JC / Railbird

State Issues Archive

Gloom in Maryland

“If they don’t put slots here … in two years you’ll be talking to an empty bench.” (Baltimore Sun)
Related: “Maryland slots bill ‘undead,’ to return in 2005” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in State Issues on September 10, 2004

No Harm Done

Worries abounded at the start of the Saratoga meet that competition from the slot machines at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway would drive attendance and handle down at the Race Course. That didn’t happen. In hindsight, it’s easy to see why, writes Bill Finley: “There are still tens of thousands of racing purists out there who love the sport and love the cerebral aspects of handicapping. They flock to Saratoga because it offers everything that is special about thoroughbred racing…. They are not about to be lured away by whatever attraction there may be in pulling a lever and hoping blind, dumb luck is on your side.” (ESPN)

Posted in State Issues on September 9, 2004

The Exodus Begins

When Pennsylvania passed its slots law in early summer, there was much talk about horses moving from surrounding states — such as Maryland — to the newly purse-rich tracks just to the north. What was feared has begun, reports the Baltimore Sun: “Legislative leaders here have failed in a last-ditch effort to place a slots referendum on the November ballot, and Maryland horsemen and breeders have begun what many in racing said was inevitable as long as slots remained forbidden: the exodus of horses, horsemen and horse farms.”

Posted in State Issues on September 9, 2004

One Trainer’s Take on Slots

Trainer Tim Woolley has a few thoughts on the new Pennsylvania slots law: “Penn National, the home of cheap claimers, will soon be a mecca for small time trainers. Winning purses will be [worth] more than the claiming prices for which they are entered and the quality of horses will increase. If trainers and owners do not keep up with the new level of play they may sink into oblivion. Playing the game can be like playing the slots, if you don’t feed the machine you will not hit the jackpot.”

Posted in State Issues on July 21, 2004