Magna Entertainment Corp. may be a newcomer to Maryland racing, but it knows how to pick a winner in state politics.

The new owner of Pimlico and Laurel racetracks apparently ponied up at least $12,000 to support the gubernatorial candidacy of Republican Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. - a proponent of slot machines at the tracks - in the waning weeks of his victorious campaign.

Magna and two apparently related companies - MEC Lone Star L.P. and MEC Racing Management - each donated $4,000 on Oct. 28, according to a campaign disclosure filed yesterday.

The companies did not hedge their bets by giving to the already faltering campaign of Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who opposed slots.

The Magna money was part of a modest outpouring of donations to Ehrlich from gambling interests after the final pre-Election Day disclosure deadline of Oct. 20.

The gambling dollars hardly amounted to the flood predicted by some Democrats, who feared casino companies would pour money into the Ehrlich campaign that would only be made public after the election.

In addition to the Magna donations, other late gifts that appear to be linked to gambling interests include $4,000 from Harrah's Operating Co. Inc. of Memphis, Tenn., and $1,500 from WMS Gaming of Waukegan, Ill.

Magna and related entities also contributed $6,000 to the state Republican Central Committee on Oct. 31.

Other gambling money could have been contributed to Ehrlich's running mate, Michael S. Steele, whose full report was not released last night.

But overall, the Ehrlich-Steele campaign did not appear to raise a disproportionate share of its record $10.4 million in donations from gambling interests.

"We solicited none of that money," said Ehrlich's political director, Paul Schurick.

The Ehrlich campaign's fund raising surged in the final weeks as Townsend's faltered. She was able to raise about $650,000 to Ehrlich's $2.8 million in the final weeks - finishing with $8.4 million, a record for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Maryland.