Horse Racing

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.

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.

Rosecroft study: Poker rooms good for state

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

A new study shows if poker rooms were legalized at Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George’s County, the gaming revenue could total up to $42 million per year for the county and state and produce up to 1,500 union jobs.

The study was commissioned by Mark Vogel, the owner-in-waiting for the harness racing track that is in bankruptcy, and was conducted by Florida-based Innovation Group. Vogel’s purchase of the track is awaiting approval from a bankruptcy judge.

The Greenbelt developer said he’s passing the preliminary results of the study around Annapolis in an effort to drum up interest in legislation related to Rosecroft he is pushing to be introduced in this year’s legislative session.

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.

Vogel wants to bring poker to struggling Rosecroft Raceway

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer 

Rosecroft Raceway’s owner-in-waiting wants to bring table games to the Prince George’s County harness racing track next year but — as with slots legalization – he could be in for a long struggle.

Greenbelt-based developer Mark Vogel, who is expected to become the new owner of the raceway next month pending a bankruptcy judge’s approval of the approximately $10 million sale, said Tuesday the track is ideal for poker rooms.

He said he plans on running a “full court press” in next year’s legislative session to push legalization.

“I think the momentum has turned in the state, especially in Prince George’s County, because they need the revenues,” Vogel said after a Maryland Racing Commission meeting in Laurel.

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.

Racing panel’s new look makes some unhappy

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
September 22, 2009 7:21 PM

The faces of the Maryland Racing Commission changed this month when two new appointees officially took their seats — and not everyone is happy with the makeup.

Those in the standardbred industry, which runs the state’s harness racing tracks, say their voice has diminished on the nine-person board while the thoroughbred industry has too much influence.

“If you look at it, it’s not balanced,” said Ralph Hayward, president of the Maryland Standardbred Breeders Association. “I don’t think the commission should be ruling at all on standardbred [issues]…if we’re not adequately represented.”

The two new appointees to represent the standardbred industry are Ernest R. Grecco, president of the Baltimore chapter of the AFL-CIO, and Thomas W. Winebrener, a member of the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners’ Association and owner of Fox Den Farm in Union Bridge. Grecco has represented laborers in the horse industry from thoroughbred breeders to standardbred breeders to track employees.

Md. Lottery ads concern racing commission

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
September 15, 2009 7:14 PM

Concerns raised by state horse racing officials Tuesday took on a new flavor as some worried events inside the state lines will hurt attendance this fall at Laurel Park.

The comments are a deviation from the industry’s overlying concern that gambling opportunities at race tracks in Delaware and Virginia are drawing attendance away from Maryland’s tracks. Most recently, parlay sports betting opened at Delaware tracks last week.

At a Maryland Racing Commission meeting held at Laurel, commission members expressed their disapproval of a campaign being run by the Maryland State Lottery that advertises Racetrax, a virtual reality horse racing game. They said they felt the ads, which encourage consumers to “experience the sights and sounds of the race track without the smells,” discourages attendance at the real race tracks.

“It’s outrageous to compete against ourselves — especially because we aren’t getting any cut out of this for purses,” commissioner John McDaniel said.

O’Malley slams Anne Arundel County for slots inaction

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
August 6, 2009 7:33 PM

Gov. Martin O’Malley told nearly 250 people at the Maryland Horse Forum that the Anne Arundel County Council’s failure to vote on a slots facility is delaying progress in the horse industry.UPPER MARLBORO — In a speech to the Maryland horse industry Thursday, a frustrated Gov. Martin O’Malley said industry progress is being stalled by the Anne Arundel County Council.

The council has delayed a zoning vote several times that would allow a slot machine at Arundel Mills mall and is not expected to vote until the fall — after the state has awarded the first slot machine licenses elsewhere.

“The Anne Arundel County Council needs to make a decision so we can move forward,” O’Malley said, pounding the podium. “The legislature has made its decision, the voters have made their decision, now Anne Arundel County needs to make a decision.”

The governor was the keynote speaker at the Maryland Horse Forum held at Upper Marlboro’s Show Place Arena. The forum was attended by about 250 people in the racing, recreational and breeding side of the industry, as well as state officials.

In the question-and-answer session after his speech, O’Malley confirmed that the three other sites designated for slots in the state that received licensee applications were moving forward. But the site in Anne Arundel County, which allots for nearly 5,000 slot machines, is by far the largest designation in the state and potentially the biggest revenue generator.

Vogel reaches agreement to buy Rosecroft

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
July 9, 2009 12:48 PM

Mark Vogel and Rosecroft Raceway have agreed that the Greenbelt-based developer will buy the harness racing track for more than $10 million.

The board of directors for Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., which owns the Prince George’s County track, approved the sale Wednesday night in a unanimous vote, according to Cloverleaf President Kelley Rogers.

“We are thrilled,” said Rogers. “It’s going to allow for a long-term future here at Rosecroft. I think Mark’s going to be a good owner with great ideas.”

Vogel said Thursday he was not ready to reveal more specifics, including the exact price for the track, because he was still ironing out an agreement with a lender. But he said a portion of the deal included money for subsidizing live racing.

Although Vogel, who has been in talks with Cloverleaf for months, said he was excited to move forward, he also said he is anxious to reach an agreement with Maryland’s thoroughbred industry on Rosecroft’s right to simulcast and take bets on thoroughbred races.

“The truth is none of that really matters until we have a simulcast agreement,” Vogel said. “And without simulcast, Rosecroft goes nowhere.”

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.