When Gov. Martin O'Malley announced his support for legalized gambling not long after his election, he did so on a Glyndon stud farm beside Tim Porter, whose struggling horse transportation business was extolled as the kind of small business that slots revenues would help preserve.
Slot-machine parlors are finally on their way to Maryland, but they won't be Porter's salvation. In March, he declared bankruptcy, losing his 20-year-old business, a Westminster home and modest dreams of economic self-sufficiency.
"I didn't think I was ever going to get rich," said Porter, 47. "I thought I could own a house for the rest of my life, that I wouldn't have to have a boss."
Maryland's horse industry - comprising breeders, farmers, trainers, drivers and others - has long known economic struggle. As the popularity of racing has waned, farms have succumbed to suburban sprawl. Purses fattened by casino gambling in neighboring states have lured breeders to Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The troubles come into sharp relief during Preakness Week, with the health of horse-related businesses becoming a disturbing subplot to tales of equine athletes and their accomplishments.
The recession that took root last year has hit Maryland's vulnerable horse industry hard, says Don Litz, owner of Maryland Stallion Station, the stud farm that hosted O'Malley's pro-slots announcement.
"A lot of people who invest in the horse industry do it as a hobby or with discretionary money," said Litz, who gave Porter his first job as a hauler. "That's pretty much dried up."
Litz said his stud business is down about 20 percent for the year as owners choose to breed fewer mares or not breed at all, in order to save on stud fees that range from $1,000 to about $25,000.
After a decade of hauling horses for Litz, Porter struck out on his own in 1989 with a single 24-foot-long van that could transport six animals. Typically, he transported mares to stallions.
"We grew every year and by 2000, we doubled our size," Porter said, boasting two tractor-trailers and five straight trucks. The business supported 10 employees, seven of them full time. He bought a bigger house in Westminster to share with his wife and three kids.
Then the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks hit, which "affected everything," Porter said. Tracks were shut down for several weeks and horse country became as skittish as a high-strung thoroughbred. "Volume just dropped off," he said. Truck and van dealers slashed their prices, and breeders began to haul their own horses, rather than pay someone like Porter for the trouble.
