Overflow Crowd at 'Tense' Meeting for Timonium OTB

By

A public hearing about whether a year-round simulcasting room will be allowed to open within the grandstand of the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium drew an overflow crowd of hundreds on Thursday night, but the Maryland State Racing Commission deferred a vote on the controversial issue until its next scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

The plan, which would be a partnership between the Maryland Jockey Club and the fairgrounds operators, has drawn unexpected, but highly charged opposition in recent weeks.

WBAL-TV in Baltimore described the meeting as “tense” and reported that “many people were turned away from Thursday's meeting because the room was full, leading some to question whether a conspiracy theory was taking place.”

Several “emergency” bills were filed in the Maryland General Assembly last week to try and stop the off-track betting plan from moving forward.

Timonium, which hosts 10 days of Thoroughbred races every August, is currently only allowed to simulcast when the fair's racing is in session.

The OTB within the fairgrounds is part of a larger statewide MJC expansion into a network of a half-dozen or so simulcasting sites where revenues are split in even thirds among the property owners, the MJC, and Maryland horsemen.

Shawn Blair, president of the local Stratford Community Association, contacted TDN last week to say that the MJC has been misrepresenting the views of residents in published reports about the proposed OTB.

Blair said the chief concern of residents is gambling, specifically in terms of the OTB being a potential foothold for future expanded gaming and fears that the OTB will bring down property values. Blair also said an apparent lack of permitting for the construction phase of the project is troubling. The traffic in that neighborhood is already over saturated, he also said, so any new amount of daily flow will have an adverse impact.

MJC vice president and general manager Sal Sinatra has asserted throughout the process that he projects only about 100-150 horseplayers arriving in about 35-50 vehicles to visit the OTB daily, and that the MJC is willing to put it in writing that the MJC is not aiming to establish any form of expanded gaming at the fairgrounds.

 

Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.

Copy Article Link

X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.