Gov. Martin O?Malley wants to place 15,000 slots throughout the state ? with Laurel Park racetrack getting the most at 4,200 ? to help the struggling horse-racing industry.
Alice Dibben is the founder of the Pasadena Horse and Pony Association and a racehorse breeder. The Examiner spoke with her about her position on slots and its impact on the horse industry.
Do you support slots in Anne Arundel?
We?re campaigning for slots, because the purses are so small compared to Delaware and West Virginia. People are leaving, and farms are shutting down.
I hear [House Speaker Thomas Miller] and [Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold] say only rich people own horses. … A lot of poor people and retired people on fixed incomes like me are involved with horses. If the small owners left, the industry would be out of business.
Is it more lucrative to race horses in West Virginia than in Maryland?
The purse in Charles Town [Races and Slots] is twice as much as in Maryland, where if you have a cheap horse, you can?t pay your bills.
But we can?t race all the time in Charles Town, because we?d lose our stalls in Bowie ? we have to race in Maryland.
If slots are designed to help the horse industry, what positive benefits would come from improved horse tracks?
It supports the people of industry, like the hay and feed people, not just the horse owners. … It would help the horse farms in south county.
If those farms close down, a lot of open space is gone, especially the way south county is growing.
What about the perceived negative impact of crime that comes with slots?
At Charles Town … they have so much security, and you wouldn?t believe how highly regulated horse racing is.
Slots machine users are not of a dangerous sort.
