Preakness week is planned from the published attendance cap, the race card and the way the crowd moves between races. The 2026 race ran at Laurel Park while Pimlico is rebuilt, with attendance capped at about 4,800 a day, so restroom counts are set to that cap and the schedule rather than to older Pimlico crowds.
Key takeaways
- The 2026 Preakness was run at Laurel Park, and the Black-Eyed Susan ran on the Friday before race day.
- Attendance was capped at about 4,800 a day, according to the racing operator's announcement and early 2026 reporting.
- Older Pimlico attendance figures describe a different venue and a different crowd, and they are not used to set a count.
- Restroom visits are timed into the gaps between races, never during one.
- The Pimlico return is reported with conflicting years, so this guide gives no date for it.
- Traffic on race days can delay trucks, so the route is planned before the first morning.
What changed and why the count must follow the cap
The 2026 race moved to Laurel Park while Pimlico is rebuilt, and the operator announced a daily cap, which is the most recent and most honest figure for the day.
A restroom plan built on the reputation of the old Pimlico crowd would overstate the units and waste the budget, or it would understate a new venue's crowd and leave the lines long. The published cap is the starting point, because it is the figure the venue itself expects.
Reported attendance at Pimlico has ranged from about 63,000 across a two-day blend in 2025 to a peak of 140,237 in 2017. Those are reported crowds for a different venue and a different mix of days. They are never used as a porta count, and this guide does not use them to set a number.
Reading the race card for the wave pattern
Each race has its own crowd wave, and the plan matches the busiest block to the busiest race, so the lines are short at the feature and the crew has time to restock between races.
The crowd gathers before a feature race and thins after it. Restrooms near the grandstand fill fastest in the last ten minutes before the post, while infield units are busiest early in the afternoon when the food lines are long. A plan that treats the day as one even flow will be wrong at every race.
The technician maps the wave for each race on the card, and the supervisor's routine repeats in the same order for each one: a check of stock, a walk of the busiest block and a visit in the gap.
- Map the busiest block at each race
- Time visits into the gaps between races
- Check the stock before each wave
- Keep the crew away from the track edge
Counting for a racing week rather than a single day
Race week is several days of crowds, and each day gets its own count and its own servicing pattern, with a Friday and a Saturday that are not the same size.
A racing week has a smaller opening day and a larger race day, and the restroom plan is drawn for each. A count that works on the Saturday will be too many for the Friday, and the reverse is also true for the infield's first crowd.
Where the same blocks are used for more than one day, the servicing schedule is written for the whole week, with a close-out after each day and a set-up check before the next morning's gates.
Infield, grandstand and tailgate areas
Each area of the race grounds has its own crowd, and the units follow the crowd rather than the map, with separate counts for the grandstand, the infield and the tailgate lots.
The grandstand crowd is seated for long periods and then moves in a rush. The infield crowd is spread, standing and moving between food and the rail. The tailgate crowd arrives early and stays for hours. Each needs its own count, and each has its own truck route.
The plan records the basis of each count, so the operator and the organiser can see why a block is where it is and how many units it holds.
Access, traffic and the truck route
A race-day truck crosses the same crowds and traffic as the guests, so the route is agreed with the venue's operations team and marked on the plan before the day.
Race-day traffic is heavy on the roads around the track, and a truck that is held up in it can miss a visit. The route is agreed with the venue, and the plan notes the hours the truck may cross the crowd.
Parking areas for tailgates need units that are not in the vehicle lanes. A unit set too close to a parked car is a barrier at the end of the day, when the cars are leaving and the crowd is in a hurry.
Close-out and the end of the programme
After the last race the units are pumped and the spot is checked, and anything the venue requires cleared is cleared before the crew leaves.
The close-out is planned from the end of the programme, not the time the crowd leaves. A venue may require the area to be clear by a set hour so its own crews can clean the grounds.
The spot is inspected for spilled material, cups and ground damage. Any problem is reported to the venue before the crew goes.
A checklist for the organiser
A short checklist keeps the plan honest: the cap, the card, the blocks, the routes, the visits and the close-out are each confirmed before the race week begins.
Confirm the published cap and the race card. Confirm the blocks and their counts against the cap. Confirm the truck routes with the venue. Confirm the visit times against the gaps in the card. Confirm the close-out time against the venue's own clearance hour.
Each item is ticked against the plan and signed off by the organiser, so the day runs to the plan and not to memory.
Reading a published attendance cap
A published cap is a ceiling the venue sets for the day, and the restroom count should be checked against it as a ceiling as well as a target.
A cap tells the planner the most people the venue expects to admit. The count is built to meet the crowd that arrives within the cap, and a plan that exceeds the cap by a wide margin is paying for units the day will not use.
A cap is not a forecast of how many people will come, and the plan keeps a margin for a busy day within the cap, with a supervisor able to add a visit if the crowd fills a block early.
Weather, heat and the open infield
Heat and rain change the restroom pattern on a race day, with more people using the units in the shade and in the rain, and the supervisor adjusts the visits to the weather.
A hot afternoon in the open infield sends people to the shade and the food, and the units nearest the shade fill faster. A wet afternoon sends people under cover, and the units there are used more than the plan assumed.
The supervisor checks the day's weather before the first race and shifts the visits to match the blocks that are busiest on that kind of day.
Who on the day does what
On race day the organiser, the venue's operations team and the restroom supervisor each have a named role, so the question of who clears a block or calls a truck always has an answer.
The organiser is responsible for the plan and for the permit file. The venue's operations team controls the grounds and the truck route. The restroom supervisor runs the visits, the stock checks and the close-out.
A single contact list, given to each of the three groups before the day, means no one has to search for a phone number when a block needs attention.
The walk from parking to the grandstand
The walk from the car park to the grandstand and the infield is long on a race day, and the units are placed on that walk, not only at the venue's own buildings.
Guests walk a long way on race day, and the restroom that is close to the car is the one that is used. Placing units on the walk, off the main line of the crowd, catches guests on the way in and on the way out.
The walk is checked before the first race, and the units are placed where the crowd's natural path crosses a side route rather than where a map suggests.
Keeping a race-week plan honest across the days
A race week is planned as a sequence of days, and each day's plan is checked against what the previous day showed, so the next day starts from evidence rather than from the first day's guess.
At the end of each day the supervisor compares the busiest block against the count, the stock used and the visits made. Where a block ran short or stayed unused, the plan for the next day is changed and the reason is written beside it.
The week ends with a single review that shows which blocks were right, which were wrong and what the next year's plan should keep. That review is short, dated and kept with the file.
The last check before the first race is a walk of the busiest block with the supervisor, from the gate to the unit, timed at the speed of a crowd rather than of a person walking alone. A block that is more than a few minutes from the crowd's natural path is moved, because the walk decides whether the unit is used.
Frequently asked questions
Where was the 2026 Preakness held?
At Laurel Park while Pimlico is rebuilt. The Black-Eyed Susan ran on the Friday before race day.
When does the Preakness return to Pimlico?
Reporting gives more than one year, so this guide gives none. The track will reopen when the rebuild is finished.
Are the counts set from old crowd figures?
No. They are set from the published cap for the day, the race card and the way the crowd moves between races.
Can units be placed in the infield?
Yes, where the venue allows it and the truck can reach each block. The infield is planned around vehicles and gates.
What if a race is delayed?
The supervisor shifts the visits to the new post times and keeps the stock check. A delay pushes the crowd back, so the blocks may need a visit during the planned gap.
How far apart should the blocks be?
Far enough that no single line grows too long, and close enough that the crowd finds them on the walk. The walk test decides it.
Can units be placed on the walk to the grandstand?
Yes, off the main line of the crowd and clear of the gates, once the venue agrees the spots.
Sources
This guide is general information for Baltimore City homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.