Delaware Park

When Mike Lee heard that the Hollywood Casino Perryville was opening this morning, a few days ahead of schedule, he scratched his plans for golf and headed for the slot machines. When the casino opened its doors to the public at 8 a.m. -- the beginning of a new chapter in Maryland gambling -- Lee was the first of about 35 people in line. "I could have played golf in the rain. This seemed a little more entertaining," said the 59-year-old retiree from Havre de Grace. Within an hour, nearly 200 people had braved a steady rain to get a peek at the new casino, the first of the five planned in Maryland to open.

This racetrack and gaming venue is one of three venues on the East Coast to offer parlay sports betting on professional football. This destination offers racing, slots, table games, sports betting, golf and dining. Casino hours: 24 hours a day. Closed Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. Games to play: Table games include blackjack, craps, roulette, poker and baccarat, among others. Delaware Park's slot machines range from denominations of half a cent to $50. Reels and video machines are available, as well as progressive slots and electronic table games.

This racetrack and gaming venue is one of three venues on the East Coast to offer parlay sports betting on professional football. This destination offers racing, slots, table games, sports betting, golf and dining. Casino hours: 24 hours a day. Closed Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. Games to play: Table games include blackjack, craps, roulette, poker and baccarat, among others. Delaware Park's slot machines range from denominations of half a cent to $50. Reels and video machines are available, as well as progressive slots and electronic table games.

I just spent a wonderful day off in Delaware Park, playing in two poker tournaments, shooting craps and playing blackjack. I actually won a few bucks that I spent in tax-free Delaware. When I returned to Baltimore, I saw that the slots parlor in Ocean City would open soon. Every state around us has full casinos, and we are now getting slots. That is just what we need — another way to tax the poor and the uneducated. There is nothing more mindless than pulling handles all day long, and like the lottery, slots give the worst odds in the casino.

Michael Gill, the nation's leading thoroughbred owner who was recently barred from several racetracks, has filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court of New Hampshire against Delaware Park, Gulfstream Park, officials at the tracks and two trainers. Gill, a resident of New Hampshire, filed the suits Wednesday. He stables about 100 horses at Laurel Park and the Bowie Training Center, but has been prohibited from stabling horses at several other tracks. Gill has been criticized for aggressive claiming tactics and suspected of administering performance-enhancing drugs to his horses.

STANTON, Del. -- Delaware Park announced yesterday that it will continue racing five days a week, instead of the originally planned four, and that it will extend its meet from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15. Racing will continue on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Beginning Sept. 13, Monday racing will shift to Tuesday through the end of the month. Post time each day will be 1:15 p.m., except this Friday's, which will be 3:30 p.m.

THEY'RE ONLY an 80-minute drive apart, but there's a world of difference between Delaware Park and Pimlico. While both thoroughbred operations struggle to attract fans, Delaware Park has what Pimlico sorely lacks: slot machines. Two thousand of them sit in a gleaming palace beneath the near-empty grandstand. Ten thousand people a day, on average, visit this gambling mecca. Only two or three hundred people show up on weekdays to follow the horse racing action next door. At Delaware Park, horses are secondary.

Looking forward to gaining clearance from her doctor April 18 to return to riding, jockey Anna "Rosie" Napravnik said she has major changes planned for when she gets back in the saddle. The Eclipse Award runner-up for apprentice jockey last season, Napravnik said she has come upon an opportunity too good to pass up and will move her riding base from Maryland to Delaware Park. As part of that arrangement, she will also begin working with agent Steve Rushing, recognized as the top jockey agent in the Mid-Atlantic.

Jockey Jeremy Rose, coming off a three-month suspension for striking a horse in the face at Delaware Park, ended a frustrating day at the Maryland Million at Laurel Park yesterday when he won the $200,000 Ladies, the seventh race of the day, aboard Miss Lombardi. Until then, Rose - who has said he did not intentionally whip Appeal to the City in the face during a race June 23 - had been on chalk or near-favorite entries in the first five races yesterday. But although he finished in the money in four of those races, he managed nothing better than a second place, in the $200,000 Turf, the fourth race, with Dr. Rico.

- With the pro football playoffs approaching, Jim Nielsen could think of nothing more appealing than a drive to Delaware. No, his beloved Philadelphia Eagles had not moved across the state line. Nielsen and his son just wanted to add a little spice to their football watching, by betting on the games. Before this season, that would've required a search for offshore bookmakers or a flight to Las Vegas. But now, eager NFL wagerers from Maryland, Pennsylvania and other states can simply visit one of Delaware's three slots parlors to take advantage of the nation's newest state-licensed sports book.

Shame on the Maryland Jockey Club! After years of letting the tracks degrade, constantly asking for state help, waiting for slots to redeem their poor management, now that slots will not be at Laurel Park, they are threatening to destroy live racing in Maryland. If they do not want to continue the great tradition of Maryland thoroughbred racing, they should bow out and let David Cordish run the tracks. The thoroughbred industry does not consist only of the racetracks, owners, breeders and trainers but also of grooms, hotwalkers, veterinarians, blacksmiths, hay, feed and tack businesses, not to mention the farms themselves.

colleges Terps' O'Donnell wins Sportswoman of Year Award Senior Katie O'Donnell of the Maryland field hockey team was named the Women's Sports Foundation's Sportswoman of the Year award Tuesday night at the annual Salute to Women in Sports banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. The Maryland coaching staff, the O'Donnell family and athletics director Kevin Anderson were all in attendance as O'Donnell was named the year's top performer for all team sport competitors.

When Mike Lee heard that the Hollywood Casino Perryville was opening this morning, a few days ahead of schedule, he scratched his plans for golf and headed for the slot machines. When the casino opened its doors to the public at 8 a.m. -- the beginning of a new chapter in Maryland gambling -- Lee was the first of about 35 people in line. "I could have played golf in the rain. This seemed a little more entertaining," said the 59-year-old retiree from Havre de Grace. Within an hour, nearly 200 people had braved a steady rain to get a peek at the new casino, the first of the five planned in Maryland to open.

After reading yet another article regarding the delay in putting slots in Anne Arundel County ("Maryland high court to hear slots case," July 8) it is increasingly clear how far behind the curve Maryland is with regard to gaming. Maryland needs to either embrace or forbid gambling. This would also include getting rid of the lottery. We all know this will never happen. The legislature needs to start from scratch and work to approve full casino style gaming. I am preparing for my second trip to Delaware Park to enjoy an afternoon of poker in a beautiful, well managed establishment surrounded by lush grounds and plenty of free parking.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- With the pro football playoffs approaching, Jim Nielsen could think of nothing more appealing than a drive to Delaware. No, his beloved Philadelphia Eagles had not moved across the state line. Nielsen and his son just wanted to add a little spice to their football watching, by betting on the games. Before this season, that would've required a search for offshore bookmakers or a flight to Las Vegas. But now, eager NFL wagerers from Maryland, Pennsylvania and other states can simply visit one of Delaware's three slots parlors to take advantage of the nation's newest state-licensed sports book.

- With the pro football playoffs approaching, Jim Nielsen could think of nothing more appealing than a drive to Delaware. No, his beloved Philadelphia Eagles had not moved across the state line. Nielsen and his son just wanted to add a little spice to their football watching, by betting on the games. Before this season, that would've required a search for offshore bookmakers or a flight to Las Vegas. But now, eager NFL wagerers from Maryland, Pennsylvania and other states can simply visit one of Delaware's three slots parlors to take advantage of the nation's newest state-licensed sports book.

John's Call, the 10-year-old gelding from Maryland, will bypass the Sussex Handicap tomorrow at Delaware Park and run instead in the Man o' War Stakes on Sept. 8 at Belmont Park, trainer Tom Voss said yesterday. Voss said he was concerned about the condition of Delaware Park's turf course and also wanted to give John's Call another week to recover from his last-place finish Aug. 11 in a Saratoga stakes in which he bled from the lungs for the first time. Voss since has breezed John's Call for the first time on Lasix and will use the anti-bleeding medicine at Belmont as the gelding tries to be the oldest horse to win a Grade I non-steeplechase race.

After 41 races in Maryland, Mary's Buckaroo competed outside the state for the first time yesterday, rallied from last and won the $100,000, six-furlong Wilmington Handicap at Delaware Park in Stanton.Trained by Mary JoAnne Hughes, the son of Roo Art and Mary Bo Peep prevailed by 1 1/4 lengths under Maryland-based Mario Verge and paid $6.40 to win.It was the 6-year-old's 14th triumph and increased his earnings to $598,433.Pub Date: 6/15/97

The slots parlors coming to Maryland are expected to feature electronic gambling terminals that incorporate popular game shows, celebrities and even life-size digitized blackjack and poker dealers. The state's effort to purchase such elaborate machines could begin as soon as next week and would mark a major milestone for a program that has gotten under way in fits and starts since voters approved slots last year. But the strategy could saddle taxpayers with millions of dollars per year in additional costs in the middle of a state budget crisis and faces criticism from gambling foes who say the parlors once described as limited forays into gambling are becoming more like full-blown casinos.

In the arms race of legalized gambling, Delaware last week pushed its chips "all in" as Gov. Jack Markell signed a bill legalizing sports betting and table games. If all goes as planned (and professional sports leagues are unsuccessful in their legal attempts to ensure it doesn't), the state's three racinos could be taking sports bets by fall and running table games before the end of the year. This makes Maryland the proverbial Pakistan of the gambling cold war. We may have recently gotten the big one - slots - but our arsenal-in-progress is a pittance compared to the major players.