Being a new Maryland resident and being encouraged to do so from my Maryland GOP e-mail update, I turned on my TV and watched the Preakness go down at Pimlico. Speaking of going down, that was some riding by Jeremy Rose aboard Afleet Alex to save the horse from falling (as well as himself.) That could have been fatal to horse or jockey. But they recovered and finished in the money, denying a Triple Crown yet again. I think the last time it was achieved was in 1978, somewhere in that era.
What perked my interest during the prerace buildup was one of the commentators making a long editorial about Maryland's not having slots yet (as opposed to several neighboring states) and it's impact on the racing industry here. She even darkly intoned that the Preakness could be moved from Pimlico eventually and the track closed if no new money comes in.
I was trying to think about this over the last few hours. As far as I can reckon, the Preakness is Maryland's sole major single sporting event. The only other thing I can think of is the McDonald's LPGA tournament held in Havre de Grace, which is considered a major on the LPGA circuit...but women's golf doesn't have a large following per se. I know we have the Terps, Orioles and Ravens, but those are multi-session seasons rather than one event. But Maryland has no NASCAR track or other single-purpose venue that hosts a particular sport.
So is this a real threat or just bluster? It does seem that horse racing as an industry has seen better days. Back in the 60's, that was about the only game in town if you were one who wanted to gamble. But with the advent of state lotteries and eventually their scratch-off tickets and twice-daily number drawings, one didn't have to wait long nor hang out with the seedy people at the track to get a gambling fix. When slots came to Delaware in the mid-90's, that was even a bigger pull for those who wanted to wager. Delaware was smart enough to tie their slot barns to the existing racetracks; thus, Harrington and Dover became prime destinations for Maryland gamblers.
I have some experience with all this, being from a state that has turned down legalizing slots twice in the 1990's. Ohio still complains that a lot of its money goes across to most of its neighboring states who all have legalized slots and/or table games. And yes, I'll raise my hand on that, I made 3-4 trips a year up to the casinos in Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. The Buckeye State actually has many of the same problems as far as failing horse racetracks go, what they don't have is a Triple Crown jewel.
I'm starting to grudgingly warm to the idea of slot machines in Maryland. I didn't vote for them either time in Ohio, but it seems to me that things are run well in Harrington. My fear is that coming into the gambling market so late will leave a shortfall in revenue from what is expected and as always the taxpayers will have their pockets picked again. Plus we'll get the sob stories from people in Baltimore who lose their homes and such and expect the government to help them out because, after all, it was their casinos' fault that these folks lost their possessions.
But, if we are to get casino gambling in Maryland, leave the Eastern Shore out. I like having to actually drive 40 miles to lose money. To be honest, last time I went I left after only about an hour because I lost my desire to throw money in the slots...actually I was about break-even at the time. So I drove 45 minutes each way to spend an hour there.
If the people of Maryland want to keep their one slice of American sporting pie, they'll go cheerfully lose their money at the Pimlico slot barn. That's fine, just don't expect me to join in.
