JOE DE FRANCIS had a great Preakness. The weather turned sunny. The crowd topped 80,000. Betting -- thanks to simulcast wagering elsewhere in Maryland and throughout the country -- was huge. And it was a wonderful race, with an exciting wire-to-wire victory by Louis Quatorze.
And yet, all is not well at Old Hilltop. A random peek at a recent day at the races -- last Wednesday -- shows the extent of the track's decline. Only 3,100 fans showed up, betting a measly $224,000. Those are anemic numbers. In fact, except for Saturday races and the Preakness, Pimlico is a losing proposition for Mr. De Francis.
The steep descent of Pimlico underlines racing's poor demographics. Its fans are dominated by older men in retirement. Racing doesn't draw the young. There's not enough going on at the track to attract them. Too many other leisure-time activities compete for their attention.
Compounding Mr. De Francis' woes are the slot machines raking in millions at Delaware Park. A big chunk of that money will end up in the race track's purses later this summer and next year. Before long, Delaware Park's purses could be double Pimlico's. That will lure the best Maryland trainers and jockeys -- and bettors.
Pimlico could turn into a third-rate track, a rundown facility that doesn't do enough business to justify a huge capital infusion.
No wonder a worried Mr. De Francis is mentioning the possibility of eventually closing Pimlico, and transferring all his racing dates -- including the Preakness -- to Laurel. Rather than endure a lingering, painful death, Pimlico might be better off with a quick and clean demise.
Free-market purists say a dying industry like racing should be allowed to succumb. Why try to save it through government intervention?
That's persuasive in the abstract. But when you add up all the jobs linked to a healthy Pimlico -- the stable crew, vendors, clerks, track staff -- plus the farm jobs linked to the racing industry and the thousands of acres of farmland dedicated to raising horses, killing Pimlico isn't so clear-cut.
Kiss Pimlico goodbye
Kiss Pimlico goodbye and you could lose much of that green farmland. And how are we going to make up all the jobs lost?
So far, the political response to Pimlico's decline has been discouraging. When Mayor Kurt Schmoke was approached about some sort of city assistance to Pimlico, his initial response was to urge that the Preakness not be moved from Baltimore until after the city's bicentennial celebration next year. Period.
