Sagamore Farm - Update

Over the last few years I have crafted a number of posts about Sagamore Farm, and its owner Under Armour founder Kevin Plank. Today the Baltimore Sun has an excellent article about the improvements that Kevin Plank has done to the farm. This article is chock full of great quotes.

I also recommend the photo and video links below.

Photos

Video

Kevin Plank - Sagamore Farm

A little over a year ago I wrote about Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and his purchase of the famed Sagamore Farm. This post receives more hits than any other we have written. In this months copy of Maryland Life, Jason Tinney writes a great story about Kevin and the historic farm. I recommend reading the entire article to learn not just about Sagamore, but how Kevin Plank plans to rebuild the farm with the dedication and comittment he used to build Under Armour.

I wish Kevin and his staff all the luck in the world. I hope you rebuild the legacy of both Sagamore and Maryland racing.

Let the games begin!

It was only a matter of time before the propaganda war of (pro/anti) slots. In eight months, the citizens of the great state of Maryland will cast a vote for or against slot machine gambling in our state. The radio spots have started, the billboards are popping up, and I am waiting for Magna to roll out the big guns. According to todays Baltimore Sun, we will have no big guns. Actually, they say that Magna will pay for no guns at all, not big, not small. The article also said that William Rickman, owner of Ocean Downs (who would profit big time) is not going to do any heavy lobbying. Is all this true, or is this part of the game?

Wonder Mon

The Baltimore Sun has a nice story on a local horse (Wonder Mon), trainer, and jockey, and the quest to make it to Kentucky for the first Saturday in May. I hope the Sun and writer Sandra McKee continue to follow these great local stories. This link even has video of the horse attached. Thanks Baltimore Sun...Keep it going!

Maryland - 2007 Bad, 2008 looks worse!

The Maryland Jockey Club announced its total handle declined by 8% during 2007, with five fewer racing days. All sources of handle totaled $883.8 million as compared to $960.2 million from the same period in 2006. The daily average handle from all sources decreased 6.5 % from $4.1 million to $3.8 million.

This is bad, and it is only going to get worse. The MJC has already cut purses and racing dates in Maryland, while our bordering states have increased purses. Purses in Pennsylvania for 2008 are almost double that of a daily card in Maryland. In 2007 we saw a decline in horses entering the gate, and the quality of horses racing also declined. In November, Marylanders will have the opportunity to vote if they want slot machines in the state. If the vote passes, horse racing will get an enormous boost to purses and incentives. Will it be too late? Will anyone breed to a Maryland stallion in 2008 when you can get a 40% bonus in PA on already HUGE purses?

Please Give us money!!!!!

Desperate for an alternative funding source to supplement race purses, at least until a referendum to legalize slot machines goes before the public in November, the Maryland racing industry will seek $24 million to $30 million from the state at the next legislative session, Maryland Racing Commission Chairman John Franzone said yesterday. (John Scheinman - Washinton Post)

The racing industry is asking for the additional funds from the Maryland Lottery game called Racetrax (I wrote about this in June). Some industry folks, think this Keno like game is in direct competition with the tracks, so they feel that asking for revenue from this source makes sense. I think it is a huge stretch, but I guess it is worth a try. This news comes on the same day that the state announced cuts in spending due to lower revenue projections. In my opinion, I think the state is going to tell the racing industry to wait until November and see if slot machine bill is voted into law.

Side Note...... If the state gives the money to the racing industry, do they have to use it for purses? Can they use it for the HUGE pro slots advertising campaign that will be coming. Just a thought!!!!!!

MJC cuts stakes and more

Don't have time for a full post, but check out this story by John Scheinman.

Here we go!

I have not posted much about the Maryland Legislative Special Session in the last few days. Everything changed by the moment, and I was unsure how any of it was going to effect horse racing. Well, the session has come to an end, and the people will get a chance to vote if they want slot machines in Maryland. Unfortunately, that vote will not come until November of 2008. Even then, if it passes, how long will it take to get this undisclosed amount of money added to the purses at local tracks.

Today the Baltimore Sun had a good article with quotes from a number of people in the local horse racing industry.

Richard Hoffberger, president of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said not too many horsemen are thrilled with a referendum that puts the issue more years down the road. "Am I happy?" he said. "It's a mixed emotion. It's like me telling you I just bought you a new car. I know you're 100 miles from home and that you have to cross the Sahara Desert and your air conditioner isn't working. But if you get here, you can have the new, fast car with the fine air conditioning in two years. "The question is how do you get to where you want to get? It's a real mixed emotion. We don't know if the referendum will pass or if the car will break down on the way across the desert."

Horse breeder Mike Pons, who was at Philadelphia Park yesterday where he was running one of his horses "because the money is so much better," said he is relieved that the decision about slots "has finally gotten in front of the people." But he is concerned about the vote."We're all scared it won't pass," he said. "And if it doesn't, what then?

The real winners in this battle are the media and marketing firms . Over the next twelve months, the citizens of Maryland will be bombarded with mailings, TV commercials, and nonsense. Everyone trying to push the vote in their favor. Who will be spending the most money, I would say Delaware Park, Charles Town Races and Slots, and Philly Park. If they can convince the people of Maryland to vote down the slots, they would squash the competition. I think my next project will be to start collecting and posting propaganda from both sides!

Todays Sound Bites (on slots in Maryland)

Todays Baltimore Sun reports that the States share of slot machine profits will be 70%. One analyst says the profit margin will be so tight that gambling interests will shy away. On the other hand, another says this is among the most public-friendly gambling proposals around. Here are a bunch of quotes from the article

Maryland slot machine operators will pay one of the nation's highest casino tax rates - effectively 70 percent - if voters approve Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to legalize the devices, and some industry analysts say that would mean low-end facilities catering mostly to the local population.

"It's going to limit how much you can give away to customers because the margin is so thin, and it will limit how much you can invest in the enterprise," said Lawrence Klatzkin, a gambling industry analyst and managing director of Jefferies Equity Research.

The margin is so tight, Klatzkin said, that Maryland would end up with "a lower-cost product with much more limited offerings" than slots casinos in surrounding states provide to their patrons.

"It doesn't mean that they won't make money," Klatzkin said, "but some of the richer, higher-quality customers will likely go to Dover, Del., or to West Virginia for more comps and giveaways and much better amenities."

Other analysts said the high tax rate is appropriate given how lucrative a slots license can be.

"This is by far the most innovative and taxpayer-friendly proposal set forth in the 50 states," said Jeffery C. Hooke, a Chevy Chase investment banker who studies the gambling industry nationally.

Hooke, who has criticized previous slots proposals in Maryland as a giveaway to racetrack owners, said the O'Malley administration "did a good job of addressing the enrichment problems that have bedeviled other states."

More than half of that revenue, $767 million, would go into an education trust fund. Operators of the slots casinos would get $451 million, and the horseracing industry would get $128 million a year to increase purses ($128 million, WOW)

It looks like the DeFrancis' are the biggest winners.
DeFrancis and minority owners of the Maryland Jockey Club sold their stake in Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course and other racing enterprises to Toronto-based Magna Entertainment Corp. in September. They stand to collect 65 percent of the net profits from slots, after expenses, during the first five years, however, then 50 percent for the next five years and 40 percent in the next decade, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Toughest Card to Handicap

If you thought the Breeders Cup card was tough to handicap, you should see the program at this weeks (Maryland legislative) special session in Annapolis. Every state tax is on the table, but this time it appears that slots will be a go. Governor Martin O'Malley is trying to prove that the only way to reverse the deficit is through slots and taxes. I will not get into the political stuff about the taxes, but let me share my views on the slots and horses.

The locations for the machines are not set in stone, but it looks like the only horse racing venue will be Laurel Park. Laurel Park is in a commercially zoned area off of major highways , between Baltimore and Washington DC. This is a good location! At first, Baltimore City and its interim mayor fought against slots located anywhere in Baltimore City. Then the governor endorsed the interim mayor (who replaced him when he became governor) in the upcoming election, and things changed. One of the proposed slot locations in in Baltimore city, a few blocks south-east from the football and baseball stadium. Now I ask, if you are going to allow slot machines in the city, why not at Pimlico? The Pimlico area and the neighborhood people need a renaissance. What better way to revitalize a neighborhood than with jobs, improved infrastructure, and an influx of capital. (side note - the area around the famed Pimlico Race Course resembles Berlin circa 1945. Burned out building, row homes collapsing, and roads that appear to have been paved about the same time we were bombing the Germans).

Now for the good news!!!!

With all of this talk about taxes, a referendum for slots, and a host of other fiscal concerns, the horse industry seems to be on the sunny side of the debates. The $100 million annual subsidy to the industry is still on the table. This is a lot of money for purses, owner and breeder incentives, and events. Now for the questions.......Will the quality of racing increase with increased purses? Will more fans come out to watch these higher quality races? Will all of this save the struggling horse racing industry in Maryland?

Stay tuned!

Monday Morning and Everything has Changed

It is Monday morning in Baltimore, and everything you read about horse racing in Maryland has changed since last Friday. The great slot proposal by the Governor has changed, the number of machines have changed, where they are going has changed, and so on. Here are some bullet point od what we think we know about slots in Maryland.

- A referendum will be put to the people next November (one year from now for lobbyist to spend lots of money on bad commercials) to decide if slots will be legal in Maryland.

- The total number of machines is now over 15,000 (total) at 5 locations

- The machines will be owned by the state, and operated by Magna, I mean a n entity other than the state.

- The operator will receive 5.5% of the profits

- All horse racing (training, racing,etc) will be canceled on Friday so the horse industry can load everyone on buses to demonstrate outside the State House.

- Pimlico was no included in the slot locations, and will be closed for good! State and Magna will fight over who "owns" the Preakness Stakes, Slots will be the bargaining chip!

Stay tuned. It should be an interesting week!

Rosie coming back to Maryland

Jockey Rosie Napravnik will make her return to racing on October 31. She has been sidelined since July 6, when she broke her left wrist and the pinkie finger on her right hand in a spill. Before her injury, Rosie had moved her tack to Delaware. She will return to the Maryland colony with a new agent, former trainer Bob Klesaris. Good luck and stay healthy!

Cuts, Cuts, and More Cuts

During yesterdays Maryland Racing commission meeting, we learned the following:

- 15 days will be cut from the Laurel winter meet. No more racing on Sundays. (I think I would have cut Wednesday)

- If slots are not approved in the next 5 months, the Pimlico meet will be cut from 40 days to 25 days (from 8 weeks, down to 5)

- If Pimlico dates are cut, they will close the track to training from May to November.

My take: One last nail in the coffin of Maryland racing before the special legislative session for slots starts on Monday. I hope this game works!

Friday Morning

Here are just a few things to start off your Friday morning.

- Andy Beyer gives a brief history of the Maryland breeding industry.

- Maryland trainer Chris Grove will saddle 9 horse in tomorrows Maryland Million. 3 are favorites!

- 39 stallions will be represented at the 2007 Maryland Million. 17 entries by Not For Love.

If you live in the area, go out to Laurel Park tomorrow and support our horse breeding/racing industry. If you can't make it, check it out on MASN (Mid Atlantic Sports Network).

No Slots For Pimlico

It is almost a done deal that Maryland will have slot machines in the near future, but it appears that Pimlico Race Course will be left out of the excitement.

The Governor has proposed 9500 slot machines to be owned and operated by the state, but has not said where he will be putting these machines. Other members of the State Legislature have not been so tight lipped. The jockeying for who should, and who should not receive the slots has started, and it looks like it should be heating up soon.

Senator Lisa Gladden (Majority Whip) said said she is convinced Pimlico is out of the mix, based on conversations with the Senate staff and House delegates Gladden also said that House Speaker Mike Busch doesn't favor slots in general and is dead set against slots at Pimlico because he believes slots would addict poorer people in the Park Heights area near the track. Gladden said the Laurel racetrack is a likelier site for slots because Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner of Pimlico and Laurel, has spent $20 million upgrading Laurel and "nothing" on Pimlico.

It would be a huge mistake to give up the opportunity to infuse money, jobs, and needed infrastructure into the Pimlico neighborhood. Stop trying to hide the slot machines for the poor. If they want to gamble, they will. Put the machines, the jobs, the job training, and the improvements into the neighborhood that needs it most. Pimlico should be the first place they put slots. Pimlico only runs a 40 day meet (currently), and the place needs a lot of work. As it, and the neighborhood deteriorate, they may only run one day a year, the Preakness. What will the people of the neighborhood get out of that? What if Magna sells the property? What will happen then? Will someone come in and build a job training center, and revitalize the neighborhood? I don't think so! PUT SLOTS AT PIMLICO!!!!!!

The Slot Proposal Has Been Made

Well......Governor Martin O'Malley has official released his slot proposal to the citizens of Maryland.

O'Malley said his plan calls for up to 9,500 state-owned and operated machines at several locations throughout the state, including racetracks and what O'Malley referred to as "destinations". When the plan is fully implemented after four years, O'Malley said slots would pump as much as $550 million annually into the state.

An additional $100 million would subsidize Maryland's horse racing industry, he said.

The subsidy to horse racing is great. The breeders, owners, trainers and so on must be thrilled. What do the fine people at Magna think about state owned machines? They just purchased the remaining 49% of the Maryland Jockey Club yesterday, and they will never see a dime of the slot money. The purses will be increased at Laurel and Pimlico, but will that increase attendance at the tracks? If the state plans on putting these state owned and operated machines at race tracks, will they track owner get to charge an arm and a leg for rent? I hope someone can give me some clarifications on this, and an economics lesson?????

Magna exercises option

Magna Entertainment Corp. is exercising an option to buy out the minority owners of the Maryland Jockey Club for $18.3-million.

The transaction “was specifically contemplated in our recently announced debt elimination plan, and reflects our intent to focus the business on our core strategic racetracks,” Magna Entertainment chairman Frank Stronach stated Monday. The five-year option arrangement with Joseph De Francis and Karin De Francis was set to expire in November.

“From the time we acquired control of MJC in 2002, we have intended to acquire the balance of the shares in the company,” Mr. Stronach said.

“MJC is a core asset of MEC, and while thoroughbred racing in Maryland is currently facing many difficult obstacles, we remain optimistic that with the assistance of other stakeholders horse racing in the state can have a bright future.”

Joseph De Francis, who has continued as CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club, and Karin De Francis, who has focused on the Preakness, “will be leaving MJC in the near future,” Monday's statement said, although Mr. De Francis remains a director of Magna Entertainment.

The changes are coming. De Francis out, slots coming in. It should be a fun ride!

Maryland Update 9/19

The Maryland Racing Commission was informed yesterday that the Maryland Jockey Club is working on a proposal for a new simulcast betting facility in Solomons (Calvert County). This would be the fifth OTB in Maryland.

The commission also heard a presentation from Tom Perez, secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, on his report to Gov. Martin O'Malley on slot machines and the racing industry.

Perez said the purpose of his report was to determine whether Maryland horse racing should be saved. The answer, he said, "Is a resounding yes." He said his report also examined the impact of slots on communities.

"There are those who have strong objections to them," he said. "And that's fine. We welcome their opinions. That's what democracy is about. Everyone is allowed an opinion, but there is only one set of facts ... that's the information we're trying to get out."


On the slots issue, Perez said during his presentation that his report analyzed how much money is generated by slots in surrounding states. He said that while he has been told slots don't always generate the large sums of money people anticipate, he said the first six months the machines operated in Pennsylvania this year $5 billion was bet.

Perez also said he examined whether slots contribute to increased crime.

"There are those who argue that slots are a regressive tax on the poor and that crime will increase," Perez said. "Either of those arguments would be powerful -- if they were true. But we've found absolutely no connection. In fact in the towns that have added slot machines crime has gone down, primarily because people have jobs."

Well, we now know that the Governors slot proposal will benefit the horse racing industry. We now have to wait to see how much!

This just in......

I just heard on the radio that Governor O'malley will be calling a special session of the General Assembly to pass a tax and slots bill. Will that slots bill include benefits for the states horse racing industry......Stay tuned.

Timonium Opens on Friday

I always look forward to the end of summer Sate Fair Meet at the Timonium Fairgrounds. It is not the highest caliber of racing, but it is a really fun atmosphere. The paddock is wide open, and the jockeys have to walk through the crowd after the race. The place is filled with people, but not your standard racing fan. Since the track is part of the state fair, the grandstands are filled with casual fans. The only time they see live racing is for the six days leading up to labor day.

With all the purse cutting this year in Maryland, the Timonium Meet looks pretty bad. Fridays card has all 6 and 7 horse fields with some $4k claimers running for a $5k purse. I wish I could say that the local trainers are putting out the C and D string, but I don't even recognize some of the names. As far a jockeys go, it is definitely the C and D string. Oh Well!

Did I mention that it is a 5/8 mile rock solid dirt oval? Bring the family, get some funnel cake and enjoy a day at the races with the family. In between races, you can slide over to the 4H tent and see the blue ribbon sow!