Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Thomas E. Perez, Maryland's secretary of labor, licensing and regulation, galvanized the often gloomy proceedings of the monthly Maryland Racing Commission meeting yesterday, telling the nine-member board that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) stands firmly behind rescuing the state racing and breeding industries and restoring them to their traditional position of leadership in the mid-Atlantic.

"It's a top priority of his to have a vibrant horse industry in Maryland," Perez said at the meeting at Laurel Park. " 'Is this an industry worth saving?' -- that was our threshold question -- and our answer was a resounding 'yes.' "

Perez said O'Malley supports a limited deployment of slot machines in the state to generate income for horse racing and help the sport compete with tracks in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia that have slots. O'Malley also wants to use slots to tackle a state budget deficit projected to reach $1.5 billion next year.

Referring to a recent study he submitted to the governor that has been circulating among legislators in Annapolis, Perez pointed out that $5 billion was wagered in the first six months Pennsylvania had slot machines, and that Maryland is the most lucrative geographic market for slot machines at Charles Town Races & Slots in West Virginia.

The study Perez put together in July reports the horse racing and breeding industries in Maryland account for more than 9,000 jobs with an economic impact of $600 million. At the meeting, Perez informally polled industry representatives -- from breeders to labor leaders -- about how many people their sectors employ.

"There's jobs, open space, many economic reasons we want to move on," he said.

Perez said O'Malley is working on a slots package that would provide "no unjust enrichment of any stakeholders" and hopes a special legislative session can be held this fall to pass a bill.

"It was music to my ears," said John McDaniel, after his final meeting as chairman of the commission. "He and the governor have impressed me with their commitment. There were no weasel words there. He was clear."

-- John Scheinman