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Maryland racing industry unstable14 March 2008MARYLAND -- As reported by the Maryland Business Gazette: "If voters nix November's slots referendum, Maryland's racing industry might be doomed — and that could drag down the state's $5.2 billion equine industry, some experts say. "'The future of Maryland racing will be bleak' without slots, said J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission. The $826 million that racing injects into the economy annually would keep diminishing, he said. "...That industry comprises a wide variety of businesses, from riding stables and tack shops to the veterinarians who treat horses, farmers who grow feed for them and farriers who shoe them. "After years of defeating slots initiatives, the General Assembly in its special session in November decided to put the matter to voters in a referendum that could allow 15,000 slots terminals at sites in Baltimore City and Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties. "...Officials estimate slots would generate $700 million a year in state tax revenue. "But it may come too late to reverse a steady decline in racing, according to some. Slots parlors operating for the past several years in Delaware and West Virginia and most recently in Pennsylvania siphon horse industry resources and gambling revenues from Maryland thoroughbred and harness tracks..." |