“Pimlico from the Heart” (2026). Two-time Eclipse Award-winning racing writer John Scheinman delivers an elegy and a celebration of Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, home to the historic Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
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The film presents a winding conversation between Scheinman, a Baltimore resident who covered racing for eight years at The Washington Post and has contributed to most of the major racing media outlets, and Vinnie Perrone, also an Eclipse Award winner and his predecessor at the newspaper. They meet to wander the Pimlico back side on opening day of the track’s final race meet in May 2025, two months before the state demolished the facility.
With humor and nostalgia, as well as clear-eyed commentary on the existential threats to Maryland racing, the two long-time friends swap wild tales of beloved racing characters and the last heyday of the Preakness, before the internet dramatically disrupted the natural rhythms of the sport.
The film also documents Scheinman’s first visit to the racetrack since the prior year’s Preakness Stakes following his treatment for Stage 3 gastric cancer.
It was shot by celebrated cult filmmaker Jeff Krulik, whose rock ‘n’ roll documentary “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” is widely regarded as a classic.
“Pimlico from the Heart” (1 hr., color) will premiere at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 9, on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMPuJyY-baA), one week after the Kentucky Derby and a week before the Preakness Stakes is held for the first time at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland.
Producer/editor: John Scheinman; Camera: Jeff Krulik
