From Delegate Pat McDonough:
Delegate Pat McDonough proclaimed he was now confident that his vote against extra funding for the Maryland Jockey Club with taxpayers’ money was the right decision. On the floor of the House of Delegates, while voting against the Governor’s legislation, McDonough made the comment, “You can’t fix stupid.” He was referring to what he considered to be the mismanagement of the Maryland Jockey Club, Pimlico Racecourse, and the Preakness.
The Jockey Club has introduced its latest promotion of the Preakness which features a part man/part horse creature named ‘Kegasus.’ Delegate McDonough said, “For the second year in a row, the Jockey Club has engaged in infantile, foolish antics promoting alcohol consumption and disgracing the good name of the Preakness and Maryland racing. Their mismanagement and lack of mature thinking have helped the decline of the industry and are now embarrassing this great sporting event’s image.”
Delegate McDonough concluded, “My vote against financial aid sends a clear message that we should not support stupidity with taxpayers’ handouts.”
Matt Spearman says
All I can say is wow. Im glad the delegate stood up and said this. Preakness is not about getting wasted and trying to punch horses as they race(remember that?) I have been to Preakness and will never go back, I have also been a volunteer to clean up after Preakness. That was a real eye opener for sure. I hope the Kegasus idea gets shot down.
Will Parker says
I don’t think Pat has any say in the Preakness. He should worry about his issues i.e. the MD budget and proposed Tax increases. I don’t care how stupid the Preakness ad campaign so long as my taxes don’t go up. Pat do your Job.
SuperflyofBelAir says
“You can’t fix stupid…” Is McD discussing the state legislature and their self-serving ways? The Preakness is doomed as evidenced by the pathetic “Kegasus” campaign. Shame but what did you expect? How can a racetrack surrounded by ghetto survive?
Thomas Gramenia says
Pat did have a say if you read the article! By not funding the Jockey Club it would mean less money spent on the budget.The only problem the Republicans have little say with O’Mally and his tax and spend friends. Bravo Pat for calling it as it is with the foolish promotion.
Cdev says
I think that many forget that the infield of the preakness has always had the allure of blue colar fun. Look at the track history dating back. The behavior many are condeming has always been part of the Preakness infield!
Rob in Bel Air says
Ok, so does that make it right (a field full of drunks)? I wonder who drive these drunks home . . .
Cdev says
Not judging it to be right or wrong but the moral indignation of someone now when the drinking and vulgar acts have occured for years is simply an example of them posturing for cheap political points and nothing to do with true outrage! He acts as if the moral decay at the Preakness infield is now happpening when in fact that it has been that way longer then he has been alive!
SuperflyofBelAir says
Years ago, I would have enjoyed drinking to excess on the infield. However, that seems so passe now. I find this promotion to be a sad last ditch effort. I have no idea who’s fault it is, but the Preakness and horse racing in general have been declining in popularity for a while. That’s too bad as this sport deserves more.
My worry is that by promoting alcohol as a way to attract a younger crowd, you will create an unintended consequence: Out of control behavior and more arrests.
Perhaps our pathetic state legislators can finally agree to open full casinos instead of white trash slots that no one really gives a darn about. The proceeds could boost the horse racing industry as intended and more. Why haven’t slot machines been installed at BWI the same way Vegas has them at them in their airport?
Rob in Bel Air says
Pat,
Thanks for doing a great job in Annapolis (no doubt your name is mud behind the proverbial O’Malley, Miller, Bush closed door). I’m sure they cringe every time you show up in Annapolis.
First, I do not want my tax dollars going to the racing industry. The jokers running the tracks make million-dollar salaries, yet they want Maryland taxpayers to subsidize the industry. This does not make sense to me. It’s a business and if it fails, it fails.
Second, I’m not particularly happy that Baltimore City and PG County will receive the majority of the money (if not all) from the increase in the alcohol tax. Baltimore City is a vast waste land and sending more money there will not make a difference. As for PG County, is it not a coincidence that the infamous Mike Miller represents that district? Maryland politics at its best . . .
Thanks again for doing a great job and please continue updating us on the “O’Malley, Miller, Bush” antics in Annapolis.
Cdev says
To be accurate while Mike Miller lives in Clinton and his family has for generations, Most of his district is Calvert County. PG county is a very tiny section of it.
AB says
Last year the Pimlico staff and Baltimore police enforced alcohol control at Preakness more than ever. Spectators are no longer allowed to tailgate in the Pimlico lots, nor bring beverages in to the track. I also saw many thrown out for being too intoxicated.
I ventured into the infield this past year and realized I was way too old (and sober) to be there. However, the infield is geared towards a younger, more rowdy crowd just as the infield at both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont are.
Kudos to the marketing staff of the Preakness. They created an image that would appeal to a younger crowd, attract them to attend the Preakness, and ultimately become racing fans. By creating younger racing fans, you ensure the future of your racetrack, a future that does not need government funding.
The Preakness is the “second jewel in the triple crown”. As a Marylander I would hate to see Maryland lose this historically significant event. Well done Pimlico in thinking outside of the box in order to keep people (of all ages) interested in Preakness! If nothing else, they certainly got people talking!
GLP says
When I was in college I knew a lot of people who went to Pimlico every year. Not one of them was a racing fan, not one of them became a racing fan, and not one of them could even name the winner of the race (or even any of the horses running it) without looking it up when they got home. It was just an excuse to go get drunk and party with a bunch of other people (not that most college students need much of an excuse to do that.)
Maybe a few people in the infield become racing fans, but they’re kinda like 4 leaf clovers…they exist, but good luck finding one.
I don’t want my tax money subsidizing horse racing so a bunch of college kids can go get drunk and few track managers and owners can make 10x what I make.
Rob in Bel Air says
AB,
I agree with you that it would be a huge loss for Maryland, but do Maryland taxpayers have to be tapped each time, each year, to bail out the tracks? Keep in mind that many taxpayers make well under $100,000 a year, and many, much less; yet, the track owners’ salaries are high six figure and perhaps seven figures. Why should Maryland families pay taxes for this when many are not interested and/or never been to a race. I just don’t get it. Here’s a better idea: if maryland has extra tax money that it can subsidize such organizations as the Jcket Cub, Casa de Maryland, and others, why not return that money to the tax payers. Now that’s a novel idea.
Maryland politicians had a chance to help the racing industry with slots, but they made it so difficult (1) because they did not want a Republician governor credited with the solution, and (2) they made it too complex and expensive for one to obtain a license.
It’s just not right and Pat is right on the mark with this one.
Rob in Bel Air says
Correction: Jockey Club
MrMarkN says
Well posted, Rob! What a novel idea, indeed! A government more interested in being responsible stewards of our tax dollars instead of a government trying to squeeze every last penny they can out of an already stretched to the limit constituency! A government “of the people, by the people, and FOR THE PEOPLE” instead of a partisan “elite” dictating to me what they will do with my hard-earned money. A government much like our founding fathers envisioned oh those many years ago. A government more interested in MY welfare instead of theirs.
AB says
I agree with you completely that the track shouldn’t be receiving tax money, because they shouldn’t need it. Tracks such as Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Santa Anita are all thriving without tax money. What these tracks have in common is that they have good marketing campaigns that draw people in all racing season long.
I think McDonough however shouldn’t criticize these “foolish antics” however because these antics are what will get people into the stands to overpay for “Kegasus” merchandise and beer, which will keep racing going, rather than tax dollars. Unfortunately “mature decision making” did not fill the infield in the past, but good marketing will, and Kegasus might.
amazed... says
So, they’ll fill the track stands and infield with tens of thousands of people who’ve purchased a ticket… according to someone here they can’t bring their own drinks so they’ll pay the cost of a 12 pack for a single drink and they want the Maryland tax payer to pay for the advertising of this event? WTF? Frankly I don’t understand why horse racing isn’t considered animal cruelty.
Rob in Bel Air says
Amazed,
Besides racing, think what they do when the horse is no longer of value . . . off to the glue factory (unless someone rescues it). I think the owners of the tracks need to chip in and pay for the advertising . . . and not Maryland tax payers.
AB says
Unfortunately there is a lot of cruelty that comes with horse racing, but more often there is also a great deal of celebrity and horses who are treated better than many humans. Horses like Zenyatta have a fan following and the posh lifestyle that comes with it. Other retired horses such as Cigar (from Bel Air, who now lives at the Kentucky Horse Park) go off to horse “retirement farms” where they are still visited by fans and treated quite well. Even Philadelphia’s Pink Goose who has lost just about every race has a few fans out there.
I thought horse racing was a lot more cruel than it actually is until I started learning more about it and how some of these trainers treat these horses like family members.
Billy Jack says
For the winners, the champions, and a very few lucky others, race horses are treated well and coddled. For the vast majority, however, their lives are not pleasant and for many, their lives are hell. Horse racing is cruel, as is dog racing, and the sooner it dies away the better.
Rob in Bel Air says
CDev,
Just because it has been going on for generations, does that make it right? Is it proper? And again, I ask, who are driving these drunks home? As for Mike Miller, regardless of the amount of territory he represents, I have to think that this was a pay off in some form or fashion. Mike Miller does not do things out of the goodness of his heart; he is slick and a typical liberal self-serving politician.
Cdev says
Rob did you read. I am not making any claim as to weather it is right. The republican in me says….to each his own! I simply am pointing out that Pat is awefully late to the moral indecency party as it has been going on for a long time. Where was he then?
As to Miller you claimed his district was all PG county and a close look at the district and how it has migrated will show you that is wrong! Could he be getting something? maybe but your facts as you presented them are innacurate!
Rob in Bel Air says
CDEV,
Thanks, I don’t know where we would be without you regularly correcting us. For a Republican, you sure go out of your way to bash Republicans while defending democrats. I think we know what type of Republican you are.
Cdev says
Yes one that thinks for himself and looks at things objectively! I don’t need Rush to teel me how to think and communicate it to others!
one more former student says
hey Pat, instead of bashing the ad campaign that a reputable firm came up with, after the last one they did was a success, why don’t you come up with a way to generate the ticket sales and the sponsors.No… well didn’t expect much from ya anyway. Just another politician who climbs on the soap box to thump his chest and point fingers.Guess you won’t be at or watching the Preakness, good! You can have plenty of time to actually do the work people elected you to do. Which in case you forgot, is to better the Complete ,..repeat, COMPLETE.. quality of life for all maryland citizens. So don’t forget about the ones whom you don’t agree with.
RegulardudeHarford@yahoo.com says
Does anyone really believe that a wave of new horse racing fans will be the result of massive alcohol induced craziness in the Preakness infield? There will be fun and games, arrests, fights and more. I am not against enjoying a few beers at a sporting event, but please, this is pathetic at best.
Most of those drunk youngsters would flock to any event where cheap beer can be guzzled by the 30 pack. They are not, repeat, not going to support the racing industry as a result.
Time to i
nvest in port-o-potties if you want to make $!
Scott T W. says
@One More Former … Since when is it the job of our elected officials to “better the complete quality of life for all Maryland citizens”? They took an oath to obey & defend the US Constitution, as well as, the MD Constitution. The MD Constitution makes no mention of providing a better quality of life for its citizens. Neither does the US Constitution. The US Constitution states in the preamble, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.” Show me quality of life. There’s also no mention of quality of life in the MD Constitution’s Declaration of Rights or other sections. Let’s not confuse what they swore an oath to protect with what you think they should be doing.
Cdev says
Scott while you are correct. One more former student’s point that Pat McDonough ignores his constiuents with whom he disagrees is also very correct.