NEWS
Maryland racing in state of confusion as meeting looms
Posted: Saturday, December 18, 2010 6:34 PM
LAUREL PARK
Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
by John Scheinman
On the final day of live racing in Maryland this year, MI Developments Chairman Frank Stronach said on Saturday a verbal agreement is in place with the state’s horsemen for a full schedule of 140 live days at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in 2011.
However, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association representatives and the Maryland Racing Commission said no deal has been made Saturday, three days before the highly anticipated December 21 meeting of the commission.
With days dwindling down to December 31, when the MI Developments license to race and simulcast in Maryland expires, confusion reigns in the industry.
Stronach traveled to Maryland on December 14 for an unpublicized meeting with representatives from MI Developments, horsemen, and the state racing commission. The stakeholders met again Friday in the Annapolis office of Joseph Bryce, the chief legislative officer for Gov. Martin O’Malley.
“What is happening is, basically, we have a verbal agreement with the horsemen that we will be running,” Stronach said Saturday morning. “We had the meeting with the racing commission and horsemen on Tuesday. Verbally, we agreed upon running 140 days based on certain assumptions.”
Stronach declined to comment on those assumptions, and they appear to be just one set of moving parts that need to be aligned before a deal takes place. Representatives from Penn National Gaming, the 49% partner in Laurel Park and Pimlico, were unavailable for comment.
By all accounts, the MI Developments-Penn National partnership does not want to commit to a full year of live racing without a guarantee the tracks will not lose money. MI Developments, which owns racetracks, gaming, and real estate properties, lost $23-million on racing and gaming in its third quarter that ended September 30, while earning a net income of $31.3-million on all holdings. The Maryland tracks lost $1.5-million during that period, according to racing commission member John Franzone.
After having its proposal of 40 days of live racing through May rejected by the state racing commission on November 29, the partnership floated the idea of 77 days of live racing that would run through the Pimlico spring meet and the Preakness Stakes (G1), but horsemen want a commitment for the entire year.
In negotiations this past week, the horsemen offered to commit more than $1.5-million to the operations of the tracks, according to Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Richard Hoffberger.
“They say they want to run through the Preakness and see what happens,” Hoffberger said. “The tracks said we want a guarantee [they won’t lose money]. I can’t give a guarantee. If the track accepts that, we’ll work it out. I met with Penn, and they said, ‘We don’t have a deal. We want a guarantee we won’t lose money.’ So is there a deal? How the hell do I know?”
Maryland Racing Commission member John McDaniel did not sound confident a deal would be made by the Tuesday meeting.
“I honestly don’t know what the story is,” McDaniel said. “I think this is so typical of the dysfunction. There are too many cooks in the kitchen.”
The disarray has led to deep apprehension in the racing community. Few track workers have applied for 2011 licenses, according to Joe Poag, chief investigator for the Maryland Racing Commission.
Trainers do not know if they will have races to run in let alone barns to stable horses at if the tracks close their doors without a contract. Jockeys, too, do not know where they will ride. More than 350 backstretch workers who live at Laurel Park and the Bowie Training Center also are jeopardized.
“I think it’s kind of a shame what they’ve been doing so far,” said jockey Forest Boyce, 26, who led all Maryland riders with 104 victories this year at Laurel and Pimlico. “It (jeopardizes) the farm people, the people that live here, the people that owns small businesses around here, the places we go to buy donuts when we win races around here. The most amazing thing about this industry is they employ all levels of education, from people who just got out of jail to people that graduate from Yale.
“I’m going to stick around Maryland and work horses and travel to Philly and Penn. Wherever the horses go, I’ll go.”
John Scheinman is a Maryland-based correspondent for Thoroughbred Times
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Chas, Toluca Lake, CA on December 21, 2010 at 01:30 PM
Let me say this about 'Uncle' Frank Stronach...As a horse owner and breeder is has been very successful...But, as a race track owner, 'Uncle' Frank is completely and totally CLUELESS!!!
Look at what he turned Gulfstream Park into! The grandstand is anything but horse racing friendly and they no longer can run races at 1 1/16 on the dirt, a main distance in racing...And, 'Uncle' Frank has his de-regulation or 'Free Enterprise' business sysetm and how is that working? Calder holds the majority of the races....
Out here in California, I have seen first hand his handy work at Santa Anita where we are 'finally' back to good old fashion dirt racing...And have heard Stronach's calls for 'racing needs a change, the model is broken'...Same old story have 'Uncle' Frank and the same old nothing...
What he is doing is right up there with the politicians in Maryland...How you can approve a place for slots in a Mall! And, State Park! Is absurd...
Bottom line is anything that involves horse racing, politicians and 'Uncle' Frank Stronach means nothing good will happen to the great sport of horse racing...Nothing at all...
P.S....Why do I refer to Frank Stronach as 'Uncle' Frank? Because his actions and words, have proven he is just like that 'crazy Uncle' in one's family that we all know about...But, we wish would just go away and leave us alone.
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Posted by: Lisa, OKC, OK on December 21, 2010 at 12:48 PM
Suzy: Surely you don't think that horses by the 100s are going to be left behind--and it isn't management's fault. And surely you know there are already dozens--perhaps more--slaughterbound trailers each and every day on our freeways headed to CAN and MEX? True, if the MD tracks don't come up with some sort of feasible deal, there will be countless horses that simply don't fit into programs that are already in place. A great number of those SHOULD be retired in my opinion. Whether that means finding them a new home or euthanasia, let it be.
It's ludicrous anybody in Stronach's employment can say "we need a guarantee" of any kind....seriously? Show me who gets a guarantee!!! This ain't Walmart! It's RACING. It's unpredictable. It's a GAMBLE. Always has been and always will be.
I believe accepting 140 days now would be the prudent thing to do--when a whopping 47 racing days were offered a month ago. Gee, where's the confusion???
I am truly dismayed that so many people will be forced to tighten their margins all across the board, but this didn't happen yesterday. Anybody who hasn't been reading the writing on the wall must have been under the proverbial rock.
I am a horseman, I side with horsemen, and this is an ugly confrontation in these past couple dismal years. I suggest they take what they can get and REGROUP next year. It's going to take a while to get better, if indeed it can even happen.
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Posted by: Robert, Hollywood, FL on December 20, 2010 at 11:01 PM
"Based on certain assumptions" I can tell you one thing for sure, no assuming here, when Frank Stronach is involved there will be chaos and confusion leading to debt and another black eye for THOROUGHBRED RACING.
His first Racing corporation MEC whent bankrupt after losing quarter upon losing quarter, now his MI Division of Racing is bleeding red profusely. This ego maniac is the biggest loser in North American Thoroughbred Racing history and he' hurting plenty of people and the game itself along the way. Frank Stonach is the perfect example that money can't buy dignity and character!
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Posted by: Suzy, Annapolis, MD on December 20, 2010 at 08:56 PM
I don't think that Penn gaming and Mr. Stronach have begun to think what will happen if there is no racing in Maryland. Both companies will be responsible for about 1650 horses.Some trainers will move to other states and train, but most will just retire. This means most of the horses will be left behind for Stronach and Penn Gaming to get rid of.If they think the horsemen in Maryland are crazy and put up big fights, they haven't seen what PETA can do to them.I guess you will see tractor trailers going north to Canada to the slaughter houses.We will make sure they have written on the side Penn Gaming on some and Magna International Developement on the others. Good advertisement for you big companies !Have fun!
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Posted by: Anne, Washington, DC on December 20, 2010 at 06:02 PM
Between the MD legislature and Frank Stronach, MD racing doesn't seem to stand a chance. MD Horse Council also totally dropped the ball years ago when they could have done so much more. It's heartbreaking to see so many great breeders, trainers, and other horse professionals evacuate the state when the solutions were so simple if only everyone with the ability to do so would have put their egos and greed aside.
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