Though Maryland racing will soon make Pimlico Race Course its long-term headquarters, it will also have a satellite home elsewhere in the state. That location was revealed Monday: Horses will train at Shamrock Farm in Carroll County, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority announced.

The state is acquiring 300 acres at the site with plans to build a 1-mile dirt oval and at least 800 horse stalls, the authority said in a news release. There’s also room for future expansion.

“Our goal is to design and build one of the great equine training centers in the world,” Gregory A. Cross, chairman of the authority, said in a statement. “A rigorous examination of many locations in the region showed that this site provides the best combination of size, cost and construction approval process. The collaborative decision to build at Shamrock Farm included input from Maryland’s horsemen and other key stakeholders. This project truly continues the path for our racing industry to thrive.”

Alan Foreman, general counsel to the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and a member of the authority board, said the location is convenient for many owners and trainers.

“This proximity will ease travel burdens and ensure trainers, horses, and their teams have the resources they need to thrive,” he said in a statement. “Paired with the revitalization of Pimlico, this decision demonstrates our commitment to collaborating with the State of Maryland to strengthen the infrastructure and sustainability of our historic racing industry.”

The decision is the latest in a series of sweeping changes as the state seeks to take control of and boost horse racing, which has seen declining interest nationally and dwindling enthusiasm for Maryland racing’s annual premier event, the Preakness Stakes.

After years of false starts and failed efforts to renovate aging Pimlico, the state’s new vision, outlined in January 2024, calls for a rebuild of Pimlico and a consolidation of racing at the Baltimore track, rather than races being held at both Pimlico and Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County. There will also be a reduction in race days going forward. Next year, the state will see only 127 days of racing, down from 187 as recently as 2019.

The Pimlico site, however, cannot adequately house all the horses and host all the needed training sessions, so the racing authority — a group created by the state legislature in 2023 — determined that a training track should be built elsewhere. Racing fans won’t frequent the training center, but it will be integral to sustaining the industry and supporting live racing at Pimlico.

Building a training center at Shamrock Farm is expected to cost approximately $115 million in state funds and be completed by 2027. Simultaneously, Pimlico will be rebuilt, beginning after this year’s Preakness, with roughly $285 million in state funds.

Eight potential training sites were initially identified in a report from the consultant Populous and the authority focused on three: the old Bowie Race Track in Prince George’s County, Mitchell Farm in Harford County and Shamrock Farm in Carroll County.

In grading the sites, Populous considered the rolling topography at Shamrock to require higher “earthwork costs” than at Bowie or Mitchell Farm, but Shamrock received a high score for its location, which is about a 45-minute drive from Pimlico. Already an established thoroughbred breeding farm, Shamrock was also described in the report as an “idyllic setting where horses can live like horses.”

Shamrock Farm was established in 1948 by Art Rooney, who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it remains in the the Rooney family. That complicated the selection process given that Tom Rooney, a former U.S. Rep. from Florida who is a member of the Maryland racing authority, is Rooney’s grandson.

A January report from the authority noted that Tom Rooney “immediately recused himself from the Authority’s consideration of the site and has had no involvement in the Authority’s inclusion of Shamrock as a potential training facility location.”

“If a decision is made to move forward with Shamrock Farm as a training center location, a third-party appraisal process will be used to substantiate a purchase price,” the report continued.

As Maryland seeks to revitalize horse racing, it is also launching a Preakness festival. Using $3 million from the state of Maryland, the city of Baltimore and private contributions, organizers are planning four “tentpole” events in the run-up to the 150th Preakness in May and several other events throughout the state.