Laurel Park’s selection as slots site is a vital concern for Maryland racing.

Maryland’s Thoroughbred industry was handed a lifeline on November 4 when a resounding 59 percent of voters cast their ballots for the referendum to allow slots (details of the slots program appear on page 143). But bringing the business back from the precipice won’t be quick or easy.

Making it all the more difficult is the shaky financial condition of Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns Laurel Park?–?Maryland’s only Thoroughbred race track eligible to have slots.
With the breeders’ fund and Purse Account guaranteed their share of revenue from each of the five prospective slots sites in the state, placing slots at an Anne Arundel location other than Laurel might not seem like a big concern for breeders and horsemen. But it is. A casino thriving at nearby Arundel Mills, in competition with an aging and cash-strapped plant at Laurel, would be a grim scenario, to say the least.

In spite of its alarming balance sheets, Magna dug deep and contributed $3 million to For Maryland For Our Future, the ballot committee that lobbied for slots. Appropriately?–?since it conceivably has the most to gain as well as the most to lose–?Magna was the largest single contributor to the slots campaign.

Hopefully, the committee charged with awarding the slots licenses will take that into account. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees.