After less than a year of owning Maryland’s two thoroughbred racetracks, Penn National Gaming is already considering an exit strategy.
Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers told The Daily Record Thursday that the company is “considering” options to sell its 49 percent stake in Laurel and Pimlico racetracks.
The Maryland Jockey Club, which operates the tracks, “may be better served by a single entity ownership structure given the complexities and dynamics of any 50/50 partnership,” Schippers said in an e-mail.
When the company first announced its deal with co-owner MI Developments last summer, many horsemen saw it as a positive turn for the state’s beleagured tracks and the effort to bring alternative gambling to horse racing. But that may have been the last nice thing anyone has said about Penn National and its role in Maryland horse racing.
The company came under fire late last year when it and MID proposed an anemic racing schedule for the 2011 season. A full season’s schedule was only reached after funding concessions were made by the state.
The company also operates a casino in Cecil County and has been criticized for getting involved with the jockey club’s effort to halt a casino development in Anne Arundel County by Baltimore developer David Cordish. Most recently, Penn National, MID and others were named in a $600 million lawsuit filed by the Cordish Cos. and two of its gambling subsidiaries.
Looks like the drama of Maryland’s horse racing’s industry is getting to be too much even for a successful racetrack and casino developer to handle.
If it does sell, it could be interesting to see what Penn National does with its recent purchase, Prince George’s County harness racing track Rosecroft Raceway. Just 30 miles from Laurel Park (read: a less fought-over gaming jurisdiction) Rosecroft could benefit greatly if Penn decides to put all its Maryland gambling eggs in that basket instead of splitting its time lobbying for the two tracks.
