ON HORSE RACING AND SLOT MACHINES |
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Combine the economic benefits of Maryland’s football, baseball and basketball teams. Multiply that by three. Add a few more dollars. Now you have an idea of the size of the impact horse racing has on our state. Yet Delaware, a state with a much smaller economy and no tradition of horse breeding or racing, has managed to grab a progressively bigger slice of the $1.3 billion the industry brings to Maryland. How has this happened? In two words: slot machines. During the first year of operation, 1996, Delaware slot machines took in $2.1 billion. In 1997, wagering at Delaware tracks reached an astronomical $3.6 billion, with no less than one third of that coming from Marylanders. There's no doubt that much of Delaware's newfound wealth is coming at the expense of Maryland business, tourism and labor. Why else would Delaware race track owners be running a massive and very expensive advertising campaign on television, billboards, the Internet, and even indoor signs in Maryland sporting arenas to lure Marylanders away from Pimlico, Laurel and other tracks? This could have been avoided if Parris Glendening had not flip-flopped on allowing slot machines at Maryland racetracks, putting 17,000 jobs - from food service to tellers to hayfarmers - in jeopardy. The fact is, Maryland's racing industry lives - and dies - by the size of the purses it offers to horse owners. In the two years since Delaware added slots to its racetracks, its purses have grown significantly larger than Maryland’s. In 1995, before slots, Delaware purses in the Open Allowance category averaged $20,000, thousands less than Maryland. But in 1997, average Delaware purses in this same category doubled to $40,000. Thousands more than Maryland. As Delaware’s purses grow, they are be able to attract better horses, better trainers and better paying jobs. As Maryland’s purses shrink in comparison our racing industry is being left in the dust. The size of the purses is only one of several ominous signs about the future of the horse racing industry in Maryland. Slot money has been reinvested, allowing Delaware Park to add $15 million in improvements, which will draw still more Maryland dollars out of our state. Furthermore, Delaware has been able to reduce their already low state taxes and make substantial increases in education funding. An additional ominous development is that Maryland now faces the same threat from West Virginia. In 1997, that state added slot machines at Charlestown racetrack. Maryland is literally being flanked on both sides and allowing our pockets picked by our neighbors. Eileen Rehrmann supports permitting Maryland’s racetracks to operate slot machines, allowing them to compete evenly with their competitors. "It makes no sense to force this much money to leave Maryland and to allow this important industry to die." Rehrmann also objects to the hypocrisy of the governor’s "no slots" position. The extensive gambling over which he presided in Prince Georges’ County for 12 years shows that he must not object on principle. Besides, the State spends millions of dollars encouraging people to buy lottery tickets. Glendening would like the people of Maryland to believe that he is taking the high road when it comes to the issue of allowing slots at Maryland tracks. He isn't. He is simply gambling with the economy of our state, pulling the rug out from under thousands of working families whose livelihoods depend on racing, and removing a major source of revenue. That’s a really bad bet. |
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Date last modified:Monday, February 26, 2001 |
Copyright�1998 |
Eileen Rehrmann for Governor |