Off Track

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland's horse racing industry unveiled an Off-Track Betting bill before a legislative subcommittee yesterday that it hopes will win passage during the 1991 General Assembly.Members of the joint legislative committee voted to support the bill and the state's Department of Licensing and Regulation also expressed its support.Key points of the bill, which is a far simpler version of an OTB bill that failed in 1989, are:* Only four parlors are permitted statewide;* Parlors must be located outside a 35-mile radius of an existing track (unless given special permission to locate closer by an existing track)

ANNAPOLIS -- Marylanders won't have to go to the track to bet on a horse soon, thanks to legislation authorizing off-track betting parlors signed into law by Gov. William Donald Schaefer yesterday.The governor, completing work on the last of 751 bills passed by the 1992 General Assembly, also signed into law bills to control suburban growth, to outlaw the possession of child pornography and to protect children from loaded firearms.But the governor vetoed 17 bills for policy reasons, including one that would have discouraged infertile couples from seeking a surrogate mother and another that would have provided lucrative incentives for state employees to retire early.

THE SMOKE-FILLED dive in Cecil County called Poor Jimmy's is a reflection of how the Maryland racing industry has failed to keep up with competition from neighboring states. The Maryland Racing Commission last month yanked the off-track betting parlor's license, claiming its decrepit facilities give the state industry a poor image.Set up as a temporary OTB site by Maryland racetrack operators in 1993, Poor Jimmy's has provoked patron complaints since it opened, the second of seven state-licensed, off-track betting parlors.

Westminster Mayor W. Benjamin Brown plans to ask the City Council tonight to regulate off-track betting.The mayor abandoned a similar proposal to regulate keno games within city limits after he learned that state law barred local governments from banning or requiring permits for state-sponsored gambling. But the mayor said Friday that he understands the city can legally regulate off-track betting, since it is not directly operated by the state government.Mr. Brown's proposal would make off-track or any other form of telephone betting a conditional use requiring approval by the city zoning appeals board.

URBANA -- At the Cracked Claw restaurant south of Frederick, nobody has to wait very long for the next post time.Amid a dizzying blur of horseflesh and cash, gamblers at this off-track betting parlor scan banks of television screens, looking for the right wagers on some of the 200-plus races beamed daily from tracks around the country.While the heart of Maryland racing still beats along the rail at Laurel and in the Pimlico infield on Preakness day, off-track betting at distant locations such as the Cracked Claw has developed in its first three years into an important part of the state's gambling industry.

ANNAPOLIS -- Now coming to a "sports palace" or a "state-sponsored bookie joint" or a storefront near you: Off-Track Betting.Call them what you will -- some even call them "satellite simulcast wagering facilities" -- the Maryland General Assembly is gambling that convenience will stimulate Maryland's horse players and restore health to a racing industry starved for bettors.The OTB bill passed the House of Delegates yesterday and the Senate Finance Committee concurred with its amendments. The bill goes to the full Senate today for final approval, now considered a formality.

ANNAPOLIS -- Marylanders won't have to go to the track to bet on a horse soon, thanks to legislation authorizing off-track betting parlors that has been signed into law by Gov. William Donald Schaefer.The governor, completing work on the last of 751 bills passed by the 1992 General Assembly, also signed into law yesterday bills to control suburban growth, to outlaw the possession of child pornography and to protect children from loaded firearms.But the governor vetoed 17 bills for policy reasons, including one that would have discouraged infertile couples from seeking a surrogate mother and another that would have provided lucrative incentives for state employees to retire early.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Todd Pletcher knew there were rumors. He even figured some of them impugned his horses. When you're one of the winningest trainers in the game who just happens to condition a quarter of the Kentucky Derby field, that, he said, "is part of the deal. " Upon hearing the specific rumor concerning Verrazano, the 4-1 second choice on the morning line for Saturday's race, the man worrying about five Derby horses - plus four in the ultra-competitive Kentucky Oaks field Friday - found a reason to smile.

The horse-racing industry has agreed on a legislative proposal for bringing off-track betting to Maryland, and Gov. William Donald Schaefer supports the concept. The proposal would allow the state racing commission to license several off-track facilities around the state.The Evening Sun wants to know whether you're in favor of off-track betting.Call SUNDIAL, The Baltimore Sun's telephone information system, on a Touch-Tone phone. The call is local, and answers will be registered between 10 a.m. and midnight.