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The Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association voted Wednesday to sell bankrupt Rosecroft Raceway to Mark Vogel for $10.5 million, with the prospect of returning live harness racing to the five-eighths mile oval in January.

The decision comes on the heels of the Fort Washington track's struggle to maintain its simulcast contract. Cloverleaf filed a $20 million suit Monday against Maryland and out-of-state horsemen, accusing them of breaching contract through interfering with Rosecroft's simulcast agreements.

Cloverleaf, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early June, has been in sale negotiations with Vogel, a former owner of both Rosecroft and Ocean Downs racetrack on the Eastern Shore.

"My goal is to make sure live racing not only survives but prospers," said Vogel, president of Mark Vogel Cos. in Lanham. Rosecroft suspended its live harness racing in June due to high costs.

Included in the final sales price, Vogel would also pay $1 million in 2010 and 2011 to supplement purses for a 30- to 40-night meet that would run from mid-January to late April or early May, with live racing two nights per week. Another stipulation of the sale was the closing of the backstretch, with all horses and tenants scheduled to be off the grounds by Dec. 1. There are 64 horses stabled at the track along with 30 to 40 people who live in the trailers or dormitories there.

The association approved the deal unanimously with only three abstentions. All terms are expected to be finalized by Aug. 15.

"We're excited to have Mark take an interest in owning the track and I know he's excited to be back in the business," said Rosecroft president Kelley Rogers. "Our industry is in dire need of help — it's basically on the verge of dying. We need someone to come in here that wants to turn the track around. I think the horsemen believe that Mark can do that. We really don't have too many other choices. We haven't gotten any help from the Maryland Racing Commission or the legislature to this point."

Neither Vogel nor Cloverleaf officials had approached the commission regarding the sale approval as of Thursday, said J. Michael Hopkins, the commission's executive director. The commission also must vote on the sale.

Cloverleaf went to county court in May and won the rights to the signal for the Kentucky Derby and limited thoroughbred races, provided the company posted a $2 million bond. Cloverleaf posted $500,000 at the time.

Vogel said he plans to use the simulcast rights, coupled with casino-type gambling, to better market the track and bring more jobs into the area. Purses could rise an additional 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent if slots or other gambling are permitted at the track. That, however, would take voter approval in a statewide referendum, similar to last November's vote approving slots in certain locations.

Vogel said that if Rosecroft can be marketed to Virginia, it would be able to hire new betting tellers and as many as 600 people to run the card gambling. Rosecroft would also offer nightly purses of $25,000 for 40 nights or $33,000 for 30 nights.

"I have a lot to do to bring things up to speed," Vogel said, adding that he also wants to open a restaurant at Rosecroft.

Cloverleaf, meanwhile, is suing 17 defendants through U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maryland, including the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. The suit, filed Monday, alleges that out-of-state track agent TrackNet Media Group shut off Rosecroft's simulcast service "based upon instruction" from the association or the Maryland Jockey Club, which is not included as a defendant in the suit.

Rosecroft executives will also go to court July 23 on a motion to bar the racing commission from taking any administrative action regarding the track's permission to receive simulcast signals.