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Md. Race Tracks Would Have To Simulcast To Get Aid

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland race tracks would have to agree to simulcast their races before they get millions of dollars in state aid under a proposal approved Saturday by a Senate committee.

The measure is part of a compromise Gov. Martin O'Malley crafted to keep horses racing in Maryland this year and allow track owners to borrow money from the state.

But Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and Rosecroft Raceway would have to agree on a plan to broadcast each other's races before they can access the state aid. Ocean Downs would not be affected by the proposal.

"Our intent was to bring them to an agreement because this is money they could be raising for themselves rather than relying on the state," said Joseph Bryce, O'Malley's chief lobbyist.

The stipulation stems largely from a legal scuffle between the previous owner of Rosecroft, Cloverleaf Enterprises, and the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Pimlico and Laurel. The Maryland Racing Commission cut Rosecroft's feed of thoroughbred races shortly before the running of the Kentucky Derby in 2009 after Cloverleaf refused to pay $5.9 million for the broadcast rights.

If the three tracks can't work out a deal they won't get the money, Bryce said.

The Senate plan also reduces the aid that would go to the state's harness racing tracks. Rosecroft and Ocean Downs would be limited to a one-time grant of $1.2 million each from the state fund used to bolster race track prizes, also called purses.

Under the House version of the plan the two tracks would each have been eligible for up to $1.2 million annually. The Senate panel also stripped out a $3 million loan slated for Rosecroft.

Ocean Downs owner William Rickman and Penn National "need some enticement to bring racing back to the trotting scene," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D-Calvert.

Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chairman Ed Kasemeyer, D-Baltimore County, had considered stripping the funding for Ocean Downs and Rosecroft earlier in the week, but ultimately supported the compromise.

Sen. Doug Peters, D-Prince George's, whose district includes the Bowie horse training facility, worked hard to save the funding for the two harness tracks, Miller said.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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