Ocean Downs

William Rickman Jr., owner of the Delaware Park horse track and slots emporium, has apparently succeeded in gaining his long-desired foothold in Maryland racing. Rickman is proceeding with plans to buy Bally's at Ocean Downs, a harness track on the Eastern Shore, after the owners of Rosecroft Raceway - in concert with Joseph A. De Francis and the Maryland Jockey Club - abandoned efforts Thursday to keep Rickman out of the state. "It boiled down to how many dollars do we want to throw down the toilet just to keep him out," De Francis said yesterday.

The approval Wednesday of the first slot machine gambling license in Maryland is more than just an important milestone in the long-running debate about gambling in the state. The grant of a license for Ocean Downs is also the first promising sign we've seen in more than a year for the state's coffers. A temporary facility with as many as 800 machines could be running in time for next summer's tourist season in Ocean City. That may not make much of a dent in a $2 billion budget shortfall, but it helps.

He was out. He was in. And now, late on a Tuesday evening in Annapolis, William M. Rickman Jr. was out again. In one week, the owner of Ocean Downs racetrack went from being a favorite in a bill lawmakers were writing on how to award licenses for slot machines to being the outcast. It was a dispiriting reversal of fortune after a summer of campaigning for gambling on the Eastern Shore. As Rickman saw it, he had been given a mountain and he had climbed it, and now, inside of days, it had been flattened.

After its second major rewrite of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s gambling proposal in less than a week, a Senate committee approved last night a plan to permit 15,500 slot machines at three racetracks and three tourist destinations in Maryland. The plan, which now goes to the full Senate for a vote, could shut out slot machines from both of Maryland's harness tracks -- Ocean Downs near Ocean City and Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George's County -- but it adds Dorchester County as an Eastern Shore site eligible for expanded gambling.

The quick movement of slots through the Maryland Senate hit a speed bump yesterday, as Senate Republicans threatened to kill Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s legislation if it is amended to permit expanded gambling near Ocean City. Amendments proposed by a Senate committee also drew criticism from the Baltimore mayor's office yesterday as it began to appear more likely that a slots facility would be destined for downtown. The decision by the Senate Republican caucus to oppose slots legislation unless the Ocean Downs harness track is excluded sets up a high-stakes showdown with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Prince George's County Democrat.

Maryland State Fair officials vowed yesterday to continue their battle to get slots at the Timonium fairgrounds, despite the opposition of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Baltimore County legislators and local officials. "We need that slots revenue," said lobbyist Nancy Hill. "I want everybody to know we're not giving up." She said money from the state fair and from 10 days of horse racing isn't sufficient to maintain and renovate 23 aging buildings plus the racetrack. Hill and several state fair officials met yesterday to discuss Ehrlich's slots bill.

A new player has emerged in the sale talks surrounding Rosecroft Raceway and Ocean Downs.William Rickman, owner of Delaware Park Race Course, has offered Cloverleaf Enterprises, Inc., an organization of Maryland standardbred horsemen, $13.5 million to purchase outright both of the struggling tracks."

The summer racing season begins in earnest this weekend with harness racing returning to Ocean Downs, fireworks exploding at Rosecroft and jockeys signing autographs at Laurel Park.Ocean Downs, the harness track near Ocean City, begins its 50th season tonight and its second as the property of Bally's. Physical improvements continue, said Dennis Dowd, president of Bally's at Ocean Downs, but some things never seem to change."Our problem still is slots-fueled purses up the street," Dowd said, referring to nearby Harrington Raceway in Delaware.

Lou Rawls at Ocean Downs Grammy Award-winning singer Lou Rawls, who has recorded more than 60 albums during a career that spans more than 40 years, performs tomorrow at Bally's at Ocean Downs near Ocean City. Expect to hear songs from Rawls' newest album, "Season 4 U," and his hits from the '60s and '70s, including "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," "Lady Love" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." Roomful of Blues, twice named the Down Beat International "Blues Band of the Year," opens the show.

FORT WASHINGTON -- Disputes within the racing industry that simmered behind the scenes for months burst into public view yesterday at a meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission at Rosecroft Raceway.The conflicts revolve around simulcasting out-of-state horse races. Although they are disputes over money among headstrong track owners, they threaten the statewide network that allows bettors to wager on harness and thoroughbred races from around the country.The owners of the state's harness tracks, Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George's County and Ocean Downs near Ocean City, want to televise out-of-state thoroughbred races without the consent of -- and without paying a premium to -- the state's principal thoroughbred tracks, Pimlico and Laurel Park.