Pimlico to host three races as part of National Thoroughbred League competition

The National Thoroughbred League will kick off its 2025 season with “The Baltimore Cup” Saturday, May 10, at Pimlico Race Course.

The NTL was launched in 2023 with the goal of creating team competition in Thoroughbred racing and encouraging fan engagement. Owners nominate horses that are “drafted” and then compete in races on select days at partner racetracks. Along with Pimlico, the NTL this year will visit Parx Racing (Philadelphia Cup) in Pennsylvania in June, Fairmount Park (St. Louis Cup) in Illinois in July and Kentucky Downs (Nashville Cup) in August.

One of the NTL teams is the Maryland Colts, which is owned in part by Baltimore Ravens two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. He will be the host for the NTL event at Pimlico.

The NTL is contributing about $2.5 million to the four participating racetracks that will be used for the NTL events. The Maryland Jockey Club has added races to the Pimlico condition book for May 10. The races were selected so as not to compete with the many stakes and other races scheduled for Preakness Stakes weekend May 16-17.

There are six races, and three with the largest field size will be used. All of them are for horses that have started for a claiming price of $8,000 or less in the last three starts or those entered for a claiming price of $12,500-$10,000. Three are turf races and the other three are dirt races; four are for 3-year-olds and up and two for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up.

The condition book notes that the purse for each of the three selected races will be $75,000, not the advertised purse of $24,000. The purse money comes from the NTL.

Jockeys aboard horses competing in the three Pimlico races will be wearing silks representative of each NTL team.

The NTL will hold VIP Kickoff Party and Forever Dreamers Fundraiser from 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 9, with NTL team owners, trainers and jockeys, and some special guests at a yet-to-be-named special private venue. It will raise money to cover the May 10 Baltimore Community Day, which will bring thousands of local kids to Pimlico on behalf of Jackson’s Forever Dreamers initiative.

“The NTL is an exciting new promotion for our sport, and we’re honored to be part of this league,” said Bill Knauf, TMJC President and General Manager. "It’s especially meaningful because Lamar Jackson is the lead investor in the Maryland Colts.

“This is about being more than just a sporting event because Lamar sees it as a vehicle to introduce kids to Thoroughbred racing. The day at Pimlico will feature family activities with a focus on the children. This is the first step in his commitment to expanding the horizons of the many children in the Baltimore area.”

“Our expanded race schedule and addition of dedicated team horses furthers our mission of creating an innovative new format to engage the next generation of horse racing fans,” said Randall Lane, a co-founder of the NTL.

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