" that forces it to be run elsewhere. This was always going to be a sticking point with moving the race to Laurel. I think TSG was hoping that the legislature would work with them and just change that law, but that seems to be out the window now.
So if the city won control of the track, for all intents and purposes they would also own the Preakness, because TSG by law couldn't run that race (at least under that name) at Laurel.
But none of that would stop TSG from just setting up a new race in mid-May at Laurel called "The Frankness", and the rest of the industry agreeing that "yeah this is the second leg of the TC now".
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The track is already a disaster, so they are half way there.
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03-20-2019, 02:08 PM
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#15
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Veteran
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 9,893
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
That "state law" is preempted by federal trademark law, which permits a trademark owner to use the mark in commerce anywhere in the geographic region of exclusive use. It also possibly violates the takings clause as well.
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The law was passed in 1987. I believe the bill was part of a package that expanded Maryland racing to include Sundays. Sunday racing was the consideration, so no takings?
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