Frederick County Delegation agrees to back historic-horse-racing measure, urges state consideration
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Summary
Delegates voted to send a letter of support for legislation to expand historic horse racing in Maryland that would allocate 500 machines to each casino and each off-track betting facility; Delegates flagged economic impacts and asked to direct proceeds to priorities such as agricultural education.
The Frederick County Delegation voted to submit a letter of support to the Maryland General Assembly for legislation expanding historic horse racing (HHR) in the state, after Delegate Fair described the process and economic rationale.
Delegate Fair framed HHR as a pari-mutuel system that lets bettors wager on anonymized past races and proposed allocating 500 HHR machines to every casino and 500 machines to each off-track betting facility in the state. He argued the change would improve geographic diversity of gaming access and produce local economic benefits for jurisdictions such as Frederick, Carroll and Washington counties.
Delegates asked procedural questions and discussed committee timing. Delegate Miller requested adding language to direct some proceeds to agricultural education, noting school-based budgets have declined and that ag-education programs previously received local support. Delegate Fair said the Senate hearing was next Tuesday and the House hearing was March 5 and that the matter would be considered in Ways and Means.
After discussion, the chair called for a voice vote and the delegation indicated approval; the chair said the delegation would sign the letter and forward it to the House and Senate.
What happens next: the letter of support will be transmitted to committee members and the delegation will monitor hearings in the Senate and House on the stated dates.
