The Commission Was Silent. A Soldier Wasn’t.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Maryland on the Map The Maryland Racing Commission held its monthly meeting on Wednesday,...
Tag: Churchill Downs
How a $375 Million Plan Became a $715 Million Problem
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Maryland on the Map Before Churchill Downs. Before the Preakness IP. Before the NBC deal...
What Maryland Didn’t Consider
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Maryland On the Map The Wednesday press conference produced three things Maryland needed:...
What Moore Announced — And What Comes Next
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Governor Wes Moore held his press conference Wednesday. It was, by the standards of...
Power Over People: How Annapolis Rewrote the Rules — and What It Ignored to Do It
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The Maryland General Assembly closed its three-day special session Tuesday night having...
The Hand They’re Not Playing: How Maryland Can Rebuild Horse Racing After the Preakness Shake-Up
Maryland owns the assets, the history, and the window. What it needs is a strategy — and someone willing to make the...
What CDI Does With Tracks It Owns
Churchill Downs has a documented playbook for acquired racing assets: acquire, extract value, close the original venue,...
The Bet That Already Lost
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Breaking — August 3, 2026This morning, Churchill Downs Incorporated and the New York...
Maryland Is Bleeding Money. Voters Have a Choice.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews — Maryland on the Map Mail-in ballots are already in circulation. The Republican primary...
Maryland Is Trying to Buy Back a Race It Never Should Have Lost
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews — Maryland on the Map Maryland is quietly trying to spend another $85 million. According...
Did Churchill Downs Give Wes Moore Buyer’s Remorse?
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews — Maryland on the Map When Governor Wes Moore announced Maryland's plan to purchase...
Maryland Spent $450 Million. Churchill Downs Bought the Crown Jewel. Moore Wasn’t Invited.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews This Saturday, as the 152nd Kentucky Derby runs at Churchill Downs, Democratic governors...
Maryland Owns the Racetrack. Churchill Downs Owns the Race.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews — Maryland on the Map, Part 7 On Monday, Governor Wes Moore announced that Maryland had...
What $400 Million Bought: Mapping the Prestige Gap Between the Masters, the Derby, and the Preakness
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Maryland on the Map, Part 3 The numbers are not flattering, and they are worth sitting...
The Most Exciting Two Minutes vs. The Most Exclusive Weekend in Sports
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Maryland on the Map, Part 1 This weekend, roughly 40,000 patrons — not fans, patrons,...