This time last year, a three-year-old colt named Journalism charged to victory at Pimlico Race Course, as the reality that it would be the last Preakness in Park Heights before the existing Old Hilltop buildings would be torn down—to make way for renovated facilities in 2027—hung over attendees.
This year, Laurel Park, the much smaller racing complex located about an hour south in Anne Arundel County, will become the temporary home to the Triple Crown’s middle jewel as Pimlico upgrades continue.
Though it might be lesser-known, there’s not much like Laurel—with clouds cascading across it’s bright skylight windows and horses thundering down the track on a crisp day. Racing is not static. It’s great blurs of color as the horses and jockeys in blazing silks pass by like a LeRoy Neiman painting.
This was the track experience I sought to capture throughout the past year. The colorful silks and the colorful people. Winners, losers, women in their best hats, men in suits that make you think you’ve traveled back in time. And I wanted to do all on film (using several vintage Nikon cameras and lenses, Kodacolor and Kodak Ultramax film, and even 20-year-old expired Fuji Industrial 100 film made to highlight reds and blues) like “the old days.” Even during the coldest races, as seen in a few winter shots, the pageantry is still there.
