[berettafan]

Don't know what prevailing opinions are regarding slots in the balmur area but this is an interesting bit just the same.

WARNING- This is an opinion piece (from a small local paper).


Yanking the carpet from under the horses
January 6, 2009

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Buzz up! Think back to the years of the Ehrlich administration's drive for slots. Think of the sob stories you heard about horseracing in Maryland -- how racetracks were once the home to a scruffy, spirited racing scene, and purses were more than enough to get by on, and how slots were needed soon to keep one of Maryland's most storied pastimes alive. Think back to how horsemen lobbied the legislature to let the owners of the tracks they raced in install slot machines, so those owners could help keep horseracing alive.


Was it all a mirage? You'd be forgiven for thinking so in these first days of 2009, as Ocean Downs owner William Rickman makes it clear that he'd like to count receipts from slot machines without having to sniff the stinky stables of a working racetrack while he does it.

The racetrack, playing tough in negotiations with the horsemen's association over the terms of the 2009 racing season, dropped an ultimatum last week: Stabling at Ocean Downs will end this year. The backstretch will close. After 2009, Ocean Downs won't be a place to keep horses; at best, from a racer's perspective, it will be a place to drive up to, race for the day, and then leave.

Manager William Fasy says the backstretch can't coexist with the slot machines Ocean Downs intends to get a license for. Rents are $100 per month per horse; it's not clear if raising the rents would be acceptable to either party, but we wonder if Ocean Downs even tried. When horsemen protested this last-minute addition to the contract and withdrew their permission for simulcasting other races at the track, Ocean Downs turned into a bunker -- everything closed, even the restaurant. A photographer for this paper who'd arranged to meet horsemen there was turned away by security guards on Friday. That's some tourism magnet Worcester County's got on its hands, huh?

The track is private property, but it's been the recipient of a good deal of public goodwill and taxpayer indulgence in recent years. Its owner appears not to care. That's unfortunate both for horsemen and county residents.

[Trak Ratt]

Not a fan of horse racing or gambling for that matter, but this sounds like an attempt at cutting operating costs at the track. Doesn’t seem like a $100/month/horse would pay for mucking, utilities or security. Could it be that this "sport" is just on it's way out ?

[cmartin]

Horse racing is an interesting thing in MD. Huge lobby effort for $$, always has been. Except for 1 race a year you dont hear a thing about it. Personally I think the days of horse racing are long past. I see a horse track as a slots casino and maybe off track betting, but the latter as a small piece.

[berettafan]

That's what is so interesting about this. Apparently the horse lobby was a BIG part of this slot legislation getting beaten down our throats again and again...yet now they've been turned on by one of the facilities.

[Trak Ratt]

Originally Posted by berettafan

That's what is so interesting about this. Apparently the horse lobby was a BIG part of this slot legislation getting beaten down our throats again and again...yet now they've been turned on by one of the facilities.

Really? Cause it seems to me the facilities owners are a big part of the lobby and have the most to gain from the slots. Boarding is a 24/7 operation and it sounds more like this is an attempt to control operating costs.

[berettafan]

Awful funny timing that's for sure. I'd say they don't want small contracts getting in the way of any potential expansion/sale/development.

And to my understanding many (tho not all) horse people are the type who keep politicos cell #'s handy and get what they want. It's not a cheap hobby.

My personal feeling in this is that the state of Md is selling its soul to the devil. While it may generate revenues i'm not sure how that makes it okay to create even more welfare cases and crap up an otherwise half decent town with the trash that comes with slots.