Following last week's presentation by 1/St Racing, parent company of the Maryland Jockey Club, calling for a dramatic reduction in racing days and bigger purses to bolster racing, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Horse Breeders Association Friday afternoon laid out a proposal of their own that includes an alternative to private racetrack ownership, The Racing Biz reports.
The presentations by both groups were a part of a fact-finding mission by the state-created Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority. The body was created earlier this year by the state's General Assembly and charged with making recommendations regarding the state's racing industry and working to improve horse racing and training facilities in the state.
The Maryland Jockey Club operates Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness (G1), and Laurel Park.
The horsemen's presentation included a slide suggesting the creation of a nonprofit entity to serve as the racing licensee operating racing in the state under lease agreements with the Authority, which would own the racing facilities. The arrangement is somewhat similar to that at Del Mar, where the state of California owns the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which are leased to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for its race meets.
“Why not look at a not-for-profit model for Maryland racing?” MTHA general counsel Alan Foreman asked the Authority, of which he is also a member. “We suggested the idea of a Racetrack Operating Authority, which is what we have now. And then that would flow down to the not-for-profit entity that can operate our tracks with innovative management, good management, no subsidies, and is dedicated to Maryland racing… But that's the model, and that's the one that we think needs to be carefully studied as an alternative to private operation.”
At last week's meeting, 1/ST executives Craig Fravel and Kevin Gilmore emphasized the company's recent financial woes and suggested a drastically a shortened racing calendar –possibly 80-90 days of live racing versus the approximately 175 in recent years – large increases in purses, a share of video lottery terminal revenue for the track operator, and a rebuilt Pimlico as the “future home of racing.”
“We're not a top-tier racing state anymore,” Foreman said. “There was a time when Maryland was; I think we're in tier two now. Tier two tracks are absolutely critical to the foundation of racing not only in Maryland but throughout the country. You have to preserve those because they are the foundation. You cannot move this sport to just the elites or it will collapse. If you raise your purses too high, you're going to invite the big outfits from out-of-state to come in and take those opportunities away from your own horsemen.”
To read the full story at The Racing Biz, click here.
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