Why is there no Pimlico Special again?

[phystech]

Originally Posted by Bobby Fischer

They decided to use the race as a bargaining chip for slots.

And they grossly miscalculated - again.

The only bargaining chip Magna has is the Preakness. And I doubt that too many in the MD legislature really give a crap about that either. Too many past corruption situations involving the tracks, one of which was directly related to Bowie and jailtime for a former Gov.

Throw in the hatred many still have for DeFrancis and the fact that when he sold Lau/Pim to Magna, he retained a sweetheart deal for himself if slots ever do come ( he gets a large share of the proceeds from slots revenue) and I just don't see MD racing getting much, if anything, from slots. The state is facing a huge structural deficit in FY 2009 so if slots get passed in the 2008 session, I see the bulk of the money going to state coffers. And all that Magna and the MD horsemen have waited for is going to evaporate right before their eyes.

In the meantime, they will have pissed away a great opportunity to capitalize on the tremendous turf course Laurel has installed. For the two years the turf course has been open, we have seen an increase in handle, which directly leads to bigger purses, due to the big fields that want to run on the turf. Laurel needs to change their meet dates so that all of the their meet runs during a time when the grass actually grows, instead of the current meet where they can't use the turf for over half of the dates during the winter.

The MD horsemen need to find a way to get the new Keno game called Racetrax (computer generated horse racing) out of restaurants and bars, and figure out a way to get a simulcast product in those places instead. DeFrancis never did a thing with his monopoly on OTB's and phone wagering in the state so it's time for the horsemen to capitalize on that. First thing they should do is get the legislature to rescind the restriction on no OTB's within 25 miles of any racetrack ( I think it's 25, could be a little more). Then they need to get live racing into bars/restaurants along with Autotote's and let these numbers/keno players bet into the pools. That money alone could easily pay for a Pimlico Special purse.........