Gov. Parris N. Glendening will ask the General Assembly to authorize new thoroughbred racetracks, hoping to stimulate competition -- and to settle a political score with Joseph A. De Francis, who holds monopoly control of the sport in Maryland.

"If we're serious about upgrading racing and if I'm going to put more state money in racing purses, we should do this," Glendening said yesterday.

Glendening said he believes there are a number of investors interested in new tracks. He would not identify them, but he acknowledged meeting recently with Peter G. Angelos, principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles, who reportedly is considering a track in the White Marsh area of Baltimore County. Angelos was not available for comment.

Adding more tracks could change the face of the industry in Maryland, an outcome widely desired by those in the $600-million-per-year state industry who believe De Francis has failed to promote the sport adequately, holding out for legalization of slot machines as the sport's only saving innovation.

The governor's effort to produce a more competitive racing environment has been widely endorsed among racing interests in Maryland, but he appears to be pursuing it with a vengeance because De Francis opposed him in last year's gubernatorial election and spent at least $200,000 for television commercials to help Glendening's opponent, Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey.

Glendening's initiative comes as House Speaker Casper R. Taylor, a Cumberland Democrat, is moving to create an authority to revive the old Fairgo racetrack at the Allegany County Fairgrounds, south of Cumberland near Potomac Park, now used for auto racing.

Taylor said a Marylander of "enormous wealth," whom he would not identify, wants to buy or lease the half-mile track near Cumberland, rebuild it as a mile track and turn it into a state-of-the-art facility.

Glendening said he supports Taylor's effort, and the speaker, in turn, endorsed Glendening's broader initiative. Other Democratic leaders in the assembly have said they view a legislative effort to end De Francis' control with concern.

Taylor said he worries about an attempt to make such a sweeping change all at once. "My fear would be that if you load it up like an overdressed Christmas tree, it'll fall apart," the speaker said.

Both men said the track developers they have in mind believe racing is viable in Maryland without slot machines. Taylor has been in favor of slots, but he said the unnamed Maryland developer believes the redeveloped track in Cumberland would not need them.

"Would he like slot machines? He probably would," Taylor said, referring to the unnamed developer. But the project will be economically viable without them, he said, because it would be instantly competitive with racetracks of various kinds in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Guarded reactions

The proposals received guarded reactions yesterday from legislators and racing officials.

"Racing is a dying industry," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. "It's got ills that are not going to be solved by simply opening up another racetrack. That simply compounds the problems."

Timothy T. Capps, executive vice president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, said: "In theory, it would be good for racing to have a new track, but you don't know what people have in mind. Just building a new track won't necessarily improve anyone's lot in life."

Poor performers

Richard Wilke, executive in residence at the University of Louisville's equine industry program and a former executive vice president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, said new racetracks have posted remarkably poor performances nationwide in the past 15 years. Of the 10 new tracks that have opened in that time, only one -- Lone Star, outside Dallas -- can be considered a success, he said. Many of the others have ended up in bankruptcy.

Returning an element of seasonality, in which tracks opened and closed for short, sequenced meets, could restore some of the excitement that was lost when Maryland went to full-year racing under De Francis, Wilke said. Furthermore, Maryland's languishing racing industry could stand some internal competition, he said.

That wouldn't necessarily be good for De Francis. "Obviously, having control of the entire thoroughbred market 12 months of the year is better for Joe as a corporation. But I think the sport needs something in Maryland," Wilke said.

Slots momentum slowing

Bernie Horn, executive director of NOcasiNO, a Maryland-based group opposed to expanding gambling, said he has less fear these days that a new track would be a stalking-horse for slots. The momentum for slots has diminished greatly, he said.

"If they think they are going to spend all these millions of dollars creating a money-losing track for the purpose of getting slots, they better be prepared to lose their investment," he said.

Asked what he knew of Angelos' plans, the governor said, "Our conversation was proprietary." Though they have not been close, Angelos and Glendening have been talking in recent weeks, according to a source who knows them both.

The new authority sought by Glendening and Taylor would be proposed in amendments to be offered soon for one of several pending racing bills.

Glendening said he sees a link between his effort to create a more competitive environment and his willingness to provide more money to subsidize purses paid to winning horses. With slot machine revenues increasing prize money in Delaware, Maryland has put more than $16 million into purses and advertising over the past two years.

Suggesting that some of that state marketing money advanced to De Francis had gone into the track owner's anti-Glendening political ads during the last campaign, the governor said, "I saw how that money was used last year."

He added: "It's not likely to happen in the next 12 years," suggesting that neither he nor Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend would agree to such spending again should she be elected to succeed him and serve two four-year terms.

Storied history

Taylor said he had suggested redeveloping Fairgo to the Maryland businessman, who he declined to identify. Fairgo, he said, has a storied history in Western Maryland, where some of its well-known local families were involved in years past -- including Taylor's father, who owned several horses.

The speaker said a new track would be a tourist destination, along with the complex of attractions radiating out from the new lodge at Rocky Gap State Park and its golf course. After its live racing meets, he said, the facility would be available for bettors to visit for simulcasting of races from other tracks.

Any traffic would be more than welcome in Allegany County, which usually leads the state in average unemployment, said John R. Kirby, the county's director of economic development. "We're in desperate need of any type of development," he said.

Staff writer Thomas W. Waldron contributed to this story.

Pub Date: 3/10/99