MD ETHICS LAW COULD END LEGISLATORS' FREE RIDE TO PREAKNESS

          The passage of a new ethics law in MD regarding free
     tickets to sporting events for General Assembly members "has
     sparked" a debate over whether the Preakness Stakes is a
     "sporting" or "cultural" event, according to Thomas Waldron
     of the Baltimore SUN.  Under the new law, which goes into
     effect in October, legislators "will no longer be able to
     accept free tickets to sporting events from lobbyists and
     team owners."  But the law does permit legislators "to
     continue to accept tickets to other events, including
     `cultural' ones."  Last year, a quarter of the 188-member MD
     General Assembly "accepted free tickets" from the owners of
     the Pimlico and Laurel tracks, and if the Preakness is
     "deemed" a cultural event, legislators will be allowed to
     continue accepting the tickets.  State Sen. Michael Collins
     attended this year's Preakness and likened the event to a
     "garden party": "I never saw a horse."  A General Assembly
     Joint Ethics Committee "will make a determination on the
     issue" before next year's Preakness in May (SUN, 8/31).