Well, representatives from the Governor’s office (chief legislative officer Joseph Bryce and Maryland Labor Secretary Alexander Sanchez) invited the gang from MI Developments and Penn National (owners of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Laurel, Pimilco and Bowie) over for a little chat on Monday, December 6, 2010, in the hopes of creating some sort of plan for racing that the racing community can stomach.
Representing the various equine interests were David Hayden for the Racing Commission, Alan Foreman and Richard Hoffberger for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (the flat track trainers association, which negotiates with the Jockey Club on a wide variety of issues which affect the livelihood of the trainers; in some ways MHTA kind of operates similar to the way a union might operate), and Tom Bowman and Cricket Goodall for the Maryland Horse Breeders Association.
Other than announcing that the Preakness is safe, not much has been said much about the meeting, but rumor has it that these same parties will meet again soon.
For more details:
The Daily Record: Monday, December 6, 2010
The Baltimore Sun: Monday, December 6, 2010
In the meantime, on Tuesday, December 7, on the Dan Rodricks radio show, David Cordish again expressed the companies keen interest in buying the Maryland Jockey Club. Click here to listen to the broadcast, which also featured Thoroughbred breeder Cynthia McGinnes, Maryland Horse Council president Steuart Pittman, and Maryland Racing Commission chairman Louis Ulman.
The slots money has started to flow, and soon racing should see some of it: $21 million since Perryville opened September 27. The Baltimore Sun’s Hanah Cho provides this helpful breakdown of who gets what.
Breakdown of November Slots Revenue ($7.6 million)
Education trust fund: $3,680,553.15
Hollywood Casino: $2,504,293.90
Horse racing purse account: $531,213.86
Local impact grants: $417,382.32
Race tracks facility renewal account: $189,719.23
Maryland Lottery (slots program regulator): $151,775.39
Small, minority and women-owned businesses: $113,831.54
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Equiery Holiday Open House this Friday, December 10, 2 p.m. – 7 p.m., featuring authors and artists! Pick up last minute gift ideas, meet the artists, meet the authors, have a booked sign – or just stop in for a bite to eat and to say hi! Click here for directions.
