horse racing

Rosecroft’s supporters point fingers at Annapolis

In the wake of Rosecroft Raceway’s announcement that it will be closing July 1, supporters of the Fort Washington harness racing track are pointing fingers at Annapolis.

“They talk about ‘jobs, jobs, jobs,’ and when the Preakness and Pimlico were in trouble, the governor and others ran downstairs to save them,” Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Prince George’s, said Wednesday, referring to swift legislative action last year that protected the property and the state’s first right of refusal to the race.

“Here we have 200 jobs on the line and they have done absolutely nothing,” he said.

Kelley Rogers, president of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., which owns the race track that declared bankruptcy a year ago, said it was no longer financially viable to keep Rosecroft open.

“It just makes me sick. It really does,” he said. “The Legislature sat on their butt and didn’t do anything to save these jobs.”

Anne Arundel casino opponents finish case for signatures

ANNAPOLIS — Opponents of a slots casino planned near the Arundel Mills mall wrapped up their defense Wednesday in a hearing to decide whether the county elections board erred in approving their petition to put the development to a countywide vote this fall.

 In a continuation of closing arguments that began Friday afternoon, attorneys for the opponents (which include the Maryland Jockey Club) set out to rebut claims by the casino developer David Cordish that thousands of petition signatures should not have been validated by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections this spring.

PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC, a Cordish Cos. subsidiary, is suing the elections board in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, challenging the process by which the 22,967 petition signatures of the 40,408 submitted by casino opponents were verified.

Preakness rights assured for Maryland

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

WILMINGTON, Del. — Tuesday’s hearing seeking approval for the sale of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course was marked by extensive testimony on the tracks’ financial details and their potential value with slots, as well as an assurance that the state would keep its right of first refusal to the Preakness .

 Ontario-based Magna Entertainment Corp., the bankrupt owner of the tracks, is seeking confirmation of its reorganization plan after canceling an auction to sell its Maryland properties last month. That plan includes the transfer ownership of five of its race tracks and other assets to parent company MI Developments Inc. in exchange for assuming unsecured debt and settlements.

After hearing more than four hours of testimony in the U. S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware from two company officials and a representative for the unsecured creditors committee, Judge Mary F. Walrath continued the hearing to Thursday morning.

“It’s been a long and windy road to get to this point,” said Magna’s attorney, Brian Rosen. “And without one brick, this plan will falter and the foundation will not survive.”

The Jockey Club's pricey petition

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

The Maryland Jockey Club spent nearly $660,000 in signature gathering efforts, legal fees and other services in its drive to place a referendum on the ballot this November allowing county voters to decide whether a slots casino near Arundel Mills should go forward.

While the jockey club said it’s doing what it needs to do to help Laurel Park remain a player for slots in Anne Arundel County, others question the organization’s judgment in its spending.

According to petition funding reports, nearly $400,000 of the jockey club’s money went to FieldWorks LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based firm the jockey club hired to assist in the signature-gathering process. The reports were filed with the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections and obtained by The Daily Record through the Maryland Public Information Act. The reports cover services and payments made from Jan. 31 through March 5.

Approximately $190,000 was spent on legal services provided by three firms, with all but about $23,000 going to Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver LLC, the jockey club’s Annapolis-based law firm.

Arundel Mills slots opponents now suing Cordish

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Opponents of a planned slots casino near Arundel Mills are striking back against a lawsuit filed by the developer that claims their work to fight his project was done illegally.

Stop Slots at Arundel Mills, Citizens Against Slots at the Mall, the Maryland Jockey Club and FieldWorks LLC filed motions in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Tuesday to intervene in the suit (PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC, et al. v. Anne Arundel County Board of Supervisors of Elections).

The group and individual representatives also filed an “anti-SLAPP” motion, referring to the Maryland SLAPP suit statute that prohibits meritless suits brought by large private interests to deter citizens from exercising their political or legal rights. (SLAPP is an acronym that stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation.)

Foes of slots at Arundel Mills get enough signatures

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

A coalition formed to halt the state’s largest planned slots development near the Arundel Mills mall has succeeded in its campaign to let county voters decide whether to allow the casino to go forward.

According to its Web site, the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections has validated more than the required 18,790 petition signatures to get the measure on the ballot this November. Voters will now decide whether the County Council should have allowed zoning for the slots site planned by Baltimore developer David Cordish.

As of Thursday, 19,054 signatures have been accepted. Several thousand more signatures are still being processed by the election board.

Rob Annicelli, president of the citizens group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills, called the referendum a “daunting task,” but said in a statement he expects several thousand more signatures to be validated by the board.

A hand-wringing wait over the future of Magna’s Md. tracks

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

When the parent of Maryland’s thoroughbred racetracks filed for bankruptcy and announced it would sell its Maryland properties, it sent a wave of uncertainty, fear and frustration though the state’s horse racing community.

Exactly one year later, some say it’s gotten messier.

Since it filed for bankruptcy on March 5, 2009, Ontario-based Magna Entertainment Corp. placed Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course and Bowie Training Center on the auction block, took them off last spring, then put them up back up for auction again last fall.

The company has delayed its Maryland assets auction three times in the last two months, with the latest reschedule — March 25 — adding to the feeling of instability.

It’s been a hand-wringing wait for those on the sidelines.

A 1st step toward poker at Rosecroft

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Maryland’s Senate president has proposed legislation that would legalize poker rooms at Prince George’s County’s struggling harness racing track.

The bill, SB 1035, joins a handful of alternative gaming legislation that has been submitting this year by Maryland lawmakers.

“Unfortunately the state of Maryland is way behind the curve in terms of utilizing the gambling phenomenon to generate revenues compared with other states,” said Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert and Prince George’s. “Because of — in my opinion — misguided opinions, it has failed to achieve its full potential.”

Weather has cost Laurel Park its big days

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

A lone bettor, at Laurel Park for simulcasting Tuesday, gets his ticket from an automated teller booth. The track has lost five racing days to the weather.

With an already declining business during its winter meet, Laurel Park could be facing its worst season in decades after snowstorms have forced track officials to cancel five racing days so far.

The last time Laurel lost five racing days in a meeting was during 2003, when snow caused five cards to be canceled during February.

This year, Laurel Park was closed on Jan. 30 and last weekend, and this week officials announced that Wednesday’s and Thursday cards would be canceled.

Two of those cancellations have been Saturdays, which are by far the busiest wagering days of the week. And with another storm looming, a cancellation this weekend isn’t out of the question either. That means three out of the 15 Saturdays on the track’s racing calendar could be lost.

Auction for Laurel, Pimlico is pushed back to Feb. 10


By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

The auction of Maryland’s thoroughbred race tracks has been delayed for the second time, and is now scheduled for three months before the state’s biggest racing day of the year — the Preakness Stakes.

The fate of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park is now scheduled to be decided Feb. 10, according to a motion to delay the auction filed by Magna Entertainment Corp., the company that owns the tracks.

Magna’s attorneys did not give a reason for the delay in the filing and did not return requests for comment.

Judge: No slots profit for De Francis

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Joseph De Francis is one of the bidders for Magna’s Maryland properties. WILMINGTON, Del. — The former owner of Laurel Park lost his bid Tuesday to keep alive an agreement that would grant him a cut of the proceeds if the race track gets slots.

Now the only way Joseph De Francis, who sold Maryland’s thoroughbred race tracks to Magna Entertainment Corp. in 2002, stands to gain from gaming at Laurel is if he is the winning bidder on the track at its bankruptcy auction this month.

That auction was pushed back to Jan. 21 at the request of Magna. An attorney for the Ontario-based company said at Tuesday’s hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that Magna wants more time to reach a preliminary agreement with one of the six qualified bidders for its Maryland properties.

Magna would then share that preliminary agreement with Maryland, to give the state the option of exercising its right of first refusal, and the other five bidders.

The auction was originally scheduled for Friday.

He said, he said: Laurel, Cordish officials trade charges

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Laurel Park officials laid out their case Thursday that their track is better positioned to get a slots facility up and running than the proposed slots site up the road near Arundel Mills, but others say the track has a long way to go — with or without a slots license.

Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, disputed the idea that the track is not a viable alternative to the Arundel Mills site. Since 2003, he said, track officials have been working on getting the permits that are required to build a slots facility there.

He said all that’s left is getting a license to operate slots, which could be done within a year if the application process is opened up again.

Laurel Park presents its case for slots

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Laurel Park officials laid out their case Thursday that their track is better positioned to get a slots facility up and running than the proposed slots site up the road near Arundel Mills — with or without a slots operator license.

Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, disputed the idea that the track is not a viable alternative to the Arundel Mills site. Since 2003, he said, track officials have been working on getting the permits that are required to build a slots facility.

Cordish, De Francis submit bids for Md. tracks

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer 

Baltimore developer David Cordish and former track owner Joseph De Francis are among a handful of bidders for Maryland’s two thoroughbred tracks up for auction next month.

Cordish confirmed in an e-mail Monday morning he had submitted a bid for Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course last week. The tracks are owned by the Magna Entertainment Corp., a Canadian company that declared bankruptcy in March.

Jonathan Cordish, vice president of The Cordish Cos., said Cordish’s bid does not include a plan to bring slots to Laurel Park. Cordish won a bid to build a slots casino near Arundel Mills, but the company’s plans are still subject to zoning approval by the Anne Arundel County Council. The council is schedule to take that vote on Dec. 21.

No ‘stalking horse’ bid for Md. tracks

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer 

Baltimore developer Carl Verstandig said he wasn’t surprised Magna couldn’t reach an agreement with a ‘stalking horse’ bidder.The bankrupt owner of Maryland’s thoroughbred race tracks is moving forward in its auction of the tracks without selecting a leading bidder, but interested buyers said that change is not a deterrent.

Magna Entertainment Corp. could not come to a purchase agreement late Wednesday with the bidder it had selected to make its “stalking horse bid,” an initial bid chosen by the company that competing groups can bid against.

Ontario-based Magna was scheduled to file a motion Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del., announcing the stalking horse bidder for its Maryland properties — Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and Bowie Training Center — and had been in talks with a group that filed in the first round of bidding last week.

But a managing director of Miller Buckfire, the New York-based company handling Magna’s assets auction, said Thursday Magna could not reach an agreement they felt was “deserving” of a stalking horse bid.

“Just because someone puts forward a bid doesn’t mean we have to take it,” said Michael Wildish. “They pushed our limits, and they found them.”

Miller Buckfire will instead move on and wait for the second round of bids for the properties to arrive next month.

Magna’s top bidder selection delayed

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer 

The company that owns Maryland’s thoroughbred race tracks has selected the leading bid for the properties but is delaying the announcement of that bidder until Wednesday.

Magna Entertainment Corp., which declared bankruptcy in March, was scheduled to select a stalking horse bidder by 5 p.m. Monday. The Ontario-based firm instead filed a motion asking a bankruptcy court judge permission to extend the deadline the company set for itself to Wednesday.

A stalking horse bid is an initial bid chosen by the company that competing bidders can bid against.

Magna placed Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and the Bowie Training Center on the auction block last month. The auction for the properties is scheduled for Jan. 8.

Verstandig partners up in bid for Md. tracks

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer 

The first round of bids for Maryland’s thoroughbred race tracks were submitted Monday, including a proposal from a group made up of race track operators and a local developer.

Bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., which put its Maryland properties back on the auction block last month, will announce its “stalking horse” bid, or an initial offer that competitors can bid against, on Nov. 9. Miller Buckfire, the New York firm handling Ontario-based Magna’s assets auction, is not releasing the number of bids entered by Monday’s deadline nor the names of the preliminary bidders.

But Pikesville developer Carl Verstandig, who had expressed his interest in buying Maryland’s tracks in the past, said Monday he joined in a bid submitted by two out-of-state track operators. He would not reveal the names of the bidders but said they operated tracks and had gaming operations around the country and would likely be interested in bringing slots to Laurel Park if possible.

Jan. 8 set for auction of Pimlico and Laurel Park tracks

Brian S. Rosen (left), the attorney for Magna, after a hearing in Delaware this year.A bankruptcy judge has approved Jan. 8 for the auction of Maryland’s thoroughbred race tracks, and a former owner could be among the potential bidders for the properties.

Joseph De Francis, whose family sold controlling interest in Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course to Magna Entertainment Corp. in 2002, objected through his attorney to the three-month timetable of the proposed bidding process and auction.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware ruled in favor of Magna’s proposal at a hearing Wednesday morning. Bids are due Nov. 2 and the auction will be held Jan. 8.

An attorney for Magna, which filed for bankruptcy in March, said De Francis had been in touch with the Ontario-based company for several months about his interest in the tracks.

“But I don’t think [his proposals] had much substance and we look forward to selling for more real money,” Brian S. Rosen said after the hearing. Rosen added it was likely that De Francis would submit a bid in November.

De Francis said he was “disappointed” by that characterization.

Verstandig wants ‘Disney’ of racing for Md. tracks

Pikesville developer Carl Verstandig said Tuesday he plans to bid on Maryland’s two thoroughbred race tracks, which were placed back on the auction block just days ago, and would spend more than $20 million on renovating the historic venues.

Verstandig said he never lost interest after Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course were pulled off the list of assets up for auction this spring by their bankrupt owner, Ontario-based Magna Entertainment Corp. Magna requested to place the Maryland properties (and properties in California and Florida) back up for auction in a federal bankruptcy court filing Friday.

“We’re back into it,” said Verstandig, whose company, America’s Realty LLC, redevelops shopping centers in the Baltimore area.

Verstandig said he and his West Coast-based silent partner who owns 14 tracks across the country plan to invest $12 million to $15 million in renovating Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.

Renovations would include adding two white-tablecloth restaurants from California and three casual dining or fast-food establishments owned by local entrepreneurs.

NFL joins slots and racing in Delaware, but Md. officials aren’t worried

Fans at the sports book at Delaware Park in Wilmington keep track of their wagers during Sunday’s games.WILMINGTON, Del. — It’s about 30 minutes before kickoff of the Cleveland Browns-Baltimore Ravens game on Sunday. NFL jerseys dot the landscape, and lines swell to 20 people deep as fans rush to get everything in order so they can get back to their seats for the game.

But this isn’t M&T Bank Stadium — it’s Delaware Park, a race track and gaming venue just 65 miles up Interstate 95.

“I really wouldn’t come here without sports betting,” said Brian Taylor, 35, who came from Reisterstown with two of his friends to bet and watch the Ravens game. “I’ve been to [Las] Vegas to do some betting, and a one-hour drive is much easier than a five-hour flight out there.”

In the time between February, when Maryland accepted applications for slots operators, to last month, when the state awarded its first license, Delaware passed a bill legalizing sports betting and had it up and running for the National Football League’s opening weekend.

But Maryland officials say they aren’t too worried about one of its neighboring states offering yet another gaming option before slots arrive here, despite the number of Marylanders crossing the state line and wagering in Delaware on Sundays.