Harness Tracks

Former Washington Redskins lineman Mark May apparently is part of a group that has made the first formal offer to buy Rosecroft Raceway and Delmarva Downs, the harness tracks that were placed under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection when owner Mark Vogel ran into financial problems three months ago.May, who recently signed with the San Diego Chargers, declinecomment except to say, "We're still interested in the track as before."Jim Murphy, the court-appointed trustee for Rosecroft anDelmarva, said he has received a "written proposal from one group" and expects to receive four more official proposals from groups in the next 30 days.

Like many horse racing tracks across the country, the Ocean Downs harness track on the Eastern Shore is hemorrhaging money. It lost an average of $2 million annually for the past five years. Ocean Downs' owner, William Rickman, wants the state's help. He is pushing a bill, scheduled for consideration Wednesday by a Senate committee, that would allow the state's two harness tracks to keep using a share of the purse money generated from Maryland's casinos to support daily racing operations.

Picasso at Rosecroft?Fred Weisman, the prospective new owner of Rosecroft and Delmarva racetracks, will certainly lend a new, upscale image to Maryland's moribund harness racing industry when he takes over ownership of the scandal-ridden tracks, probably in early November.The California business tycoon, variously described to be 78, 79 and 80 years old in news reports, but who wryly said yesterday that "I'm in my 70s, I think," currently has one other Maryland connection.He is a national trustee on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Museum of Art, a friend of Maryland's noted art collector (and horse owner)

When Penn National Gaming bought the bankrupt Rosecroft Raceway this year, it promised to resume live harness racing there for the first time in nearly three years. To be sure, the giant national gambling conglomerate made clear its intent to also seek slot machines or other kinds of expanded gambling there. But the commitment to resuming racing sounded unconditional: "As the largest operator of pari-mutuel facilities in the country, and the host to an industry high 1,300 live racing events annually, we are uniquely qualified and look forward to working with Rosecroft stakeholders to attempt to restore live racing," the company's CEO, Peter M. Carlino, said in a news release after the purchase was finalized.

MARYLAND'S HORSE RACING woes continue. Paralyzed by the threatened loss of business to Delaware and West Virginia race tracks bolstered by slot machines, the $1 billion-a-year industry is witnessing a virtual takeover of its two harness tracks by gambling interests with little desire to see Maryland racing prosper.Two offers for Rosecroft and Ocean Downs have been discussed by the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association. One would see Bally's Entertainment -- the big casino company -- assume control.

Ted Snell has been named president and general manager at Maryland's two harness tracks, Rosecroft Raceway and Delmarva Downs.Snell, 51, is a native of New Hampshire who has served in a similar capacity at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey the past four years."

They used to call Mark R. Vogel "Mark the Shark" as he zoomed through Maryland's development community gobbling up properties and making a fortune.In his spare time, Vogel gave lots of money to charity, bought the PTC state's harness racing tracks and tried to purchase the Orioles.But times change.First came a crippling slump in the real estate market that has pulled the plug on several of Vogel's developments. At the same time, his two harness tracks have limped along, making only a fraction of what the state's thoroughbred racing industry brings in.Finally, a week ago, Vogel, 42, found himself in jail, arrested in suburban Virginia and charged with possession of cocaine.

Bankers have begun working with besieged race track owner Mark Vogel to help solve his financial problems and at the same time keep his harness tracks operating.Paul Mark Sandler, one of Vogel's attorneys, said his client had "a very productive meeting" with officials of the First National Bank of Maryland yesterday and was to have met with them again this morning.Sandler said Vogel's goal is to organize his finances so that harness racing in Maryland will continue to operate and prosper.

It is a cynical squeeze-play concocted at the last minute to create havoc in Maryland's racing industry and pave the way for casino gambling in this state. And it just might work.Here's what's happened. Maryland's two harness-racing tracks, Rosecroft and Delmarva, are on the verge of bankruptcy. The estate of its deceased owner has the tracks up for sale. The state's 1,400 standardbred owners and trainers, through their Cloverleaf Association, has made a novel suggestion to purchase the two tracks, slowly pay off the debts and keep for themselves any profits through higher purses on races.

In an unusual show of unity, the horse-racing industry has agreed on a legislative proposal for bringing off-track betting to Maryland.Gov. William Donald Schaefer supports the concept, and proponents think OTB will finally win legislative approval after failing the past few years.The proposal, which goes before two legislative committees this week, would allow the state racing commission to license several off-track facilities around the state.Bettors watching oversized televisions in theater-like rooms could gamble on Thoroughbred and harness races broadcast live from tracks in and out of Maryland.

State racing regulators agreed Wednesday to grant a license for Rosecroft Raceway to resume live racing after a three-year hiatus, but placed financial conditions on the owner that some say will keep the facility's operations in limbo. Expressing concerns about the harness track's financial viability, the Maryland Racing Commission voted 7-1 to order parent Penn National Gaming to cover projected operating losses for 2011 and 2012. The decision means live racing won't necessarily resume any time soon at the Prince George's County track.

Maryland Secretary of State John P. McDonough, who is spearheading efforts to keep Rosecroft Raceway open, said Wednesday that there are two or three potential parties who have expressed interest in buying the harness track that closed in June. McDonough said the unidentified potential purchasers would be willing to step up if real estate developer Mark Vogel, a former owner of the track, is not successful in re-acquiring it. A Delaware bankruptcy judge earlier this year rejected Vogel's deal to purchase the track, which filed for bankruptcy in June 2009.

Rosecroft Raceway, the bankrupt racetrack in Prince George's County, will close July 1 after running out of money to operate — in yet another setback for the ailing horse racing industry in Maryland. Rosecroft had been struggling for years as it saw a revolving door of owners, stopped running live racing and then lost the right to broadcast simulcast thoroughbred races. Earlier this year, the state legislature rejected a bill sought by the track to legalize poker and table games there.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller wants a slot-machine parlor in his native Prince George's County, a desire that threatens to inflame the gambling debate in Annapolis once again as lawmakers consider minor changes to bolster the state's fledgling slots program. Miller, a Democrat who represents Calvert and Prince George's counties, said Thursday that he is in discussions with Prince George's leaders and others about bringing gambling to the county to help save Rosecroft Raceway, a long-struggling harness track.

OCEAN CITY - The dusty harness track in Berlin, with its minor-league charm and horse-and-buggy night races, is no threat to the tourism juggernaut on the beach five miles away - and that's just how Ocean City business and political leaders want to keep it. But if Marylanders vote in November to legalize slot machine gambling, Ocean Downs is the likely site for a 2,500-machine casino, a prospect that conjures nightmares in the minds of town officials, who...

A deal to sell Rosecroft Raceway to Penn National Gaming was announced by both parties yesterday after a full vote of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association approved the deal that had been tentatively accepted two weeks ago. "I think this is a very definite positive for the harness industry," said Tom Chuckas Jr., Rosecroft's chief executive officer. "I see it stabilizing racing here at Rosecroft for an extended period of time for the harness horsemen in purses and days of racing.

Harness racing has moved a step closer to having a nighttime simulcast center in Baltimore.Last night, harness horsemen met in Kent Island and unanimously approved a financial agreement with the management of Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways that paves the way for standardbred races to be simulcast into Laurel and Pimlico thoroughbred tracks at night.The intertrack "cross-breed" arrangement, in which thoroughbred races then would be simulcast in the afternoons at Rosecroft and Delmarva, is expected to start Jan. 22, according to an official of the harness tracks.

At least three potential operators of off-track betting parlors attended a meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission yesterday, at which the board started considering rules for regulating OTB facilities.The public meeting took place a day after Gov. William Donald Schaefer signed into law legislation that permits OTB parlors in the state."What I wanted to do was to take the boiler-plate approach and have an open discussion of the proposed rules in front of all the major representatives of the horsemen, track operators and breeders," said John H. Mosner Jr., the board's chairman.

Magna Entertainment Corp., the Canadian company that owns Maryland's thoroughbred racetracks and the Preakness, announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement to sell its ownership interest in The Meadows, a harness track near Pittsburgh. The sale, to a company that operates casinos in Las Vegas and a California-based investment firm, is expected to gross $225 million for Magna Entertainment, which will continue to manage racing operations. "It was not an easy decision to sell The Meadows but one we concluded was the right decision in terms of maximizing return to our shareholders," said Tom Hodgson, president and chief executive officer of Magna Entertainment.

MARYLAND'S SHRINKING horse racing season has prompted much talk about the need for government intervention. One imagines there may even be average citizens who, upon reading of these events, decide that they really ought to patronize Pimlico or Laurel racetracks some evening soon. The trouble is, they can't. Maryland bans thoroughbred racing at night. That's right; the Average Joe, who generally finds himself working at 1 p.m. on weekdays, is out of luck. Is this any way to run a business?