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Friday
May 4, 2007
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Maryland Gov. To End State Racing Commission’s $1 HQ Lease

Governor Ends Maryland Racing Commission’s
$1 HQ Lease At Pimlico Race Course

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said that the Maryland Racing Commission’s (MRC) lease for its HQs at Pimlico Race Course “will be terminated after new questions were raised about whether it suggests a too-cozy relationship between racing regulators and the industry,” according to John Wagner of the WASHINGTON POST. The MRC’s ten-year lease with the Jockey Club calls for a $1 annual payment. Ralph Tyler, O’Malley’s chief legal counsel, said, “A regulatory body should not have its executive offices provided rent-free by the regulated entity.” Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said that his office “advised the [MRC] last fall to avoid the deal because it created the appearance of a conflict.” However, MRC Exec Dir Michael Hopkins said that the move “was motivated by a desire for more space than was available at the state-owned building” in Baltimore where the commission was located. MRC member John Franzone said, “I never really thought about it in terms of a conflict. Quite frankly, I could care less about the lease agreement” (WASHINGTON POST, 5/4).

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