What's the big deal about Maryland horse racing?
I began covering the business of Maryland horse racing in the winter of 2007-08 when the industry had finally won a long-fought for victory in the Maryland General Assembly: a step forward in the effort to bring slots to the state's racetracks.
Legislators had approved sending five proposed slots site in Maryland to a statewide vote. And in the following fall of 2008 when slots passed with a healthy margin, things finally started looking bright once again for Maryland's racetracks. After more than 15 years of losing competition to surrounding states thanks to slot machines padding purses and wooing away the owners of the best horses, Maryland looked like it was ready to punch back.
Then two more blows -- possibly fatal ones. When the recession of 2008 pummeled businesses around the country, no one was interested in spending millions to invest in winning one of the state's slot licenses. Then the owner of the state's thoroughbred tracks, in a move that will likely be questioned long after this saga is over, began haggling over the licensing application process -- and took itself right out of contention.
The second blow came when company then filed for bankruptcy in March of 2008. As the largest racetrack owner in the U.S., it was also a sign that the former sport of kings in this country was all but forgotten in mainstream culture.
The following year in Maryland was marred by legal battles and finger pointing within and outside the industry. The story is more than about slots now. It's about whether the state's new track owner can not make the same mistakes of the owners before. It's about whether the historic Pimlico Race Course will still carry enough weight in a few years to be worthy of hosting the second leg of the Triple Crown.
And it's about whether the real workhorses in this industry -- the farm owners and breeders -- will still be the scapegoats at the end of this story.
But it'll be a long time before this story's over. And until it is, at which point I hope to write a book, I hope to track the key events and capture what's left of this dying sport in Maryland.
But it's not all sniffles and tears -- for the lighter side of this website, check out Liz's Corner -- my blog of random sports musings and happenings told from a business reporter's point of view.
