State Roundup: Rights to Preakness, Black-Eyed Susan Stakes bought by Churchill Downs; data center construction, regulation becomes statewide battle

CHURCHILL DOWNS BUYS RIGHTS TO PREAKNESS IN $85M DEAL: The owners of the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown now own the property rights to its second leg. Churchill Downs Inc. announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with 1/ST Maryland LLC to purchase the intellectual property rights for the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. The $85 million deal includes “all trademarks and associated rights” associated with the two Maryland races. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

• The deal does not move the Preakness out of Maryland, where it has been run for more than a century at Pimlico Race Course. State law requires the race to remain in the state except for limited temporary relocations, such as this year’s move during Pimlico’s $400 million reconstruction. Todd Karpovich and Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.

DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION, REGULATION A STATEWIDE BATTLE: Across Maryland, activists and data center supporters are battling over where and how proposed facilities will be built. Meanwhile, in the State House, lawmakers this session debated how to regulate them and the possible impact they could have on the electric grid. State Democratic leaders, including Gov. Wes Moore, have backed efforts to govern them. “I’m not saying data centers shouldn’t be built in Maryland, but if they are going to be built, we need more safeguards,” said Del. Julie Palakovich Carr, D-Montgomery. Ian Ferris of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.

ELECTRICITY COSTS EXPECT TO RISE THIS SUMMER: Electricity prices are expected to rise across the region this summer as the nation’s largest power grid struggles to keep pace with surging demand, driven largely by the rapid expansion of data centers. The warning from energy analysts comes just a week after Maryland lawmakers approved sweeping energy legislation aimed at easing utility costs, but energy analysts and consumer advocates say the underlying pressures driving bills higher remain largely unresolved. Mennatalla Ibrahim/The Baltimore Sun.

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION ZONES SAFER, BUT STILL NOT SAFE: Maryland’s highway work zones are getting safer, but new data shows that aggressive speeding through active construction sites continues to put workers at high risk. Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller joined state transportation officials at an active construction site along state Route 4 in Prince George’s County on Tuesday. Across Maryland, she said, there were more than 1,100 work zone crashes in 2025, an average of about three per day, at times occurring mere feet from workers. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.

FRAUD ALLEGATIONS SPUR STATE PROBE INTO EMPOWER MARYLAND: Maryland utility regulators have ordered an investigation into whether participants in EmPOWER Maryland filed fraudulent claims in the state’s residential and commercial energy efficiency programs. The Maryland Public Service Commission said it will examine allegations that some program contractors may have filed false rebate claims with utilities and distributors for equipment that was never installed or for projects that were never completed. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.

PART 1: THE LOOMING PRIMARIES: Maryland’s political community is turning its full-time attention to the June primaries for federal, state and local offices. Soon enough, everyday citizens won’t be able to avoid the electioneering. There are no closely-fought statewide races to speak of, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t many consequential primaries, with plenty of drama, farther down the ballot. And voting will start soon enough: Mail-in ballots should start arriving in voters’ homes by mid-May. Early voting is June 11-18. Primary day is June 23. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.

POLITICAL SHORTS: CYCLING FOR CLIMATE; HOT CONTEST IN THE 6^th: About a dozen advocates-turned-cyclists left the Pennsylvania line on the NCR Trail Saturday morning ending Monday afternoon at Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary’s County to raise awareness about legislation that would make fossil fuel companies pay for the effects of climate change in the state. Emails and press releases are coming fast and furious in the hotly contested Democratic primary for the 6th Congressional District seat in Western Maryland between Rep. April McClain Delaney and former 6th District Rep. David Trone. Christine Condon and Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

SIERRA CLUB BACKS CHALLENGER OVER SEN. NANCY KING: The Maryland Sierra Club has endorsed engineer and entrepreneur Amar Mukunda of Germantown in his bid to deny renomination to District 39 Sen. Nancy King—the senior member of the Montgomery County Senate delegation—in the June 23 Democratic primary. It is also backing Alicia Contreras-Donello of Cloverly, a former official of the U.S. Agency for International Development, for the open House of Delegates seat in District 14. Louis Peck/Bethesda Today.

MO CO EXEC CANDIDATES ADDRESS GROWTH, OTHER EAST COUNTY ISSUES: All seven candidates for Montgomery County executive at Monday night’s forum in White Oak discussed their views on issues related to the East County, including economic development, the large Viva White Oak development project and plans to bring a Montgomery College campus to the area. Candidates also debated County Executive Marc Elrich’s budget proposal for fiscal 2027, which includes a proposed 6.3% increase in the county property tax rate to fund county schools and 0.1% increase to the income tax rate. Elia Griffin/Bethesda Today.

JUDGE REMOVES GOP LAWMAKERS FROM TEACHER’s DEFAMATION SUIT: A Baltimore County judge has dismissed five Republican state lawmakers from a defamation lawsuit that a teacher filed against them but ruled that several of her claims against a member of Moms for Liberty can move forward. Alexa Sciuto, an LGBTQIA+ advocate and comedian who’s active on TikTok, went viral in 2024 for an exchange at a parental rights’ event. She’s suing over various statements about her that she argues are false and defamatory. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.

MAN FOUND GUILTY OF THREATENING BA CO COUNCILMAN: A Perry Hall man was convicted and sentenced to prison Tuesday for threatening to “execute” Baltimore County Councilman David Marks in voicemails. District Judge Marsha L. Russell ordered David Charles Rohrs, who has a history of mental illness, to serve three years, with all but 18 months suspended, saying the crime caused Marks and his family “terrible fear.” Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.

AUDIT: BILLING FOR B’MORE TUNNEL NOT PROPERLY REVIEWED: The Maryland Port Authority failed to review hundreds of millions of dollars in subcontractor costs related to the Howard Street Tunnel project, a state audit noted. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.

B’MORE IG CRITICISED FOR ‘POLITICALLY-CHARGED’ ONLINE POST: A top aide to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott condemned a social media post from Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming in a letter to two city oversight boards Tuesday, asking them to review Cumming’s “politically-charged conduct” online. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.

FARE EVASION AT METRO STATIONS BECOMES COMMON AND COSTLY: Fare evasion, whether jumping over subway station rails or not paying to get onto the bus, has become a common practice for many riders across the Washington metropolitan area, rising 26% in 2025. Fare revenue brought in more than $461 million in fiscal year 2025 to support Metro operations, but the agency estimates it lost more than $50 million that same year due to fare evasion on Metrorail and Metrobus. Mauriah Allen of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.