O'Malley administration trying to save Rosecroft
The O'Malley administration is not ready to give up on Rosecroft Raceway, Baltimore Sun colleague Hanah Cho reports.
Maryland Secretary of State John P. McDonough plans to bring together Rosecroft officials and representatives from the state's thoroughbred industry — an undertaking that will largely square on the parties' feud over an agreement to simulcast thoroughbred horse races — in an effort to keep the banktupt harness track open and preserve 200 jobs.
"I have spoken to the stakeholders, and they have an open mind to work with the governor's office to come up with a solution," McDonough told Cho. "They have strong opinions on a solution, and it's a matter of reconciling those interests."
Kelley Rogers, president of Rosecroft parent Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., said he was optimistic about potential talks.
"It's exciting that the governor has put the full weight of the office to getting this worked out so the harness industry survives," Rogers told Cho. An attorney for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, could not be reached for comment.
Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. blamed Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley this week for the track's straits.
"Rosecroft would be on much stronger financial footing today had the legislature adopted [Ehrlich's slots] plan and had the O’Malley Administration not bungled implementation of its own flawed plan," Ehrlich said in a statement after the closing was announced on Tuesday. "Maryland’s historic horse racing industry remains at a major disadvantage with neighboring states and Maryland’s unemployment line is getting longer as a result."
O'Malley campaign spokesman Rick Abbruzzese responded: "Is Bob Ehrlich's entire campaign going to be about look backwards and reminding Maryland of what he failed to accomplish when he was governor?"
