No Slots? Magna threatens to take ball and go home.

Magna Entertainment Corp. president Michael Neuman on Tuesday told investors on a conference call:

"We will not proceed without alternative gaming and a free-enterprise approach to regulation there or anywhere else because we are too encumbered to get the kind of return that you'd expect us to be seeking," Mr. Neuman said yesterday of expansion plans in California and Michigan.

What's interesting to me is that Magna is placing all of the blame on the state legislators. No doubt they bear some of the burden for ignoring racing over time, but it's not as if Magna has put its best foot forward in offering fans the best product. Pimlico is, in a word, a dump. And you need a GPS homing beacon to find a fan who isn't drawing social security checks.

Mr. Neuman also issued a strong warning to Maryland, where MEC officials have been lobbying and pushing the state government for several years to permit slots at racetracks in a move they say would not only boost horse racing, but also provide revenue for the state, which would have a share in the proceeds.

"It's not enough for Magna Entertainment to say, gee, we love racing in Maryland, we'd love to see it continue forever and ever, amen," Mr. Neuman said. "The state of Maryland has to decide that they want racing to prosper."

I think it makes it real clear why Magna got involved... it's just nice to hear an executive admit it. I find Magna's short-sighted view of slot machines being the one and only solution very troubling. The Bug Boys suggest that you could see a sell-off of some of Magna's interests in Maryland. The Courier-Journal reports that Neuman said that while assests could be sold, there will be no fire sale. A sell off may be a good thing for Maryland fans and horsemen... to get an owner who will say, "Gee, we love racing in Maryland, we'd love to see it continue forever and ever."

Since it's unfair to point to cash-cows like Keeneland as a shining star of how to do it without slots, I'll point to tracks like Oaklawn which have recently shown that there are more than one way to skin a cat (yes they have that "Instant racing" gimmick)... I'm not sure why Magna can't see the big picture.

I've said it before, I think there are better long-term option than the quick fix of slot machines. If tracks were more willing to put in the time, energy, and money that they are willing to put into slots (between potential improvements, lobbyist costs/efforts, constant focus) and instead refocus on a) taking care of the horsemen and b) taking care of the patron -- I think the product would be moving in the right direction. Don't ask me, I'm just a fan.