Posts Tagged ‘laurel park’

By Ray Paulick
If anyone can explain the confusing situation in Maryland regarding slot machine revenue to horsemen and the future ownership of the Maryland Jockey Club racetracks—Pimlico and Laurel Park, owned by Frank Stronach’s bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corporation—I figure it’s Richard J. Hoffberger. A longtime owner/breeder and operator of the equine specialist Hoffberger Insurance Group, Hoffberger has been president of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association since the group’s formation in 1987.

The Paulick Report caught up with Hoffberger on the road this week somewhere between Baltimore and Philadelphia Park to get an update on the challenging circumstances the Maryland racing and breeding industry is facing, with increasing competition from slots-rich states all around: Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

What is the general feeling of Maryland horsemen right now?
Certainly there is a feeling of why didn’t we do this a long time ago? Fifteen years ago I stood at a podium talking to the press and introducing the concept of slots at Maryland racetracks. We said we would send $100 million to $150 million in tax revenue to the state each year and help save the Maryland horse industry. Using the conservative figure of $100 million a year, that was $1.6 billion ago. The state needs the money and the horse industry is in dire straits.

It’s typical political wrangling and it’s happening in too many states on too many issues. I don’t think anybody in today’s world would argue health care doesn’t need reform, but how do you do it? Nobody has really argued that slots at the racetracks is a bad idea, but how to you do it? It’s not just us: Kentucky, New York and some other states are going through the same thing. There is definitely a feeling of frustration.

Does the Maryland THA have a preference among the six groups eligible to bid on the Maryland Jockey Club tracks in the bankruptcy auction that’s been delayed several times and is now scheduled for March 25?
We hope a scenario exists where there can be slots at Laurel. We’ve always wanted slots at the racetrack. Our philosophy and desires are unchanged. We want somebody who wants to run races. We are in the racing business and we want somebody who wants to run races. We never contemplated slots would not be at the racetrack (the Arundel County Council approved a plan putting slots at the Arundel Mills Mall and not at nearby Laurel Park). If slots are at the track, they would be required to run 220 days of live racing a year, or less with agreement of the horsemen. But if there are no slots at the track, that provision doesn’t apply.

What is happening with slot machines throughout the state, and in particular Anne Arundel County, where there’s a petition drive to overturn the council decision?
The way it works in Maryland, slots revenue to the horse industry is not location specific. Two locations, in Cecil County and Ocean Downs, will probably be the first of the five specific locations approved for slots to open. The split going to purses is the same irrespective of location. The problem is if the racetrack operator can’t make any money, we could have the scenario of cash available for purses but not have any place to run. That’s the big fear.

Theoretically, higher purses attract better horses and create better wagering opportunities, driving up handle. Could that apply in Maryland if the tracks don’t get slots?
Throughout the U.S. in the last 20 years we haven’t found a scenario where tracks can compete favorably with slot machines. The biggest example is what happened in Illinois when (Richard) Duchossois spent all that money to rebuild Arlington Park and is struggling because of the riverboat competition and actually closed down for a while.

So what’s up with the petition drive to overturn the county commission’s zoning approval for slots at the Arundel Mills Mall?
The law in Anne Arundel County not specific to slots says if the zoning board, the county commission, passes a zoning law, then the citizens have the right to overturn the zoning approval with a petition signed by 19,500 people within 40 days of the zoning regulation being signed into law. It then it goes to a public referendum. Approval of slot machines is predicated on zoning approval. When Arundel Mills got zoning approval, there was a move afoot to overturn the ruling. Enough signatures appear to have been gathered; approximately 40,000 have been submitted though not yet approved. Any referendum would be in November.

If the zoning decision is reversed in Anne Arundel County, the whole bid process starts again, and somebody else has to apply for zoning. It’s back to square one.

What impact does the Anne Arundel situation have on the value of the Maryland Jockey Club tracks and the potential auction?
Obviously if the potential for slots existed, assuming that Arundel Mills gets knocked out, then the possibility exists for them to go back to Laurel. You don’t have to be an economist to see the value of the property goes up. It’s a gamble. But every business is a gamble.

When horsemen do get benefits from slots revenue, how much of a difference could it make to purses?
Assuming the Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County locations are up, we could be looking, by the time the machines are mature, at $70 million to purses each year. That’s the maximum. We could be looking at $100 million a year in total purses in Maryland.

What do you think is going to happen to Pimlico and the Preakness?
I think they’ll stay. Pimlico and the Preakness is a money maker. If you won Pimlico in a poker game this afternoon, you’d be the happiest guy in the horse business.

Have the delays and uncertainty damaged Maryland’s breeding industry beyond repair, or can it bounce back?
Look at what happened in Pennsylvania. That came on pretty quick. Can we bounce back? Yeah. Have horse will travel. We tell politicians it’s very easy to put horses on a van. We talk about the Baltimore Colts packing up everything in a moving van and leaving in the middle of the night. The difference is, in the horse industry, you can ship five mares a day, and in 100 days you’ve lost 500 mares. Your breeding industry is dead.

The key in Maryland, everybody in the horse industry wants to see what happens with the auction of the tracks. Is it going to get delayed again? Magna, in bankruptcy, has been running races, which is good. We’ll see who buys the tracks. There’s six groups putting in proposals, which is kind of like nominating for a stakes. Even if you won the lottery this afternoon you couldn’t become a bidder. Penn Gaming is a potential bidder. Who knows what they want to do. Cordish (which won the Arundel Mills Mall zoning approval for slots) is a bidder, and MID (Stronach’s MI Developments, which struck a deal in bankruptcy court to keep Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and Golden Gate Fields) is in there. It’s anybody’s guess, and I don’t even think the people bidding know how it’s going to end up. All those players say they are in it to get the job done.

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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Baltimore-based Cordish Companies filed a suit against Citizens Against Slots at the Mall, alleging their recently filed petition was ‘riddled with fraudulent signatures’. The petition was created to keep the developer from installing VLTs at Arundel Mills mall.

This issue created real controversy at the end of 2009 when the VLT license was given to the shopping center of Laurel Park, causing many Marylanders to feel duped by the recently passed law that was sold as aid to the racing industry.

Read it at the Baltimore Sun

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

 Mother Nature has wreaked havoc on racetracks coast-to-coast. Racing was cancelled last Saturday at Santa Anita; all three graded stakes will be run this Saturday, Feb. 13, in addition to the Grade 2 Santa Maria. Santa Anita’s 10-race program will feature five stakes races, including the G1 Las Virgenes and a pair of Grade 2s, the Strub and the Robert B. Lewis. The Las Virgenes has attracted a field of six 3-year-old fillies to go once around the all-weather track. Blind Luck will be heavily favored based on her final three starts in 2009—she won the G1 Oak Leaf before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and ended the year with a seven-length win in G1 Hollywood Starlet. Among those taking on Blind Luck will be Crisp, winner of G3 Santa Ysabel, and Switch, third in G2 Santa Ynez.

The first two finishers in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic will square off in the G2 Santa Maria, the 8th race on the card. In the 1 1/16-mile dirt test, Life Is Sweet will make her 2010 debut against Florida invader Mushka.

Trainer Bob Baffert has his eyes on a couple prizes Saturday. If Misremembered can prove himself in the Strub, he’ll head for the Santa Anita Handicap, more familiarly known as the Big ‘Cap, next month. Misremembered, a ridgling son of Candy Ride last ran second to M One Rifle in the G1 Malibu. The nine-furlong Strub, for 4-year-olds, has also attracted Smart Bid and Rendezvous, second and third, respectively in the G2 San Fernando.

Baffert hopes to have yet another Kentucky Derby prospect with Tiz Chrome. The son of Tiznow comes into the 1 1/16-mile Robert B. Lewis with just two starts, but his debut at Churchill Downs and his winning performance in the Stuka Stakes at Hollywood were eye-catching. Facing him will be Eoin Harty-trained American Lion, also a son of Tiznow, who won the Hollywood Prevue.

At Gulfstream Park on Saturday, a pair of graded sprints will be featured—the G3 Hurricane Bertie, for older fillies and mares going six-and-a-half furlongs, and the G2 Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship, seven furlongs for males, four and up. The first three finishers from the G3 Sugar Swirl (Pretty Prolific, Warbling and Tar Heel Mom) are entered in the Hurricane Bertie, as well as a pair shipping in from California, Pinkarella and Kays and Jays. Barring wet track conditions, Munnings will be favored in the Sprint Championship, despite his lengthy absence from the track.

Tampa Bay Downs will host two G3 stakes on Saturday. The spotlight will be on Rule in the 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis. The WinStar Farm homebred has a three-race win coming in, including his most recent win in the Delta Jackpot. Lady Shakespeare takes on an overflow field in the Endeavour, a 1 1/16 mile race for older fillies and mares.

The 1 1/8-mile G2 La Canada on Sunday’s Santa Anita program has attracted a full field of 14 4-year-old fillies, including Stardom Bound, runner-up in the El Encino. Among those facing her are Pretty Unusual, winner of the El Encino, and Unrivaled Belle, who beat Stardom Bound last November in the Gazelle.

On Monday’s Presidents Day card at Laurel, two graded stakes will be presented–the Barbara Fritchie (for fillies and mares) and General George Handicaps. Both are G2 races, run at seven furlongs on the dirt. The General George has such familiar names as The Roundhouse and Ah Day in the entries; Royale Michele, assigned high weight of 121 lbs., takes on a full field in the Barbara Fritchie, spotting her rivals four to 11 lbs.

Holiday racing at Santa Anita will feature the G2 San Vicente, for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs on the Pro-Ride surface, and the G2 Buena Vista Handicap, whose probable entries include Cat by the Tale and Tuscan Evening. The Buena Vista is a one-mile turf affair for older fillies and mares.

The most interesting of the Feb. 15 graded stakes may by the G3 Southwest at Oaklawn Park for 3-year-olds going one mile. Shipping in from California are Conveyance, Cardiff Giant and Domonation, the first three finishers in the San Rafael Stakes.

By Ray Paulick
“I’ve been doing this since 1979, and I just can’t get a fair shake.” So says Michael Gill, North America’s leading owner by money and races won on four different occasions who finds himself in a familiar position–at the center of controversy, after Penn National jockeys voted Saturday night not to ride in races if Gill’s horses are entered.

The jockeys took the initiative following the fifth race at Penn National, when a Gill-trained horse, Laughing Moon, blew a suspensory and fell after the finish, causing another horse to go down. Gill had a runner entered in the sixth race, but that horse was scratched. Gill-owned horses entered later this week also have been scratched, and Penn National officials said Monday they temporarily have banned his horses from the entry box, according to bloodhorse.com. Jockeys complained that an unusually high number of horses owned by Gill have either broken down or suffered injuries in Penn National races in the last few months, putting riders at risk. One of Gill’s horses broke down on Thursday night, and Laughing Moon became the 15th runner since October to break down, pull up during the race, be eased, or return lame following the finish.

Penn National officials said seven of Gill’s horses broke down in 2009, a figure that Gill disputes. But even if that number is correct, he said, he believes his percentage of breakdowns is in line or lower than that of other stables that compete at the Pennsylvania track.

I was unable to reach Gill over the weekend prior to publication of Monday’s Paulick Report article on the Penn National incident, but I contacted him Monday at his Mortgage Specialists office in New Hampshire. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy with the actions of the jockeys or with the unwelcome publicity, and in a 30-minute, emotional interview touched on a wide range of subjects. Among the revelations from the 54-year-old Gill were:

- He has fired Darrel Delahoussaye, the trainer of Laughing Moon. “They (Penn National) put a gun to my head, and someone had to take the bullet,” he said. “I feel bad about this. But if I lose the (49) stalls at Penn National, I’m out of business.”

- Some time last year, Gill hired former Oaklawn Park and Louisiana Downs leading trainer Cole Norman. Norman was released from prison in January 2009 after serving time for negligent homicide, for his role in a fatal car crash in which he was under the influence of prescription pain killers. Norman works at Gill’s Elk Creek Ranch in Oxford, Pa., which is used as a training center for horses that race at Penn National, Philadelphia Park, Laurel, Mountaineer Park and Charles Town. “He’s a good trainer,” said Gill.

- Though he said he has lost tens of millions of dollars over the years, Gill claims he didn’t “put one penny of my money into the business last year. I can go to the IRS and say this is a business, it isn’t a hobby.” Gill said he is in a five-year audit with the Internal Revenue Service over whether or not his racing stable is a legitimate business.

- Apart from the horses that broke down at Penn National in 2009, Gill claims he had only one other horse break down in a race. “I ran 2,247 horses last year,” he said. “If a guy had 100 starts and one horse breaks down, is that unacceptable? We’re running in the middle of winter on muddy tracks.

- Gill denies “running sore horses,” and said he didn’t have a single bad test in 2009. “And was anything found in any of my horses after they broke down? Nothing.” I asked Gill about widespread rumors that shock-wave therapy is used at Elk Creek Ranch on horses close to a race. “I never use shock-wave therapy. Never have had a machine. Never, ever used it once, and believe me, plenty of guys have tried to sell me the machines. I don’t believe in them.” He also said he would “open the farm to anyone to inspect it. They can go over every horse I have.”

- He attributes much of the stable’s success to the fact he gives all of his horses medication for Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis, or EPM, a neurological disease. “A good 80% of horses have EPM,” he said. He also has throat surgeries, or myectomies, performed on many of the horses he claims because “with EPM, one side of the flap (in the epiglottis) is gone, and the other half doubles in size. Then it closes up. The surgery helps them breathe.”

- His stable, at one time consisting of 450 horses in 2009, was reduced to 220 and he is in the process of reducing it to 120. “I’m still downsizing,” he said. Furthermore, Gill claims that “all of the horses go to retirement programs.” He wasn’t specific as to where they go. “I give good homes to them,” he said. “I’ve given away 20 horses in the last 30 days for $1.”

- Gill didn’t say he planned to take legal action against Penn National, the jockey colony or the Jockeys’ Guild, but said “Do you know when people organize against one person, that’s a significant lawsuit. Does anybody understand that? I’m tired of suing racetracks—and winning, by the way, every effing time.” He said the jockeys took the action–reported to be a unanimous vote—because “it’s a very closed community at Penn National; a lot of good old boys. I went in there and won all these races, and I’m winning with only two jockeys.”

- Though he lives and works far away in New Hampshire, Gill said he keeps tabs on the stable both at the training farm and the track. “There’s not a race that goes off that I don’t see,” he said. “I have cameras in the barn that go right to my office. I turn around and see every race. I do what I can to be able to run both businesses.”

Why, I asked Gill, is he still in the business, if he thinks he is so mistreated and so misunderstood? “I love the competition. I love the animal. I am a competitor. I am that $5,000 broke down racehorse. I’m a raw competitor with bad knees and sore neck. What better place to compete than in horse racing, and I don’t even gamble on these horses.”

Gill continues to be denied stalls at many tracks, and doesn’t understand why he isn’t appreciated for his involvement in the game and for “showing the industry that you can make money doing this. Of course, if people find out they don’t have to buy a $1-million yearling to make money, do you think they’ll spend money at those sales?”

I suggested to him that people spending that kind of money are looking to win big races during the Triple Crown or at the Breeders’ Cup, not $5,000 claiming races in the dead of winter. “That’s the lottery mentality,” he said.

He turned the tables and asked me a question: “Why don’t you like me?” I said I thought he was arrogant and used his horses as a means to an end.  “You’re mistaking arrogance with competitiveness,” he said. It was clearly an argument I wasn’t going to win.

“Look,” he said. “I came from a seminary, had no money, didn’t go to college. I worked harder than everybody else to get what I have. I started my mortgage company in a one-bedroom apartment, and my living room was my office. I loved horse racing and turned around and invested my money. I go to work every day and haven’t had a vacation for as long as I remember.

“I just don’t understand: What have I done that’s so wrong?”

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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Press Release

TrackNet Media Group, LLC (“TrackNet”) and the MidAtlantic Cooperative, L.L.C. (“MidAtlantic”) today announced that they have reached an agreement regarding the purchase by MidAtlantic members of the simulcast signals of racetracks affiliated with TrackNet.  TrackNet affiliated racetracks currently running live race meets include Fairground Racecourse, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, Oaklawn Park, Golden Gate Fields and Laurel Park.  Pursuant to the agreement, patrons attending wagering facilities operated by MidAtlantic members may begin wagering on TrackNet content immediately.    

By Ray Paulick
I’ve known Damon Thayer going on 20 years, and I don’t think he’s a bad person. But I’ve seen how good people can be intoxicated with power, and am convinced that is what is going on with the former racing industry executive who is now a Kentucky state senator from Scott County representing the 17th district.

A few weeks ago I reported on an interview Thayer did on the Horse Racing Radio Network (click here for the article), in which he complained that no one from the Thoroughbred industry was contacting him about his proposed constitutional amendment calling for a statewide referendum and local option vote to permit slot machines in Kentucky counties where racetracks are located (not necessarily at tracks, but in counties where tracks are currently located).

Woe is him.

Perhaps the reason no one is interested in calling the senator from Scott is the fact his proposed amendment is outrageous because it would ultimately lead to out-of-state casino companies and developers putting Kentucky racetracks out of business. That’s exactly what is happening in the state of Maryland, where slot machines were approved for a location not at Pimlico or Laurel but at a shopping mall owned and operated by the Cordish Company. Yes, that’s the same Cordish Company that developed Fourth Street Live in Louisville.

If Thayer’s folly is somehow approved as written (very much a longshot at best), Cordish will be salivating over the prospect of getting the slots license in Jefferson County, Kentucky, where Churchill Downs is located. Another well-funded casino company would surely end up with the license in Northern Kentucky. So we’d have Turfway Park certainly out of business as a racetrack, and Churchill Downs severely impaired financially.

But, Thayer says with almost ghoulish delight, we’ll have all that slots money going into purses, based on how his amendment is written. Yes, Damon, just like in Maryland, where there will be money for purses, but no tracks able to stay open to run the races where the purses will be offered.

Sources tell the Paulick Report that employees of the Maryland Jockey Club are being told Laurel is going to be bought by a developer (Cordish?), and closed for live racing. Someone will operate Pimlico for 30 days during the Preakness meeting in the spring, at least as long as the walls of the rickety old racetrack grandstand don’t collapse. And that, along with a short meeting at the state fair in Timonium will be it for live racing.

If true, it will be a devastating and final blow for the once-proud Maryland breeding industry, where the mighty Northern Dancer once stood as the world’s most important stallion. Allowing Thayer’s folly to proceed will cause similar destruction to Kentucky’s signature industry.

So Thayer, in a snit because no one was calling him to discuss his ludicrous proposal, decided to drop another bomb when a reporter from the Lexington Herald-Leader called him to inquire about the horse industry’s exemption on sales tax for certain horses sold at auction (the exemption, which does not apply to all horses sold, is not as comprehensive as that given to the horse industry in other states).

When asked whether the exemptions should be discontinued, Thayer said it is “certainly cause for serious debate.”

It was his way of flipping the almighty bird to a now struggling industry that is not only vital to the economic future of this state, but one that has provided him and his family a very good living for many years.

Speaking of the almighty, it’s amazing to me that a Senate committee chaired by Thayer (the State and Local Government Committee) wasted taxpayers’ time and money on Wednesday, approving along a straight party-line vote (Thayer’s Republican colleagues won the day over Democrats 7-5) something called the 21st Century Bill of Rights. Among other things, this new and improved bill of rights (as if our Founding Fathers weren’t very wise) would prohibit a ban on the Ten Commandments being posted in public buildings. If you get a chance, check out this troubling and funny video clip of a Georgia Congressman, Lynn Westmoreland, who sponsored a bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in public buildings. (Click here to view.) Seems the Congressman has a hard time knowing exactly what those Commandments are…which makes me wonder how Sen. Thayer and his colleagues would do on a pop quiz.

But I digress.

Thayer is essentially drunk with power, sitting on his senatorial throne while waiting for individuals in the horse industry to come to him, hat in hand, begging for some scraps. If he were a true leader, he would have been out amongst the people, meeting with horse farmers, trainers and racetrack owners who are suffering now, watching stallions, mares and racehorses being tugged away from Kentucky by states with more favorable economics and more enlightened legislators. It is the same kind of arrogance and insular thinking that we’ve witnessed most recently in the White House, where a president who was elected under the mantra of change failed to understand how deep the suffering and unhappiness is among the very people who voted for him, leading to an embarrassing defeat for the Democratic Party Tuesday in Massachusets, the most liberal state in the union.

I hold out little hope that my old friend, the senator from Scott, will understand  how wrong he is and how much help the horse industry needs. There is little to do but find and support a strong candidate to displace him from his office in 2012.

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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Attorneys for Magna Entertainment have struck a deal in U.S.  bankruptcy court with unsecured creditors that will allow Frank Stronach to maintain control of Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields and the account wagering company Xpressbet.com and the Amtote totalizator company, Reuters and Bloomberg have reported.

After you’ve read the stories,feel free to return to the Paulick Report and comment on this latest development regarding Stronach and his affiliated companies. — Ray Paulick

The Baltimore Sun, after running an online editorial supporting the Arundel Mills slots parlor, has come out this morning and officially spoken in favor of the idea. Simply stated, "Anyone who wants to help the horse racing industry — or keep taxes low in Anne Arundel County — should oppose the petition to block slots at Arundel Mills."

But a reader named David seems to have put it best. "It makes no sense at all to have slots at a mall."

We probably couldn’t have said it any better.

Take the opportunity to read the entire editorial here and then check back with the Paulick Report and let us know where you stand.

- Bradford Cummings

Joining the fray by painting a dark and morbid picture of the Laurel Park situation, legendary turf writer Andy Beyer points out what not having slots will do to racing at one of Maryland’s historic tracks. Stating that "Laurel desperately needed slots because its horse racing business is no longer viable", Beyer lays out the reality that there may not be a buyer for the track if there are no slots.

Click here for the story and then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think.

- Bradford Cummings

In an effort to fight for slots to be installed at Laurel Park instead of the proposed Arundel Mills Mall, the following email was sent to the Paulick Report this afternoon. Would this decision lead to the destruction of the Maryland racing industry or at least the closing of Laurel Park? We would like to hear your thoughts on the issue, especially from our friends in the Old Line State.

Additionally, if you feel called to do so, there is contact information for key legislators sitting on the Anne Arundel County Council.

Anne Arundel County Council vote is crucial to the future of Laurel Park, and probably Pimlico, too.

The Anne Arundel County Council is scheduled to vote on Monday, Dec. 21, on zoning for the Cordish Companies’ proposed slots site at Arundel Mills Mall, which means no slots at historical Laurel Park Race Track.

If the State of Maryland and its counties want to earn slots gambling money from lucrative Northern Virginia, Laurel is a far more accessible location to Virginians than Arundel Mills. It’s also closer to Washington, DC, and very close to Baltimore, as well.

Since Laurel, Maryland, is already a high density area and Anne Arundel Mills is not, more open space and farm land would be lost by the Anne Arundel Mills development. Additionally, I’ve been to Arundel Mills. It’s one of those discount shopping outlets in the middle of nowhere. Laurel has two major highways that access it — the Baltimore Washington Parkway, and I95.
 
Is it not obvious that if Laurel racetrack receives slot machines on site, Maryland racing will have access to far more money? Think concessions, whatever "management" or "leaseholder" fees go to the site. Capitol investment to build a better facility, a nice hotel and restaurants would, no doubt, be offered right and left.

And if your local Maryland horsemen and breeders don’t get more money from slots, Maryland farms will be sold as people move to more horse friendly states, like Pennsylvania. Serious losses will haunt Maryland’s breeding and racing industry — which, let’s not forget, along with the farms that grow horses, include hay farmers, feed sellers, veterinarians, tack shops, backstretch help, trainers, mushroom growers, and farriers, to name a few.

I’d like to think the quest for state dollars isn’t far more important to the Anne Arundel Country Council than posterity, and Maryland history.

The vote is expected to be a close one.

It is important for County Council members to hear from people in the Maryland breeding and racing industry. Also, anyone interested in conserving green space, farmland, and those people who simply love horses and racing, please contact these legislators!

PS: Why can’t a horseman from Kentucky or Florida who has been to Maryland races, or run their horses in Maryland contact these county council members? It’s your sport, too.

Following are e-mail addresses for Council members expected to vote on the zoning:

• Daryl Jones – District 1, daryl.jones@aacounty.org
• Ronald C. Dillon – District 3, rdillon@aacounty.org
• G. James Benoit – District 4, james.benoit@aacounty.org
• Cathleen M. Vitale – District 5, cvitale@aacounty.org
• Tricia L. Johnson – District 7, tricia.johnson@aacounty.org