Maryland Jockey Club

Judge: Rosecroft antitrust suit can proceed

An antitrust suit against the Maryland thoroughbred industry filed by the bankrupt owner of a Prince George’s County harness racing track is still alive.

A federal judge has ruled that Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., which shuttered Rosecroft Raceway last month, has put forth enough evidence to allow the case to go forward. But U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett noted several times in his opinion that his ruling was based on whether Cloverleaf had enough of a claim to proceed.

He noted it is rare to dismiss antitrust cases before the discovery stage.

“An antitrust complaint should not be dismissed … ‘merely because the court doubts the plaintiff will ultimately prevail,’” Bennett wrote, citing a 1976  Supreme Court case against a private hospital in Raleigh, N.C.

Bennett’s opinion, issued last week, was in response to a motion to dismiss filed by defendants Maryland Jockey Club, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and others.

Arundel slots petition case finally gets to judge

ANNAPOLIS — After more than three days of closing arguments, the fate of a county-wide referendum on a slots casino next to the Arundel Mills mall is in a judge’s hands.

 At issue is the validity of 22,967 signatures certified by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections out of 40,408 collected during the petition drive by led by opponents of the casino, including the Maryland Jockey Club. The casino would be built and operated by Baltimore developer David Cordish.

PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC, a subsidiary of the Cordish Co., is suing the county board, challenging the process by which those signatures were verified.

In his rebuttal closing argument Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, PPE attorney Anthony Herman explained why the company believes the board should have abided by the stricter county code regarding requirements for referendums and petitions.

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.

Cordish lawyers assail validity of petition signatures

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business

ANNAPOLIS—A Cordish Cos. subsidiary began its exhaustive closing argument Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in an effort to show that the county elections board erroneously approved a petition to put the company’s planned slots casino to a vote this fall.

At issue are the 22,967 signatures validated by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections out of 40,408 collected during the petition drive led by casino opponents, including the Maryland Jockey Club, this spring. The casino is to be located near the Arundel Mills mall and is planned by Baltimore developer David Cordish.

Cordish subsidiary PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC is suing the county elections board, challenging the process by which the petition signatures were verified.

Arundel casino foes say petition drive disrupted

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Opponents of Baltimore developer David Cordish’s proposed slots casino at Arundel Mills mall claim they’ve found a connection between The Cordish Cos. and the people who they say disrupted their petition signature-gathering efforts this winter.

In an affidavit filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, a private investigator said a company affiliated with Cordish Cos. hired a woman to disrupt opponents’ eventually successful petition drive to put the casino’s slots zoning up to a county-wide vote this fall.

An attorney for Cordish said his client denies the allegations.

The affidavit was filed last Friday by the Annapolis law firm Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver LLC, which represents opponents of the casino including the citizens group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills and the Maryland Jockey Club. The latter operates Laurel and Pimlico race tracks.

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.

Maryland Jockey Club submits petition against Arundel Mills slots

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

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

The petitioners, led by the Maryland Jockey Club, which operates the Laurel Park race track, said in a news release that they had submitted 23,702 signatures in support of a referendum to the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections Thursday afternoon.

That number far exceeds the 9,395 signatures that were needed by Friday and handily beats the 18,790 signatures required to place the zoning ordinance on the ballot in November.

The Jockey Club was supported by the citizens group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills. It also hired Chicago-based Fieldworks Inc. to help collect signatures.

Cloverleaf files $20M suit against MD Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Assn.

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
July 6, 2009 8:04 PM

The bankrupt owner of Rosecroft Raceway filed a $20 million suit Monday against the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the Maryland Jockey Club and 15 other defendants, and is promising more suits to come against others in the industry.

“Somebody finally had to stand up to these people,” said Kelley Rogers, president of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. He added there will be “many more still to come in the days ahead,” including an antitrust action and a possible suit against the Maryland Racing Commission.

Monday’s complaint claims that defendant TrackNet Media Group LLC, co-owned by Churchill Downs Inc. and jockey club parent Magna Entertainment Corp., is interfering with Rosecroft’s simulcast agreement with tracks owned and operated by Churchill and Magna.

Rosecroft, a harness racing track in Prince George’s County, stopped live racing last year, and simulcast betting is its only form of gambling revenue.

Average bet amount at Pimlico up nearly 9 percent

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 27, 2009 7:49 PM

Thanks to heavy betting on the Preakness Stakes, the average amount wagered this spring at Pimlico Race Course jumped nearly 9 percent despite declines in attendance and total handle for the track.

Total wagering fell $4.1 million or 2.5 percent over 20 live racing days — 11 fewer than last year — to $159.5 million. Attendance fell 17.8 percent to 271,031 for the spring meet, held April 18 to May 23.

The average daily handle, however, rose from $6.3 million to $6.9 million over 20 days of racing and 21 days of simulcast racing.

The Maryland Jockey Club credited Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown, for the upswing.

“The buildup to the Preakness was nothing short of spectacular and the race lived up to the hype,” Tom Chuckas, president and chief operating officer of the jockey club, said in a statement.

The long road to uncertainty

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 14, 2009 6:57 PM

On a typical Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, longtime Maryland horse racing reporter Dale Austin could walk into the racetrack’s press box and find it flooded with at least 25 or 30 reporters.

“Pimlico was a red-hot place, the hottest in the East,” said Austin, who covered racing for The Baltimore Sun for 29 years. “You could go up to a window in Washington to get a ticket the day of a Redskins game, and, except for Opening Day, you couldn’t fill up the ballpark for baseball games. But there’d be 20,000 people at the racetrack in Maryland.”

But that was in 1962.

And since that time, perhaps the only thing that the horse racing industry nationwide and in Maryland has done is consistently miss the boat, falling further into obscurity and an uncertain future.

Pimlico, Laurel, Preakness out of auction, but not off the block

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 4, 2009 1:56 PM

WILMINGTON, Del. – Although Maryland’s thoroughbred racetracks and the Preakness Stakes have been scratched from the auction block, the tracks’ bankrupt owner and its creditors would still entertain bids for the properties, their attorneys told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Monday.

Maga Entertainment attorney Brian S. Rosen (left) and Kenneth H. Eckstein, who represents the company’s unsecured creditors, after Monday’s bankruptcy hearing.“By no means are we abandoning the possibility that we can sell those assets in the future,” said Magna Entertainment Corp. attorney Brian S. Rosen of New York-based Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. “We are going to permit parties to do due diligence, and in the extent that a bid comes in that is attractive, the debtors will consider it.”

Kenneth H. Eckstein, who represents the unsecured creditors committee, said that although Magna was withdrawing some highly prized assets from its auction plan — namely, Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and the Preakness — the group approved of streamlining the process for now.

Magna removes Laurel, Pimlico and Preakness from auction list

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 1, 2009 6:43 PM

In a last-minute move, Magna Entertainment Corp. has taken Maryland’s thoroughbred racetracks and the Preakness Stakes off the auction block, but city and state officials remain cautious about the future of those properties here.

Magna, which had included Laurel and Pimlico racetracks and the Preakness in its list of assets it wanted to auction, has removed those properties from its assets up for sale in its revised auction procedures proposal submitted late Friday afternoon.

The properties belong to the Maryland Jockey Club, which was the Magna asset removed from the auction proposal. The Bowie Training Center in Prince George’s County is also no longer up for auction.

“We are still looking at our alternatives with respect to those assets, and it is unclear what value can be generated,” said Magna’s attorney, Brian S. Rosen of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York. “Pimlico, with the Preakness, for 364 days a year it lives on that one day a year, and we’re trying to see if there something else that can be done to those assets.”

That includes looking at slots options and further discussions with the state, Rosen said.

Rosecroft Raceway may reopen this weekend

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 1, 2009 12:53 PM

Rosecroft Raceway, which earlier this week had its simulcast wagering signal yanked, may be back open to take bets on the Kentucky Derby Saturday.

A Prince George’s County Circuit Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order that would allow the track to regain its televised signal for thoroughbred racing and simulcast wagering, but it is contingent upon payment of a $2 million bond — money that raceway owner Kelley Rogers says he does not have.

Rogers and his attorney are asking the judge to change the order to require a cash bond in the “hundreds of thousands,” Rogers said. With about $700,000 in cash on hand, the bond payment would nearly deplete the raceway’s immediate funds but keep it open for one of its biggest moneymaking days of the year.

Rogers said this year’s projected profit from bets placed during the Kentucky Derby day is about $140,000, if Rosecroft reopens.

Rosecroft Raceway’s simulcast signal is pulled

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
April 28, 2009 7:19 PM

Four days before the Kentucky Derby, the Maryland Racing Commission has voted to cut off Rosecroft Raceway’s simulcast signal of thoroughbred races in response to the track owner’s refusal to pay a $5.9 million fee for the signal rights.

The 6-2 vote came during a contentious commission meeting held at Pimlico Race Course Tuesday. One member was absent from the meeting.

Kelley Rogers, president of Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., the horsemen-owned parent company of Rosecroft, said after the meeting he intends to file a motion in Price George’s County Circuit Court Wednesday requesting a stay order on the commission’s action.

If granted, the order would allow Rosecroft, which has suspended live racing and functions solely as a simulcast betting site, to take bets on the Kentucky Derby this Saturday.

Preakness ticket sales down 12%

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
April 23, 2009 5:31 PM

With just over three weeks to go, ticket sales for the Preakness Stakes — Maryland racing’s biggest moneymaker — are down 12 percent, according to the Maryland Jockey Club.

While some blame the economy, others say the new policy banning outside alcohol and other beverages from the infield may be playing a part, despite the fact that the ticket price has not increased for the May 16 race.

“I think it’ll be fine, but they might suffer from that a little bit,” said Lee Corrigan, of Elkridge-based Corrigan Sports Enterprises, who is organizing the InfieldFEST event. “It’s a tough year and financial market to be doing what they’re doing, but I think they had to for many reasons.”

Wagering at Laurel Park falls 26 percent

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
April 21, 2009 7:52 PM

After a racing season at Laurel Park marked by the poor economy and the bankruptcy of its owner, total wagering at the track dropped by nearly 26 percent this winter — nearly three times the national average.

Over 58 live racing days — one fewer than last winter — the total amount wagered dropped by $56 million to $219.8 million, according to the Maryland Jockey Club. Laurel’s season ran from Jan. 1 through April 11.

According to the Equibase Company LLC, an industry research firm based in Kentucky, wagering in the U.S. from Jan. 1 through March 31 totaled $3.1 billion, a decline of 9.4 percent from the corresponding period in 2008.

Tim Rice, an industry analyst with Rice Voelker LLC in Louisiana, called Laurel’s struggle “significantly worse” than other tracks’ since the economic downturn began last fall and attributed the gap to competition from neighboring states.

After bankruptcy filing, Magna to seek approval to sell all its assets

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
March 5, 2009 1:54 PM

The future of horse racing in Maryland lurched further toward uncertainty Thursday after the owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course filed for bankruptcy. Magna Entertainment, the company that owns Laurel and Pimlico racetracks, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

To raise cash, Magna Entertainment Corp. said it was selling its race tracks in Florida, California and Texas to its parent company, and would seek court approval to market its “other” assets — including Laurel and Pimlico — during the Chapter 11 process.

The prospect of Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes and the biggest racing day in Maryland, and Laurel Park being up for grabs to the highest bidder has state racing officials upset.

“The thing that concerns me is we don’t know who that could be, and someone could come in and ... run [races for] three weeks at Pimlico because the Preakness is a gold mine, then stay dark the rest of the year,” said John Franzone, chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission. “And that’s not acceptable by any means.”