Maryland Racing Commission

The Maryland Racing Commission learned yesterday that the Maryland Jockey Club is working on a proposal for a new simulcast betting facility at a restaurant in Solomons in Calvert County. It would be the fifth off-track betting (OTB) facility regulated by the commission, joining The Cracked Claw near Frederick, North East Racing & Sports Club in North East, the Cambridge Turf Club in Cambridge and the Riverboat Restaurant in Colonial Beach, Va., which straddles the Maryland/Virginia state line.

North East -- The Maryland Racing Commission listened to an update on the industry at its monthly board meeting yesterday and lamented the previously announced $3 million cut in purses and stakes that will be put into place beginning in August, when racing resumes at Laurel Park. Then the commission approved the request by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association for another cut - in bonuses paid to Maryland-breds that win races at the state's tracks. The bonuses - paid to a winning horse's breeder, to the owner of the horse's sire and to the horse's owner - are funded by 1.1 percent of the tracks' live handle.

The Maryland Racing Commission yesterday approved the application for the sale of Rosecroft Raceway and issued a license to Penn Maryland LLC to conduct racing at the track once the sales contract is final. That's expected to happen shortly after Nov. 18. "This is the culmination of a lot of effort," said John Finamore, senior vice president of regional operations for Penn National Gaming, which will oversee the Rosecroft operation. Penn Maryland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Penn National Gaming Inc., has agreed to purchase Rosecroft for $20 million from Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. The commission approved the purchase after hearing from assistant attorney general Bruce Spizler, who reviewed the deal; from Mike Hopkins, the Commission's executive director, who sought comments from 14 other commissions that supervise Penn National operations elsewhere; and from Craig Gegorek, a CPA for Gegorek & Vardavas Chartered who gave a positive report.

Maryland's major thoroughbred racetracks, taking their first tentative steps into the world of Internet gambling, have reached agreement that will allow fans to bet on races at Pimlico Race Course or Laurel Park from their home computers.Races and data -- including audio and video -- from the Maryland tracks will be Web cast by Youbet.com Inc., a Los Angeles-based interactive technology company. Subscribers will pay a monthly fee, now $5.95, open an account and place bets over their computers.

CHESAPEAKE CITY -- Representatives of the Maryland Jockey Club and Poor Jimmy's Restaurant in Cecil County will huddle this afternoon to try to hammer out an agreement that would allow the restaurant to continue operating as an off-track betting facility beyond the March 31 expiration of its license.That was the outcome of a lively give-and-take session at the monthly Maryland Racing Commission meeting yesterday at posh Winbak Farm (formerly Windfields), one of the largest breeding operations in America.

OPENING a third thoroughbred racetrack in Maryland would be a losing proposition. Anyone making such an investment would be doing so for reasons other than turning a profit.That's the judgment of experts in the field who view Gov. Parris N. Glendening's proposal to authorize additional thoroughbred tracks as a none-too-subtle attempt to punish Joseph A. De Francis, owner of the Laurel and Pimlico tracks -- who gave strong support to Mr. Glendening's foes in last year's elections.Horse racing is an industry tottering on the edge.

The executive boards for Maryland's horsemen and breeders have voted to recommend ratification of a revenue-sharing agreement between the state's thoroughbred and harness industries.The action culminates two years of intensive -- and sometimes bitter -- negotiations and provides for the thoroughbred side to receive 80 percent of all revenue produced at every Maryland pari-mutuel betting site, with 20 percent going to the harness group.The presidents of the state's thoroughbred breeders and horsemen's associations must approve the deal, but that is considered a formality.

The Maryland Racing Commission has voted not to extend the off-track betting license of Poor Jimmy's Restaurant in Cecil County, although its management and the Maryland Jockey Club have reached a tentative agreement to improve the facility.Poor Jimmy's license expired yesterday and the matter now cannot be addressed until the April meeting of the commission.Commission chairman John Franzone was in California on business yesterday, but a phone poll of commission members was conducted.Pub Date: 4/1/99

Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday got his first look at the renovations proposed for Pimlico Race Course as part of his demand that the track be improved before the state invests more money in the industry."

The Maryland Jockey Club has signed a letter of intent to televise races on a proposed cable television network that will include an in-home wagering system."

LAUREL - - Davidson horse trainer and owner Hubert "Butch" Cave had a hearty laugh Saturday when someone told him she decided to bet on his horse, Sumacha'hot, in the Maryland Million Classic because his "wife" had passed along a tip that the horse was going to win. "I'm not married, and I'm not even dating anyone," Cave said, shaking his head. "So I don't know where that came from. When you own racehorses, the women tend to run the other way." Still, someone was out there talking up Sumacha'hot, and whoever it was, she seemed to know something few others did. The 4-year-old horse, which Cave picked up for $5,000 in a claiming race less than a year ago, won the $200,000 Maryland Million Classic on Saturday at the 24th running of the Jim McKay Maryland Million in front of 19,622 at Laurel Park.

With his Black-Eyed Susan win Friday, trainer Larry Jones is in position to take the rare double-double he came close to winning last year. Payton d'Oro easily gave Jones the victory, holding a steady lead throughout after setting the pace early along the rail. Jones will run Friesan Fire in Saturday's Preakness Stakes, a horse that was a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby before struggling in the mud at Churchill Downs. If Friesan Fire wins, it will mean personal vindication for Jones.

The Maryland Racing Commission revoked Tuesday its approval that allowed Rosecroft Raceway to receive televised thoroughbred racing for simulcast wagering. The commission's action, effective at midnight Wednesday, came as a result of Rosecroft's failure to pay the state's thoroughbred industry - namely the Maryland Jockey Club, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the Maryland Horse Breeders Association - a premium required under a 2006 agreement. Kelley Rogers, who runs Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., which owns Rosecroft, promised to be in court Wednesday to seek emergency relief from the commission's order.

A large creditor of the bankrupt owner of Maryland's thoroughbred tracks opposes the auction procedures being proposed to sell Laurel Park and Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes. PNC Bank, whose loans are secured by all assets associated with Laurel and Pimlico, said Magna Entertainment Corp.'s proposal fails to protect the bank's interests and those of other secured creditors, according to documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The bank said Pimlico might fetch higher bids if it is sold before its highly profitable major race in May. Canadian-based Magna filed for bankruptcy protection this month after carrying a huge debt load and losing millions during the past several years.

The Maryland Racing Commission approved a 2009 race schedule yesterday that includes as many dates through April as this year's slate. But officials warned that races could be dropped during the year if the industry's economic woes continue. Total purses for stakes races will be $265,000 lower than last year for Laurel Park's 59-date winter calendar, which will run from Jan. 1 to April 13. Though the industry foresees larger purses in the future because voters passed a slots plan this month, racing officials do not expect revenue injections from slots until 2010.

The Maryland Racing Commission approved new restrictions on anabolic steroids for thoroughbreds yesterday that are expected to be in place by Jan. 1. The vote, which had been expected for weeks, followed a similar move last month by the Kentucky Racing Commission. New York, home of the Triple Crown's third jewel, the Belmont Stakes, is also considering stricter rules on doping. Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia have similar restrictions in place. The issue came to the forefront after filly Eight Belles collapsed in this year's Kentucky Derby and Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow acknowledged having used the anabolic steroid stanozolol on the Derby and Preakness winner.

Further diminishing an already struggling industry, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association plans to discontinue the financing of six stakes races this fall, virtually eliminating some of the state's most prestigious races, The Sun has learned. Additionally, the stricken industry is expected to hear today that the Maryland Jockey Club will close the Pimlico Race Course barn area until the spring meet, evicting all horses, horsemen and backstretch workers from the racetrack. The six affected stakes - the De Francis Dash, the Safely Kept, the Laurel Futurity, the John Schapiro, the Sonny Hine and the Selima - have combined purses of $850,000 and attract some of the largest crowds and best horses of the fall meet at Laurel Park.

Magna Entertainment Corp. executive vice president of racing Scott Borgemenke, who during the Preakness voiced his concern about the nonstop travel required for the job he took earlier last spring, has left the company. Borgemenke's departure became official July 18, though it was not announced until late Monday. "Unfortunately," Borgemenke said in a statement explaining his decision, "... my corporate and family responsibilities conflict." MEC chairman Frank Stronach, who is in Austria, praised Borgemenke's work at MEC in a release, saying, "We very much appreciate his efforts, and we wish him well."

Drug tests conducted after last Saturday's Preakness uncovered no violations, the Maryland Racing Commission said yesterday. The horses were tested for twice as many substances as on a normal Pimlico race day because of the higher stakes, commission executive director J. Michael Hopkins said. Maryland normally does about 32 drug screens on a race day but conducted 65 after the Preakness. The substances tested for included stimulants and anti-inflammatories - but not anabolic steroids, which aren't regulated yet at Maryland tracks.

The Maryland Racing Commission will form a committee to study state racing safety issues, chairman John Franzone said yesterday after a discussion at the board's monthly meeting at Pimlico Race Course. Franzone requested the discussion be part of the agenda because of the industry's renewed push for horse safety following the death of the filly Eight Belles after the Kentucky Derby, which has caused what some industry officials have called "a crisis" in public opinion. The discussion identified at least two issues that could be addressed locally: toe grabs and whips.