Racing Industry

Leaders of the horse racing industry are fighting a provision of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s slot machines legislation that would abolish the Maryland Racing Commission, an agency recently known for its tough regulation of racetracks. Under the provision, Ehrlich could replace all current commissioners with his choices on a reconstituted board. Trainers, horse owners, commission members and at least one track executive say such a move would deprive the state of much-needed expertise in the racing industry.

THE MARYLAND Racing Commission's approval of a new racetrack in Allegany County will further handicap an already hobbled industry in this state. The award of a license to two members of the powerful William Rickman family for the small track near Little Orleans was based on politics, not on good economics or the betterment of the sport. Thank House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr., Del. John A. Hurson (chairman of the House Environmental Matters Committee) and even Gov. Parris Glendening for the decision.

Creating a unified front to show they could spend slot machine proceeds wisely, Maryland horse-racing industry leaders unveiled a plan yesterday that they said could revive the struggling sport if lawmakers authorize an expansion of gambling. The 15-page plan is less notable for what it contains than for who signed on to it, bringing together competing factions of the racing scene whose back-biting has contributed to the failure of slot machine legislation for the past two years. Signatories include James L. Gagliano, executive vice president of racing in Maryland for Magna Entertainment Corp.

When NBC sportscaster Bob Costas stood next to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. at last year's Preakness Stakes trophy presentation, he asked the question that was echoing from the infield to the grandstand: Would that Preakness be Maryland's last? Slot machine gambling - long pitched as the savior of the state's beleaguered horse racing industry - had failed in the legislature for the third year in a row, and Pimlico's majority owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., was sounding ominous notes about the future.

One of these days, a Maryland race horse could be setting records in South Korea.That's the vision of Maryland agriculture officials and S&K Trading and Consulting Co. of Ellicott City as they work on an export deal that will send horses bred in Maryland and nearby states to South Korea to help build that country's horse racing industry."

Horse racing's problem is obvious: a decades-long slump in attendance and wagering at the track. Horse racing's solution might be less obvious: Get people to stay home -- and bet. In a seemingly paradoxical and counterintuitive turn, online technology, which would appear to discourage going to the races, is being viewed as a potential life-saver for a sport on life support. "Over the 25 years I've been in this industry, not one day has gone by when I haven't heard people complaining that our customer base is getting older and we can't attract young people," said Joseph A. De Francis, chief executive officer of the Maryland Jockey Club and executive vice president for operations of interactive betting channels for parent Magna Entertainment Corp.

Legislation pending before the Maryland General Assembly would order a study of the viability of the state's major racetracks and racing industry, to determine whether they require continued taxpayer subsidy.Del. John R. Leopold, an Anne Arundel County Republican, sought unsuccessfully to delay any further subsidies to the industry until the report could be completed."I happen to think we have higher priorities than to bail out millionaires," Leopold said.Pub Date: 4/02/98

ANNAPOLIS -- Off-track betting, an early favorite in this legislative session, was enacted by the General Assembly yesterday.The Senate voted 29-18 to accept amendments from the House of Delegates and sent the legislation to Gov. William Donald Schaefer.Off-track betting -- satellite simulcast racing, in legislative parlance -- is seen as a way to bolster Maryland's sagging horse racing industry.The bill allows an unlimited number of sites, envisioned by OTB proponents as posh "sports palaces."

Looking to generate public support, and perhaps tweak the outcome of the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, the state's two leading thoroughbred tracks have begun airing television commercials touting the legalization of slot machines in Maryland.The owners of Pimlico and Laurel race courses launched the advertising campaign on Baltimore and Washington stations this week to focus the public's attention on the slot-machine issue, said Joseph A. De Francis, majority owner of the two tracks.The racing industry is pushing to bring slots to Maryland to allow state tracks to compete with those in Delaware and West Virginia, which have the devices and are generating huge sums for race purses and track owners.

After working aggressively to unseat her last year, Maryland racetrack owner Joseph A. De Francis is raising money for Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a likely candidate in the 2002 governor's race.In 1998, De Francis backed Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey over the Democratic team of Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Townsend largely because of the governor's staunch opposition to the legalization of slot machines at Maryland racetracks.De Francis is listed as one of 11 co-chairmen of a $1,000-a-head fund-raiser for Townsend in downtown Baltimore on Nov. 17. Glendening is honorary chairman of the event.