One piece of Preakness tradition appears to be missing this year: the prediction that without a quick infusion of cash from slot machine gambling, the race could be Baltimore's last.
Days before the running of the second leg of the Triple Crown, Maryland stands closer than ever to legalizing slots. Magna Entertainment Corp., the Canadian company that owns the Pimlico and Laurel Park racetracks - and with them the Preakness - is signaling that it will weigh in to make sure voters approve a slots referendum in November.
Company officials are hinting that they will partner with an established gambling operator, a move that could assuage concerns about Magna's financial management; and Joseph A. De Francis, the former owner of the Maryland Jockey Club, said he's willing to renegotiate a profit-sharing deal some believe might hinder the company's chances of landing a slots license.
All that is making racing officials more optimistic about the Preakness' future than they have been in years.
"The Preakness is a Maryland tradition," said Scott P. Borgemenke, Magna's executive vice president for racing. "The Preakness is going to be here ... with or without the slots referendum."
Voters will decide in November whether to allow 15,000 "video lottery terminals" across the state, with a large part of the proceeds dedicated to propping up horse racing. The law that would implement the slots program prohibits establishing one-armed bandits at Pimlico, but it includes provisions designed to keep the Preakness in Baltimore.
Borgemenke's statement is a sign of support from a badly struggling company that has hinted in recent years that if the lawmakers failed to approve slots, the Preakness might be moved to another of the company's numerous racetracks.
With polls showing a strong majority of Maryland voters backing expanded gambling, racing analysts say Magna's prospects for a slots-funded bailout look good.
"I'm very optimistic about the referendum," said John B. Franzone, chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission. "I can't see people saying we're going to accept more school closings and accept higher taxes when we know we're losing all this money to bordering states" with track-side slots.
If the referendum passes, Borgemenke said, Magna plans to bid on the slots license designated for a narrow stretch of Anne Arundel County that includes Laurel Park. He said Magna was interested in finding "gaming partners" who could bolster its ability to successfully operate what would be a 4,750-machine slots emporium.
