fouroneone
09-08-2005, 10:35 AM
Competition Cuts Racing Days at Pimlico
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 7, 2005
Filed at 6:34 p.m. ET
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, will lose most of its racing next year because of competition from neighboring tracks with slot machines.
The Baltimore track will feature cards for only 18 days, compared to 59 scheduled dates last year. Racing in the state will be limited mostly to Laurel, which is between Baltimore and Washington.
The Canadian company Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of the two tracks, said it can no longer compete with tracks in Delaware and West Virginia that have slot machines and the recently authorized slots in Pennsylvania.
''Under these circumstances, continuing to do business as usual is not an option, and attempting to do so would be foolish and irresponsible,'' the company said.
The company will ask the Maryland Racing Commission to allow it to schedule 112 days of racing next year at Pimlico and Laurel, down from about 200 this year and last year.
Magna said it earns about $7.9 million on Preakness Day for the second leg of the Triple Crown but loses $3.8 million the rest of the year. The company said the changes will improve the quality of racing by substantially increasing the purses paid to owners of winning horses.
Gov. Robert Ehrlich said Maryland tracks need slot machines if horse racing is to remain a viable industry in the state. He blamed the state's General Assembly for failing to pass a slots bill. Thomas V. Mike Miller, president of the state Senate, urged a special legislative session to immediately consider such a bill.
Magna is the majority owner of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Pimlico and Laurel and the Bowie Training Center.
Pimlico opened nearly 135 years ago and is the nation's second-oldest racetrack nation behind Saratoga, which opened six years earlier. The Preakness has been run in 130 years between 1873 and 2005.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 7, 2005
Filed at 6:34 p.m. ET
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, will lose most of its racing next year because of competition from neighboring tracks with slot machines.
The Baltimore track will feature cards for only 18 days, compared to 59 scheduled dates last year. Racing in the state will be limited mostly to Laurel, which is between Baltimore and Washington.
The Canadian company Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of the two tracks, said it can no longer compete with tracks in Delaware and West Virginia that have slot machines and the recently authorized slots in Pennsylvania.
''Under these circumstances, continuing to do business as usual is not an option, and attempting to do so would be foolish and irresponsible,'' the company said.
The company will ask the Maryland Racing Commission to allow it to schedule 112 days of racing next year at Pimlico and Laurel, down from about 200 this year and last year.
Magna said it earns about $7.9 million on Preakness Day for the second leg of the Triple Crown but loses $3.8 million the rest of the year. The company said the changes will improve the quality of racing by substantially increasing the purses paid to owners of winning horses.
Gov. Robert Ehrlich said Maryland tracks need slot machines if horse racing is to remain a viable industry in the state. He blamed the state's General Assembly for failing to pass a slots bill. Thomas V. Mike Miller, president of the state Senate, urged a special legislative session to immediately consider such a bill.
Magna is the majority owner of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Pimlico and Laurel and the Bowie Training Center.
Pimlico opened nearly 135 years ago and is the nation's second-oldest racetrack nation behind Saratoga, which opened six years earlier. The Preakness has been run in 130 years between 1873 and 2005.