Negotiations between Rosecroft Raceway and Maryland’s thoroughbred industry remain at a deadlock, and still no purchaser has come forward to rescue the bankrupt Rosecroft from an imminent bulldozing, Secretary of State John McDonough said Wednesday.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley appointed McDonough in July to expedite reopening the defunct Fort Washington track. McDonough has sketched at least one proposal for a compromise between the two parties — Rosecroft owner Cloverleaf Enterprises and the state’s thoroughbred industry — but neither will budge.
McDonough held a press conference Wednesday to report his progress — but the hope-laden speech indicated no evidence of an imminent compromise.
The track has a number of prospective purchasers in case former owner Mark Vogel doesn’t take over again, he said. A purchaser would ensure Rosecroft isn’t flattened out for an apartment complex come September.
But if and when the track gets an owner, there’s no guarantee the thoroughbred industry will bring back its simulcast signal, which enables Rosecroft to air off-site horse races.
Simulcasting thoroughbred races once accounted for 95 percent of Rosecroft’s revenue, according to Cloverleaf. But the thoroughbred industry cut off Rosecroft’s signal in 2009 after Cloverleaf stopped paying its roughly $6 million contract to air the races. One year later, Rosecroft closed due to plummeting revenues.
Adding to the tension between the parties is a thick pile of lawsuits each side has filed against the other — which all come down to the very issues McDonough is attempting to settle out of court.
The thoroughbred industry wants repayment of the debt Rosecroft owes. Rosecroft wants a promise that the industry will turn back on their simulcast signal if that debt is repaid. The thoroughbred industry wants Cloverleaf to pay millions for the signal. Cloverleaf says it can’t afford the asking price.
McDonough said his first priority for Rosecroft is securing a purchaser. As for cutting back on the simulcasting signal, he said, “it’s complicated.”
