Cloverleaf

The Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, the harness horsemen's group attempting to purchase Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways from Colt Enterprises, will be able to extend its option to buy the two financially troubled tracks past the original 90-day deadline set for May 9, Cloverleaf officials said yesterday.But at the same time, Colt management is continuing to talk to at least one other group, Top Speed Entertainment, which has expressed interest in buying the tracks, in case the Cloverleaf deal doesn't work out."

In a sports article in Thursday's editions of The Sun about the state's harness racing industry, Beth Trotto was identified as a Rosecroft Raceway board member. She is a member of the board of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners' Association, whose members are stockholders of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. That entity, which owns and operates the track, has a separate board.

Maryland's thoroughbred tracks have offered to jump in with a loan of $1 million earmarked for operating expenses to help the Cloverleaf harness horsemen's group buy financially troubled Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways.The loan, coupled with Cloverleaf's assumption of the track owners' debtload, is one of seven proposals the 32-member board of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners' Association will consider today when it meets in Annapolis to chart how the organization will proceed in order to settle on the purchase of the tracks by the end of June.

The owners of Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George's County have refused to extend a Nov. 1 deadline for an Indiana-based casino company to complete its purchase of the track, throwing into question the future ownership of a potential location for lucrative slot machine gambling. Centaur Inc. responded by filing a lawsuit yesterday in Marion County Circuit Court that seeks to block Rosecroft's owners from striking a new deal with any other potential buyer. The harness track in Oxon Hill just off the Capital Beltway is regarded by gambling experts as potentially the most lucrative site in Maryland for a huge slots emporium.

At Cloverleaf Business Park in Millersville, the latest building under construction contains a child-care center intended to serve both area residents and workers at the park.Set to open in mid-May, the Cloverleaf Child Development Center will provide care for up to 50 children between the ages of 2 months and 5 years. It is the second child-care center owned by Lenora McDermott, who has another facility in Crofton.The 4,500-square-foot center is housed in part of the new, one-story building, which contains 42,000 square feet.

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 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.

The Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, Inc. said yesterday that it has "executed" a formal letter of intent to buy Rosecroft/Delmarva Raceways from Colt Enterprises and that the deal, if consummated, will save the two harness tracks from going into bankruptcy.The price placed on the tracks has not been disclosed, but a source said it is an $11 million deal, in which Cloverleaf could assume Colt's $8 million bank debt and pay off another nearly $3 million in short-term debt that the tracks owe vendors.

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.

Despite predictions of a bleak future for Maryland's harness ++ industry, the Maryland Racing Commission voted unanimously yesterday to allow Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. to operate the financially troubled Rosecroft Raceway.The commission voted to issue Cloverleaf a license, but ordered its leaders to submit quarterly financial reports beginning April 15. Cloverleaf's financial prospects are less than golden, its own leaders acknowledged. But those leaders and members of the commission agreed that they're brighter since last week's deal with Bally's Maryland Inc., a subsidiary of the casino and hotel giant.

A Millersville day care center filed an appeal yesterday of an administrative law judge's decision revoking its license. In its appeal, Cloverleaf Child Development Center asked Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to block the revocation order until the case is decided, saying that closing during the appeal would disrupt the lives of 115 children, their parents and center employees. Lenora Porzillo, owner of the day care center in the 8200 block of Cloverleaf Drive, contended that the ruling issued March 13 by Administrative Law Judge Georgia Brady contained inaccuracies.

A former owner of Ocean Downs decided yesterday to regain control of the harness track on the Eastern Shore, a move that would block Delaware Park owner William Rickman Jr. from expanding his holdings. The board of directors of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. voted at 2:30 p.m. yesterday to regain Ocean Downs by exercising a first right of refusal, said John P. Davey. He is the lawyer for Cloverleaf, which owns Rosecroft Raceway, the harness track in Prince George's County. Cloverleaf will borrow $5.1 million from the Maryland Jockey Club to complete the deal.

The cloverleaf -- the emblem of highway design for more than half a century -- is being snipped. The graceful loops that once promised easy access to the nation's freeways have been overwhelmed by the speed and congestion of suburban traffic, creating a nightmare of crisscrossing motorists. Now, as part of a nationwide search for safer alternatives, several Beltway cloverleafs will be pruned -- first at the Dulaney Valley Road interchange north of Towson. "No one ever expected the growth in the automobile that we've had," said Tom Hicks, director of Traffic and Safety with the State Highway Administration.

Goodbye, cloverleaf. Hello, traffic flow.That's the hope of state transportation officials who have come up with redesigns for three key Towson exits off Interstate 695 to ease daily gridlock from more than 150,000 vehicles.The planned projects are the first phase of a $200 million effort to widen the Beltway from Interstate 83 east through Lutherville and Towson to the Parkville area.Work will begin in spring 1999 when State Highway Administration engineers are scheduled to begin dismantling parts of the Dulaney Valley intersection at the Beltway.

Francis J. Kelly, 78, one of the founders of the Army's Green Berets, died Friday in Denver of complications from Alzheimer's disease.His wife, Elizabeth Baum Shwayder, said he was believed to be the most decorated combat colonel in the Vietnam War. John Wayne met with Mr. Kelly in Vietnam while preparing for the role of Col. Mike Kirby, a composite figure, in the 1968 movie "The Green Berets."Sidney Harshman, 67, an internationally respected microbiologist, died Thursday in Nashville, Tenn.

The goal is the Maryland juvenile championship, and Carnivorous Habit took another step toward achieving it yesterday.While treated with Lasix and running with blinkers for the first time, the Hickory Plains Farm colt rallied from just off the pace and beat Monk's Falcon by a length to win the $60,000 Rollicking Stakes at Laurel Park.The victory, coupled with an impressive win in the Maryland Million Nursery Oct. 18, makes Carnivorous Habit the front-runner for the "baby" title here.Trainer Hamilton Smith said he is pointing Carnivorous Habit for the Maryland Juvenile Stakes the day after Christmas with the intention of wrapping up the 2-year-old honor.

Not so fast, Howard County.You promised us a cloverleaf.That's the rallying cry of community activists near the clogged intersection of Route 175 and Snowden River Parkway. They are asking the Howard County Planning Board to reconsider its approval of a shopping center under construction, which will draw even more traffic to the congested area.The Planning Board may take up the request tomorrow night, Chairman Ted Mariani said.The controversy goes back to last summer, when the board approved the Columbia Crossing shopping center near the intersection.

The cloverleaf -- the emblem of highway design for more than half a century -- is being snipped. The graceful loops that once promised easy access to the nation's freeways have been overwhelmed by the speed and congestion of suburban traffic, creating a nightmare of crisscrossing motorists. Now, as part of a nationwide search for safer alternatives, several Beltway cloverleafs will be pruned -- first at the Dulaney Valley Road interchange north of Towson. "No one ever expected the growth in the automobile that we've had," said Tom Hicks, director of Traffic and Safety with the State Highway Administration.

COLUMBIA PRO Cantare, a nonprofit musical group, celebrates its 20th anniversary this season.The opening concert, "Serenade to Music," features guest vocalists Kishna Davis, Marianna Busching, Charles Reid and Lester Lynch.The program includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Handel, Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin.The performance begins at 7: 30 p.m. at the Jim Rouse Theater for the Performing Arts.Tickets for the Nov. 1 performance are $20. The audience may join the performers at a reception after the concert.

If Balanced Budget can become completely healthy, he might be headed to the Preakness.The chestnut colt added another impressive victory to his resume yesterday, beating For Real Zeal by a length in the $53,150 Dancing Count Stakes at Laurel Park.And afterward, trainer and part-owner Eddie Gaudet said he would like to run Balanced Budget in the Preakness."He has trouble with pharyngitis [congestion]," said Gaudet. "Almost every time that he hasn't run well, he had mucous. We're treating it and we hope he gets over it. I think if we do get it under control, he'll go two turns.