Slots debate injects itself into the Preakness

As horseracing fans waited to see Big Brown and his competitors in Saturday's Preakness Stakes, the debate over whether the state should legalize the release of 15,000 slot machines could be felt in the stands at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

As the Associated Press reported Sunday, about 60 proponents of the November ballot referendum passed out 5,000 T-Shirts before the race that expressed support for slots. While the shirts may have been free, they were still nearly gone by noon.

Supporters of the referendum, including Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Chesapeake Beach) say slot revenue is needed to fund education and close budget deficits, while opponents of slots, including Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) and Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Kennedyville) claim the revenue projections are bogus and cite moral objections.

Frederick Puddester, who was hired by O'Malley to lead a promotional campaign in favor of slots, said the race provided "a great opportunity" to gather support for the referendum.

Meanwhile, the organization Marylanders United to Stop Slots, blasted Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner of the Pimlico track, and the company's vice president for racing, Scott P. Borgemenke, for saying the Preakness would remain in Maryland "with or without the slots referendum."

The organization claimed Borgemenke and the company had threatened, in recent years, to move the Preakness if slots were not approved.

"So much for the argument that we need slots to keep the Preakness," Scott Arceneaux, senior advisor for Marylanders United to Stop Slots, said in a statement. "The only thing Magna's corporate executives got right, and clearly they are having trouble getting things right, is that the ‘Preakness is a Maryland tradition,' but what they don't know is that slots are not. Marylanders deserve an honest discussion about the real cost of slots. The truth is, there is no threat to the Preakness, no guarantee of revenue, and no chance slot casinos won't cost Marylanders in crime, addiction, broken homes and broken communities."

Magna, who also own the Laurel Park track in Laurel, is seeking a slots license.