Preakness - Who Cares About the Preakness? 4/09
Governor O'Malley's press office went retro on the media today. They must have found some old press releases about slot machine gaming in files left over from the Ehrlich Administration.
The press release issued today echoed Governor Ehrlich's rationale for slots in the 2003 session by focusing on the importance of horse racing to the state's heritage and to preserving a critical sector of the agricultural industry: "Horse farms in Maryland occupy over 200,000 acres of farmland, preserving valued green space and serving as a buffer to development. They are a critical element in the maintenance of the state’s agricultural heritage."
Problem is - it is now six years later and the press release by O'Malley didn't pass the laugh test. (click here for the press release)
The Ehrlich slots proposal to put video lottery terminals at racetracks throughout the state was based on the profitable models in Delaware and West Virginia. Had it been put into effect six years ago, there is a high probability that horse racing and slot machine gaming would be well-established and successful today.
But the Democrats in the House of Delegates did not want Ehrlich to have that success. While slot machine gaming passed in the Senate, House Democrats placed politics over policy and rejected outright the slots at racetracks legislation.
O'Malley, then Mayor of Baltimore, advocated against the Ehrlich slots bill calling the proposal "morally bankrupt." ("O'Malley called slots 'morally bankrupt' when Ehrlich proposed using them to finance education initiatives and balance the state's budget." Baltimore Sun, May 6, 2005).
The result is that today, instead of a vibrant racing industry, Maryland is left with standard-bred racing (Rosecroft and Ocean Downs) that is basically defunct and the major thorough-bred tracks (Pimlico and Laurel) in bankruptcy court. The ripple effect has been felt by breeders, suppliers, feed mills and other agricultural enterprises that support the horse industry and preserve farmland. Major horse farms continue to leave the state for greener pastures not to mention the higher purses at modern racetrack facilities in neighboring states.
The worst part of today's press release was the rewriting of history regarding Speaker Michael Busch's position on the Preakness.
According to the O'Malley press office: "'The Preakness is an important part of Maryland's history and an economic engine for our State,' said Speaker Michael E. Busch."
That's a far cry from the Ehrlich slots battles when Busch said: "If the Preakness wasn't here, would anybody care? I think the amount of people who care is next to none." (Washington Post, December 31, 2003)