By T. D. Thornton
A Maryland Racing Commission vote on whether a year-round simulcasting room will be allowed to open within the grandstand of the state fairgrounds at Timonium will be pushed back at least one more day so that input from another community meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon can be factored into the decision.
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.
“They're going to wait about 24 to 48 hours to vote because I have a closed meeting scheduled at the fairgrounds with the town and community leaders, and I was actually waiting for some more of my [safety inspection] permitting to come though,” said MJC vice president and general manager Sal Sinatra. “I think the commission is going to do a vote by conference call, if I understood them correctly. It would either be late [Wednesday] or early Thursday.”
The OTB within the fairgrounds, where Thoroughbreds race 10 days every August, is part of a larger MJC expansion into a network of a half-dozen or so simulcasting sites at which revenues are split in even thirds among the property owners, the MJC, and the state's Thoroughbred and Standardbred horsemen. Some abutters and community leaders have opposed the plan, citing expanded gambling, improper permitting, the lack of adequate public hearings, and traffic woes as reasons against allowing an OTB.
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