Martin O?Malley?s win means slots might receive a fair hearing in Annapolis. We applaud the governor-elect for stating last week that he would broker legislation to allow them at racetracks.
He told The Associated Press, “To get this issue behind us, I would have to take an active role, and that?s what?s been missing in the past.”
His support for them shows leadership ? especially because lieutenant governor-elect Anthony Brown and comptroller-to-be Peter Franchot have opposed them in the General Assembly as state delegates. So have many other members of the state Legislature, who have fought Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich?s attempts to legalize them during his tenure.
Denying the racetracks slots will not prevent people from gambling. But it will ship revenue to bordering states and deny Marylanders jobs. State gambling regulators in Pennsylvania recently approved licenses for slots at five locations, which means the hemorrhaging will only expand.
It also means a further erosion of the $1 billion state horse industry, which directly supplies an estimated 10,000 full-time jobs, according to the American Horse Council. O?Malley frequently quotes the industry as supplying 18,000 jobs, which includes suppliers and others indirectly related to it. The Horse Council places that figure at about 28,000.
The industry, launched in 1721 and a key part of the state?s identity ever since, is not in good shape. Attendance at the state?s thoroughbred and harness racing facilities dropped 30 percent from 2003-05. At Pimlico, host of the nationally renowned Preakness Stakes, attendance has dropped 37 percent over the same time. O?Malley recently equated the race with hosting the Super Bowl in Maryland each year.
Those connected to the tracks used to oppose slots thinking that they would compete with horse racing. But they don?t anymore, knowing it is the only thing that will revive attendance.
Without slots, even fewer people can be expected to show up at the deteriorating courses, lured by nearby venues across the border. If the state legislature cares about jobs and tradition it will reverse its opposition to slots. Otherwise, Marylanders could see another valued sports enterprise jump ship ? the most recent being Baltimore?s Major League Lacrosse franchise, the Bayhawks ? for more auspicious surroundings. Like any business, Maryland?s horse industry needs to make money to survive. Legislators must give it the tools to compete when they return in January.
