Penn National joins MID in Maryland Jockey Club
Horseracing Betting Lines
05/07/2010 - Wyomissing, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn National Gaming and MI Development (MID) announced Friday morning the establishment of a joint venture to own and operate the Maryland Jockey Club.
The Maryland Jockey Club conducts thoroughbred racing at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, and maintains Bowie Race Course as a training facility. The announcement comes just eight days before the running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
"Our involvement in Pimlico, home to one of thoroughbred racing's crown jewels, the Preakness Stakes, and Laurel Park, is consistent with Penn National's strategy of expanding and diversifying our portfolio of pari-mutuel operations and presence in key markets," Peter M. Carlino, chief executive officer of Penn National, said. "We look forward to working with MI Developments on the redevelopment of surplus real estate assets at the Maryland Jockey Club, as well as collaborating with the local horsemen and community members and leaders in Baltimore and Laurel to support their efforts to continue delivering a high-quality racing experience at these two historic racing venues."
The future of thoroughbred racing in Maryland has been under question since Magna Entertainment declared bankruptcy last year. Magna, a subsidiary of MID, operated the Maryland Jockey Club.
"This transaction is consistent with our plan to enhance the returns of our racing and real estate assets and pursue other opportunities, including the potential for gaming, to benefit the value of the Maryland Jockey Club," said Dennis Mills, MID's vice chairman and chief executive officer. "Penn National is a strong partner with complementary pari-mutuel, real estate and gaming industry expertise as well as a strong financial position. We look forward to working with Penn National, the racing industry and local regulators to develop business models that will ensure the ongoing success of these high quality assets."
The transaction must be approved by the Maryland Racing Commission while other customary closing conditions must also be satisfied.
Just last week Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Attorney General Doug Gansler, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Tom Chuckas, President and COO of the Maryland Jockey Club, announced a settlement agreement that ensures the Preakness will remain in Maryland.
Under that agreement Maryland waives its statutory right of first refusal to buy the Preakness Stakes and parent company MID agrees that it will not move the Preakness from Maryland. The agreement also specifically states:
MID agrees that the Preakness Covenant will be binding on MID's successors and assigns; The State of Maryland and MID agree that any disputes about the agreement, including a dispute about the Preakness Covenant, will be decided in a Maryland court; The parties acknowledge that money damages would not be a sufficient remedy for breach of the Preakness Covenant, and agree that Maryland is entitled to specific performance and injunctive or other equitable relief as a remedy for a breach of the Preakness Covenant; and Nothing in the Agreement alters or negates the State's statutory, police, or regulatory power.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to grab a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals when they visit the Vancouver Canucks for tonight's pivotal Game 4 battle at General Motors Place. The second-seeded Blackhawks
<< UConn's Calhoun receives five-year extension
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Connecticut handed longtime
men's head basketball coach Jim Calhoun a five-year contract extension running
through the 2014 season on Friday.
The deal is effective retroactively from July
<< Aussie great Newcombe has skin cancer surgery
Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 John Newcombe
underwent surgery to have a cancerous growth removed from the right side of
his nose.
"It's a cancerous growth so he (the doctor) had to cut...and finish
<< Dodgers to host Rockies in key divisional set
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier will bring his
Triple Crown numbers and late-game heroics into Friday's opener of a three-
game series versus the NL West-rival Colorado Rockies at Chavez Ravine.
Ethier was at i
<< Angels, Mariners to square off in battle of reeling clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of slumping American League West rivals get together
tonight in the Emerald City, where the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim collide in the opener of a three-game series at Safeco Field.
The Marine
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal will be the home of Major League Soccer's 19th franchise, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber and expansion team owner Joey Saputo announced on Friday during a press confere
Lipscomb F Hodzic withdraws for NBA Draft >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lipscomb University forward Adnan Hodzic has
withdrawn from the 2010 NBA Draft and will return to the school for his senior
season.
Hodzic had entered the draft on April 8, but did not hire an agent.
"By
Lyon desperate to get back to Champions League >>
Valenciennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After reaching the semifinals of the
Champions League for the first time in club history, Lyon is eager to return
to Europe's premier club competition, but they must first get back into the
top thr
Lipscomb F Hodzic withdraws from NBA Draft >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lipscomb University forward Adnan Hodzic has
withdrawn from the 2010 NBA Draft and will return to the school for his senior
season.
Hodzic had entered the draft on April 8, but did not hire an agent.
"By
Motherwell eyes Europa League spot >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Motherwell needs a win over Rangers on
Sunday to clinch fourth place in the Scottish Premier League and secure a spot
in the Europa League for next season.
But if they are successful, they can point
2007 online football betting Preview
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
2007 College Football Betting Preview
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
Las Vegas Sports Lines
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.