Big Potential, Questions for A Venue at Laurel Park

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Proposed Slots License Areas

Read the pros and cons of the slots referendum and get information on where the money is going.

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The plan, for example, requires the Worcester location to be within a mile of an intersection where the Ocean Downs Racetrack is located. The Anne Arundel site, by contrast, must be located within two miles of Route 295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Lobbyists for the Maryland Jockey Club, which operates Laurel Park, calculated that the eligible area encompasses more than 50 square miles. In the fall, they tried, with little success, to get lawmakers to narrow the zone.

Representatives of the Jockey Club, which is owned by Magna, declined to comment for this article.

Many in the racing industry argue that Laurel Park is an obvious site for slots.

Efforts elsewhere to blend horse racing and slot-machine gambling have had mixed results, in part because there is typically limited overlap between patrons of the two activities. But John B. Franzone, chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission, said the model can work at Laurel, particularly given plans to expand retail and other entertainment options at the site.

"For racing, I think it's imperative that the location in Anne Arundel be at a racetrack," Franzone said, adding that interest in the sport could be bolstered by the foot traffic that slots would bring.

On Friday, as live racing resumed after an eight-week hiatus and the 3:30 p.m. post time arrived, the large glass-enclosed grandstand at Laurel was nearly empty. But a few hundred patrons milled outside along the home stretch, with many perched on benches and drinking beer as wagering continued for the next few hours. Blue-collar workers blended with those in business attire, including a woman taking part in a conference call by cellphone.

Gordon Kerr, a longtime driver of horse vans, said it was the largest crowd he had seen at Laurel Park in some time for a regular racing day. Kerr said he is convinced that slots would transform the facility, as they have at tracks he has seen in nearby states.

"You'd have a better atmosphere, a better crowd, more money flowing," Kerr said.

Magna's financial uncertainties are one reason some in Maryland are hedging their bets about whether the company should get a slots license.

Last week, Magna, which manages or operates nearly a dozen tracks, including three with casinos, reported a net second-quarter loss of nearly $21.3 million, which it said in a news release was an improvement from a $23.4 million loss during the same period last year. Magna said it was disappointed in a $4.4 million drop-off in revenue in its Maryland operations, which include Laurel Park and Pimlico in Baltimore, home to the Preakness Stakes. The company has been looking for properties to sell to improve its short-term finances.

Also last week, the Maryland Jockey Club announced it was closing operations at Pimlico for the fall and trimming the number of live racing days at Laurel.

Franzone said it is possible that Magna could partner with a more established gaming company to bid for a slots license at Laurel Park, a move that might assuage fears about the Canadian company's finances.

Franzone is among those who said he has heard talk about possible alternatives in Anne Arundel. Although no potential bidders have stepped forward publicly, several pro-slots lobbyists and county officials pointed to Blob's Park, a shuttered polka parlor and beer garden, as an example of another possible site.

The cavernous facility, which closed late last year after 74 years in business, sits just off the intersection of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Route 175 in Jessup. It is not visible from the main roads and has a sizable parking lot.

Some activists and politicians in Anne Arundel are vowing to fight slots at any location, arguing that expanded gambling is not compatible with its emerging technology sector and growth that will be fueled by the military's base realignment process.

Anne Arundel officials have determined that their zoning laws will require an affirmative council vote to allow slots at Laurel Park or any other location. That has emboldened Anne Arundel Council member Jamie Benoit (D-Odenton), whose district includes Laurel Park, for what could be a second fight if the referendum proposal passes statewide.

"I kind of have higher hopes for Anne Arundel County than the place that the buses stop for slots," Benoit said.