Bally

Consumers who believe they may be due a refund under a recent Federal Trade Commission agreement with the Bally health club chain, which operates Holiday Health Spas in Maryland, have until the close of business Monday to call the FTC hot line in Washington.The deadline of April 25 was set this week, when a federal judge signed a consent order that gives legal force to an agreement between the Bally chain and the FTC.FTC investigators had found that Bally charged credit cards or debited bank accounts without authorization, used harassment or deception to collect on consumer debts and failed to give pro-rated refunds when customers canceled memberships.

The request by Bally's Maryland Inc., owner of the Ocean Downs harness track, to open an off-track betting center in Hagerstown remains the centerpiece of today's Maryland Racing Commission agenda -- despite Monday's statement by Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr.Curran urged the commission to let the General Assembly decide the controversial issue of who can profit from simulcasting out-of-state thoroughbred races to Maryland bettors. The commissioners could abide by that and still rule on Bally's request, since Bally's is willing to open the OTB site and simulcast only harness races.

The board of directors of Cloverleaf Enterprises, Inc., has rejected a counteroffer by casino company Bally's to bail out Rosecroft Raceway and Ocean Downs."

Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. reached an agreement yesterday with casino giant Bally's Inc. that includes the sale of Ocean Downs and a change of management at Rosecroft Raceway.Just 24 hours earlier, Cloverleaf, an organization of harness horsemen, had rejected a scheduled deposit from William Rickman Jr., owner of Delaware Park, to purchase both tracks after its board had voted unanimously to accept Rickman's buyout.The agreement with Bally's removes the threat of possible legal action by the casino firm had the horsemen sold to Rickman.

FORT WASHINGTON -- The owners of the state's two harness racetracks rejected a proposed bailout last night from casino operator Bally Entertainment Co., but voted to keep talking to the company to try to strike a better deal.The stockholders of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., the owner of Rosecroft and Ocean Downs racetracks, dismissed the unanimous advice of the board of directors and voted 23-5 against the proposed settlement.Cloverleaf is a unit of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, which represents harness horse owners and trainers in the Mid-Atlantic.

Harness horsemen from the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners' Association received a warm but wary reception from the Maryland Racing Commission in Timonium yesterday when the horsemen presented the board with their plans to purchase Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways.There seem to be few obstacles in the way as the board and a legislative review committee go through an expedited examination process over the next 15 days to assist Cloverleaf in purchasing the tracks by June 29. That's the date the current owner, Colt Enterprises, has scheduled to file for bankruptcy and close the tracks unless the deal is completed.

Don't expect a chink to develop in the armor of the state's thoroughbred and harness racing industries as they present a unified front against the possible infringement of casino gaming on their gambling turf.By lending nearly $11 million to harness horsemen to buy Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways, Bally Entertainment Corp., one of the country's largest casino operators, virtually owns Maryland's two harness racing tracks.Initially, thoroughbred horsemen and track management regarded Bally as an evil interloper that could split its coalition with the harness side of the industry in an effort to keep out casinos.

When the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners' Association board meets tonight, it will be deciding how to gamble on the future of harness racing in Maryland.One board member, trainer Bibb Roberts, is placing his bet with a casino operator, Bally's. Another board member, breeder Joe Thomson, is putting his money on Cloverleaf. They represent the opposing viewpoints on whether the Rosecroft and Delmarva tracks should be sold to a casino operator or to horsemen."I'm going with Bally's," Roberts said.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Maryland Racing Commission deferred action yesterday on a request by Bally's Maryland Inc., owners of the Ocean Downs harness track on the Eastern Shore, to open an off-track betting parlor in Hagerstown.After a 90-minute hearing here at the Ramada Inn, the commission voted to postpone discussion of the controversial matter until its Sept. 10 meeting. No commission member voiced an opinion on Bally's request, but other than representatives of Bally's itself, no one speaking at the hearing supported it."

The Maryland Racing Commission deferred action yesterday on the request by Bally's Maryland Inc. to open an off-track betting center near Hagerstown.E. William Furey, commission chairman, said commissioners had not had time to digest Monday's 15-page opinion by Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. The opinion addressed the thorny issue of whether the owner of a harness track in Maryland can offer its bettors out-of-state races of thoroughbreds without the consent of the state's thoroughbred interests: the tracks, horse owners and horse breeders.