Maryland Race Tracks Hesitant Over Slots Referendum Campaign - 03-26-08

March 26 - Despite having spent literally millions of dollars on campaigns and promotions in recent years, two prominent race tracks in Maryland have not yet decided whether to continue campaigning for the introduction of slot machines at the tracks to boost their revenue.

Maryland voters go to the polls in November to vote whether to allow the expansion of gambling activities in the state and two racetracks are set to benefit directly if slot machines are allowed to be set up at these locations. Maryland slots and gambling proponents have fought for years for the introduction of slot machines at race tracks to bolster the revenues of an industry that is seeing poor performance in recent years.

The two tracks, Ocean Downs and Laurel Park, have said that they would be waiting it out until later in the year to see where the winds blow in terms of public feeling for the referendum and the introduction of Maryland slots. Experts predict that a successful promotion campaign could set gambling proponents back in the environs of $15-million and the race tracks are hesitant to sink any more of their money into a campaign that may not have much impact on Marylanders. Recent polls show that most citizens of the state are in favor of legalizing gambling and slot machines, removing the need for massive advertising and promotion campaigns. "It's going to take a lot of bad press to turn public opinion around," said William Rickman, owner of Ocean Downs.

If the Maryland slots and gambling laws were passed, race tracks would have to bid the state for slots licenses and taking part in a bad press campaign against the government could hinder these companies' chances of getting their licenses approved. This is another reason cited by race track owners for their hesitance to take part in the Maryland slots and gambling campaign.

A spokesman for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association said in response: "This is going to be a very expensive campaign. Without the full financial participation of all the stakeholders, we simply won't have the money to do the job."