Maryland Horse Racing

The battle over the future of Maryland horse racing is being waged in an unlikely place -- a strip shopping center on U.S. 11 outside Hagerstown.It is there that the huge Bally casino-hotel company wants to topple the status quo in state racing with its proposal to open an off-track betting operation that would directly compete with Maryland's powerful thoroughbred industry.While several of the nation's biggest casino companies have hired lobbyists to patrol the State House, Bally is the first to make a multimillion-dollar investment in a state gambling enterprise, having already purchased an Eastern Shore harness track and acquired an option on another near Washington.

A recent article titled "Study calls for low-cost housing" was factual as written; but the subhed, "Brown says it would cost county too much," inadequately summarized my views.No one, including myself, would reasonably argue that the housing needs of families earning moderate incomes of $45,000- $50,000 shouldn't be addressed. My comments, made during the meeting described in the article, were directed to the assembled members of the Carroll County Homebuilders Association and were an admonition that if they are to continue mass-producing low- to moderate-priced housing in Carroll County, then they will have to further shoulder the burden of providing needed schools, roads, etc.The plain fact of the matter is that any house taxed at a value of less than $250,000, on average, generates less in tax revenue than the cost of services provided to the house's occupants.

The Kentucky Derby winner and oddsmakers' favorite for the Preakness Stakes isn't exactly a Maryland horse, but he's close - Orb is partially owned by a Baltimore County businessman, and his sire spent some time in Harford County. Attendance at Saturday's races might or might not set an all-time record, but it's bound to be close - top-flight music acts, it seems, are a bigger draw than BYOB debauchery. The weather may not be perfect, but it will be close - the latest forecast is for a high of 72 but with a slight chance of showers.

The best spin you can give Frank Stronach is that he has good intentions but makes bad deals with inappropriate partners — people who seem more interested in slot-machine riches than in the thoroughbred racing he loves. To get Joseph De Francis and associates to sell him Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, Stronach agreed to give them millions in future slot-machine profits — if and when slots came to the tracks. Stronach then spent years trying to renegotiate the deal — a strange focus for someone who kept saying horse racing didn't need slots.

After reading the casino story ("Bright and shiny slot machines being plugged in," Aug. 7), I still can't understand why the two existing horse-race tracks are not getting any slots. Wasn't that the first intention years ago? It would have been great to bet a few races, play a little slots, bet a few races, have a nice dinner; play a little slots, bet the triple and go home with some winnings. For those that don't know, it's pretty exciting having bet a horse and seeing it come down the stretch with a chance to win. It's a shame that Maryland horse racing has declined the way it has. Duane McKeever, Parkville

There are 14 bridles hanging on the wall of trainer Greg Wilson's equipment room at Laurel Race Course. But Wilson only has four animals in his care -- three horses and a goat.Elsewhere at the track, a veterinarian has lost so much business he has had to begin making "farm calls." A shortage of thoroughbreds has forced Laurel to cut a race a day from its program. And in Frederick County, a horseman who used to break -- or train for riding -- nearly 20 horses a year, is now driving a school bus part-time to make ends meet.

In another time, Maryland was a hotbed for horse racing, its history rich and its purses comparable to other states. It was a place where jockeys could make a career and not have to contemplate leaving for New York or California. Since the late 1980s, and maybe longer, being an up-and-coming rider at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park has been akin to being a burgeoning major league star at Camden Yards. Bigger markets — with longer racing seasons and more lucrative purses — beckon.

Maryland horse racing may be on shaky ground, but Laurel Park in winter is still appealing to a number of trainers from outside the state. With the 48-day winter meet set to begin at Laurel Park on Jan. 4, and the weather growing colder up north, Laurel appears to be a popular haven. Twenty-five new trainers have brought their horses here, which is more than in years past. "The New England boys have been coming here for years, after their tracks' seasons end," Maryland Jockey Club racing secretary Georganne Hale said.

Bill Boniface of Bonita Farms in Darlington won the 1983 Preakness with Deputed Testamony. He remembers the buzz his horse created during the week leading into the race and after the victory. He can't wait for the 2011 Preakness in two weeks now that trainer Graham Motion's Animal Kingdom, a horse based in Fair Hill, Md., won the Kentucky Derby Saturday. "I think it will be a plus for Maryland, and, as you well know, we need some good news," Boniface said Saturday. "It's going to add excitement for the local trainers.

Maryland horsemen learned Monday afternoon they'd have to wait longer for a definitive answer on the state's racing dates for the 2012 season. "We've had productive meetings," said John McDaniel, a member of the Maryland Racing Commission who has spearheaded the discussions. "Both parties have entered the dialogue with desire to reach an agreement. " But no agreement has been reached, and the Maryland Jockey Club has not put in a request for any racing dates. Tracks often ask for 365 days as a way to meet the Dec. 1 deadline and request specific live dates later.