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Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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LAUREL, MD. 10-09-08---On November 4, Maryland voters will decide whether or not the General Assembly can authorize expanded gambling in the state. The plan would allow 15,000 slot machines at five designated locations and could generate $700 million in revenue with 48 percent of the funds going directly towards education. Failure to pass the referendum, which will be Question 2 on the ballot, may lead to cuts in services or higher taxes and could determine the future of racing in the state.
The Maryland Jockey Club was founded in 1743 and is the longest standing organization in Maryland. Pimlico Race Course, home to the Preakness Stakes which is the middle jewel of horse racing’s famed Triple Crown, opened its doors in 1870 and is the second oldest track in the country. Laurel Park first appeared on the racing scene in 1911. The state’s racing industry was the undisputed king of the mid-Atlantic until the last decade when slot machines in Delaware, West Virginia and Pennsylvania created an unbalanced playing field in terms of purses and breeding bonuses.
“Question 2 will help preserve Maryland racing, which is supported by thousands of employees, hundreds of horse farms including thousands of acres of green space,” said Tom Chuckas, president and chief operating officer of Pimlico and Laurel Park. “All of which is at risk of disappearing from Maryland's cultural, financial and historical landscape.”
The Maryland Jockey Club is aggressively supporting “For Maryland, For Our Future”, a grassroots coalition of Marylanders dedicated to helping promote the passage of the slots referendum.
“The Maryland Jockey Club is proud to share its 265-year heritage and tradition with the people of Maryland,” added Chuckas. “As an organization with one of the longest ties to Maryland, the Maryland Jockey Club is proud to support Question 2 which will help keep the Preakness and Maryland horse industry strong for years to come.”
The slots referendum has been endorsed by among others the Maryland State Teachers Association, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Maryland Association of Counties, the AFL-CIO and AFSCME unions and the entire racing community: the Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA), Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (MTHA) and the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC).
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