Without slots, racers take horses to greener, more lucrative pastures

Laurel Park cancels fall stakes as attendance and revenue drops

The MJC made the announcement Aug. 6, agreeing with the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association to put the Laurel Futurity, the Selima Stakes, the Grade III Safety Kept Stakes and the Frank J. De Francis Dash on hiatus. The prestigious De Francis Dash has a purse of $300,000.

The decision comes after Canadian racing firm Magna Entertainment – which owns Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore – posted a $4.4 million dollar quarterly loss in Maryland, according to a Magna press release. The release cited the decrease in handle and wagering profits at this year's Preakness and a decline in average daily attendance and handle during the races at Laurel Park and Pimlico for the loss of revenue.

Without money coming in, purses cannot be fulfilled and the races are suspended. Therefore the only stakes races to occur at Laurel Park are for state-bred or state-sired horses, including the Maryland Million on Oct. 4.

For the MJC and MTHA, the eliminations are drastic but not without precedent.

"The actual cancellation of those particular races this fall has been an erosion of the industry over the past several years," said Wayne Wright, MTHA executive secretary. "It's been an ongoing problem for the past several years. We've cut days, other races, stakes, and purses.

"As time goes by the cuts continue, they continue to be necessary, and it's probably these changes that just occurred aren't the end until we get some financial relief," he said.

The state is expected to hold a referendum in November on whether to approve slots.

"We'll probably be out of business if slots fail, because people can go elsewhere," Goodall said. "It's a tipping point in this industry and we're dependent on whether slots get passed or not."

Chris Crocker, president and trainer of Crocker Racing Stable Inc., which operates at Laurel Racing Park, said slots would save Maryland racing.

"If the slots do come in, and we're optimistic that they'll be voted through, then Maryland can afford new barns and make racing as it was before," he said.

But Wright said the revenues projected to be pumped back into horse racing from slots in 2010 are too optimistic. And Kevin McGhee, president of the Laurel Clergy Association, does not believe that slots are the answer to horse racing woes.

"All across the nation and all across the world, wherever they brought slots the attendance at horse racing tracks has continued to decline," he said.

Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, said horses, trainers and jockeys are crossing state lines and finding greener pastures.

"We are already seeing a trend where people are leaving the state to breed horses in Pennsylvania and West Virginia where the slots are flowing," she said. "Some farms are seeing the business drop 25-50 percent. It's still disturbing to see that's happening. We're all worried in the horse industry what the future is. And closing one racetrack indicates that."

Pimlico also will be closed for training and stabling, effective Aug. 31, and will not reopen until April.

E-mail Timmy Gelles at tgelles@gazette.net.