Triple Crown Jewel Lifts Tarnished Maryland Horse Racing Industry

May 23, 2011

Shackleford, right, with Jesus Castanon aboard, works down the stretch in front of Astrology, with Mike Smith aboard, during the 136th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, May 21, 2011

More than 107,000 people attended the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore to watch Shackleford speed to victory on Saturday. Government leaders and industry experts are hopeful this year's Preakness will bring a boost to the state's struggling horse industry.

Music filled the air. Colorful fancy hats dominated the view and money flowed just as fast as bettors could say, "Horse Number 5."

The crowd at Pimlico race track was the seventh largest in Preakness race history, leaving industry specialists like Bill Nack, the author of the book

Secretariat

,

The Making of a Champion

, hopeful that Maryland's declining horse racing industry might be ready to rebound.

"I think racing is going to experience a comeback," he said. "You know, there is just too much going for it. America has always had a special relationship with the horse. The horse settled the West. They have been a part of our cultural heritage, and when people see horses they have good feelings."

But Maryland horse racing needs more than good feelings to survive. Only a small portion of Preakness fans come back to Maryland's tracks during the rest of the year. That, along with poor planning and a lack of expected revenue from slot-machine gambling in the state, has left the industry with a desperate need for more money.