Angelos Group Could Buy Rosecroft

Racetrack Board Backs Deal, Hopes Political Ties Will Help Win Slots Approval

The owners of Rosecroft Raceway voted yesterday to sell the financially struggling harness racing track to the family of Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos, with the hope that he will have the political connections to transform it into a mecca for slot machines.

The sale, which must be approved by the Maryland Racing Commission, introduces a powerful player into the debate over gambling in Maryland.

"We're excited about the opportunity to move forward," Louis Angelos, a lawyer who is the son of the Orioles owner, told the racetrack's board of directors before it voted 15-1 to sell to the Angeloses.

The family, which offered $13 million for the Prince George's County racetrack, hopes to build a resort there, featuring a hotel and slots machines at the track, said Gerard Evans, an attorney for the group.

Thomas Winebrener, president of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Association, the board that oversees the racetrack, said stockholders were drawn to the Angeloses because they believe the baseball team owner and politically connected lawyer have the clout to help bring slot machines.

State lawmakers have debated the legalization of slots at racetracks and other locations the past two years, and the issue likely will rise again early next year.

"We feel that Mr. Angelos -- the Angelos group -- has influence over the Annapolis scene next year to powerbroker a license for Rosecroft," Winebrener said. "We know that without gaming, there is no significant future for harness racing in Maryland."

The ownership group consists of Louis Angelos and his brother, John, and their mother, Georgia. Peter Angelos is serving as a counsel to the group.

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said Peter Angelos, as the Orioles owner with vast ties in politics and business, has experience that is well suited to managing the Oxon Hill racetrack.

Miller declined to speculate on how Angelos would affect the debate over gambling in Annapolis, although he added that the Orioles owner's ties to prominent Democrats nationally and to Maryland's Republican governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., "make him a wonderful asset to the Washington community."

"If he's going to be here, then he's going to be a participant," Miller said.

Angelos's entrance into the slots debate could have ramifications for the proposed National Harbor resort in Prince George's, which some lawmakers have cited as an ideal spot for gambling.

But it's questionable whether Prince George's political and community leaders would agree to two gambling venues in the Oxon Hill area.

"I cannot imagine a scenario where both Rosecroft and National Harbor get slots," said Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), who has advocated for casino gambling at National Harbor. "There is a considerable opposition to the slots-only proposal in Prince George's County."