Slots hot again as Magna makes cuts

Friday, Sept. 9, 2005

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. renewed his call to legalize slot machines on Wednesday, responding to news that the number of live racing days in Maryland will be reduced from 200 to 120.

Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of Maryland’s two major horse racing tracks, Laurel Park and Pimlico in Baltimore, will cut the number of racing days because the purses in Maryland cannot compete with slot machine-fueled prizes in neighboring West Virginia and Delaware, Ehrlich (R) said.

The governor also sounded a familiar warning that Magna could move the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, from Pimlico to another track in another state.

‘‘The failure of the Maryland General Assembly to pass a slots bill is directly responsible for this announcement today,” Ehrlich said of Magna’s decision. ‘‘Magna is not kidding around. This has got to be a wake-up call.”

Wake-up call or not, the obstacles that have prevented passage of a slots bill for the past three years remain strong. Ehrlich, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. have yet to agree on a slots plan.

Busch, whom Ehrlich blames for the failure of slots, said the governor should take the responsibility for not being able to pass his signature initiative.

Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis met with officials from Magna for 30 minutes on Wednesday and the issues of slot machines or losing the Preakness never came up, he said.

The horse racing industry should not be entitled to a monopoly on hundreds of millions of gambling dollars because it cannot compete financially with other forms of entertainment, Busch said.

‘‘Horse racing has to be just like every other industry,” he said. ‘‘They have to make adjustments to compete for the entertainment dollar.”

Miller, who has partnered and failed with Ehrlich to forge a slots agreement over the past three legislative sessions, called Magna’s decision ‘‘tragic.” He predicted that it will result in the loss of ‘‘hundreds of jobs” and ‘‘thousands of acres of agriculture.”

‘‘This is a tragic turn of events, but it was inevitable,” said Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach, who also met with Magna officials. ‘‘Horse racing in Maryland cannot compete with Delaware, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.”

Miller said the governor should call a special session to address the issue.

‘‘We have to stop the hemorrhaging,” he said.

Magna also plans to ask the General Assembly to pass legislation to close down the 198-acre Bowie Training Center, citing the more than $2 million in operational costs associated with maintaining the facility.

‘‘Given the current environment in Maryland racing and the extreme competition in the surrounding states, maintaining the Bowie facility as a free, year-round training facility is simply unsustainable,” said Alan Rifkin, an attorney for the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns the minority share of the racetracks. ‘‘Unfortunately in business, sometimes you have to downsize to save an industry, and that is the case here. The alternative is much worse.”

Under law, Magna has to maintain the Bowie facility as a condition for its live racing agreements. Magna will push for legislation to remove that restriction next year, according to a plan distributed by Magna officials.

Rifkin said if that legislation fails, Magna is likely to make further cutbacks in racing dates to make up for the costs of maintaining the Bowie facility. He said there is no plan in place for a housing development to be built on of the 198-acre site.

Discussions about the disposal of the property, Rifkin said, would happen if the General Assembly allows Magna to keep its live racing agreements without maintaining the Bowie facility. He said those discussions will involve state, Prince George’s and Bowie officials.

Sen. Leo E. Green (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie said Thursday that he is ‘‘very concerned” about Magna’s plans to close the training center because of what it could mean for jobs and open space in Prince George’s.

‘‘They are going to have to go through me first,” Green said, noting that there have been similar proposals in the past. He did not summarily dismiss the bill, but said it would take a lot of convincing for him to go along with Magna’s plans.