I know things have been rather quiet here on the horse racing front lately. I’ve obviously taken a bit of a sabbatical following the fever pitched excitement of the 2009 season, and admittedly have been somewhat devoted to other causes in recent weeks (Roll Tide). Today though, it’s time to discuss a cause much more close to home and much more dear to my heart: Maryland thoroughbred racing.
On Saturday, racing enthusiasts in the “Old Line State” will have a chance to take in both an important race for the future of Maryland, as well as to attend an important rally for the same cause. The irony of this being that an important date for a state that remembers itself as the “Old Line State” may well be our Alamo.
If you know any of the folklore surrounding that pivotal battle for Texan Independence in the 19th century that resulted in the deaths of mythical figures Jim Bowie and Davey Crockett, then you no doubt are familiar with the moment when Colonel William Barret Travis, himself just 27-years-old when the siege of the Alamo began in February 1836, purportedly drew the infamous “line in the sand” after declaring to the 180-or-so defenders of the Texas mission that no help was on its way, and that those that chose to stay would most likely perish for their cause. Depending on which version of events is retold, either any man unwilling to sacrifice their life was asked to step forward, or any man willing to do so came forward. No matter which version is told, all but one indicated their devotion to their duties, even in the face of certain death. They resolved that they had been pushed as far as they would go, and that from here on out they would live by the salutation their young commander had offered the nation in his pledge for reinforcement, supply, and liberty: “Victory or Death!”
Colonel William Barret Travis and the "Line in the Sand" at the Alamo. Depending on which version of the "Line in the Sand" story is told, either those willing to risk their lives move forward, or those unwilling to do so moved forward. Either way, apart from one man, the garrison resolved to stay where they were and slug it out with the feared Mexican Army that had already nearly surrounded the fort and begun siege style artillery bombardment for days on end.
While human life is obviously not directly at stake in Maryland racing at the moment, one could easily argue that the livelihood of many folks, and horses, is very much up in the air. And at some point, wasn’t livelihood and the ability to prosper central to what many of those defending the Alamo perimeter were standing for those fateful “13 days of glory” at San Antonio, TX? I like to think so. Especially considering the number of “volunteers” who answered the call from neighboring states to fight for the rights of others in the name of liberty. Think of Crockett and his Tennessee troopers that defended the palisade near the chapel, thought to be the “weak point” in the outer defenses but perhaps being one of the final positions to fall into enemy hands – the Mexican army having blasted through the North Wall on the opposite side of the perimeter and precipitated a general retreat to the long barracks and chapel courtyard for the “final stand” of the defenders.
Were their other motivators? Certainly – but for many men of that time, the romantic notion of fighting and giving all for ideals was celebrated and venerated to a level we may struggle to understand properly today. And for us today, one cannot but help feeling that we are penned up inside some adobe walled fort, a besieging host of problems taking position just outside of our walls, pounding us day and night in a ceaseless bombardment of long-range, destructive forces. We look outside our walls for the sign of diehards like ourselves rallying to cause of salvation, only to feel time and time again that no help is on its way.
For fans of Maryland racing, that help was supposed to come in the form of slot machines being installed at the local tracks. After years of wrangling and political infighting, finally the legislature decided to approve “limited slots” – however the issue of where those slots would be located is still, as of yet, unresolved. All that should be changing shortly though. Very soon, definitive word will come. Much like the defenders of the Alamo had been teased with the prospect of reinforcement from Sam Houston’s army or from Colonel Fannin’s troops at Goliad, only to see that hope squashed with news that they were definitively on their own just as the noose the Mexican Army was preparing around the fort tightened, so Maryland racing fans now face the prospect that the slots they “need” may well be going in – just not in any location that stands to benefit the local horse racing industry.
The challenge facing the Maryland racing industry today has been dubbed by some as a “life or death” struggle. The central issue at hand is the impending vote from the Anne Arundel County Council on the location of slot machines. The proverbial wisdom being that if the slots are placed at tracks like Laurel Park, that the racing industry might see a boost in purse money that would attract (or at least maintain) horsemen and members of the industry and perhaps stem the tide of talent exiting the area in recent years for the greener pastures of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware – all fueled with slots inflated purse money waiting to be had. In short, if the slots are placed in another location, such as the current proposal to install the machines at the Arundel Mills shopping mall, that the nail is in the coffin and it may be a foregone conclusion that the state will lose lucrative and celebrated moments such as the annual running of the Preakness Stakes (one of the largest money-making single days in the entire year for Maryland) to locations that have more support from their local legislatures, if not more support from slots money.
Let me be frank about this: I don’t think slots are the “salvation” of the horse racing industry in Maryland or across the nation. At best, I see them as a sort of temporary field dressing or tourniquet that is applied to stop the bleeding until a true remedy can be procured and administered. I also don’t hold any misguided notions that the ultimate “cure” for racing would likely not come at the price of certain “amputations” to cut off dead limbs in order to preserve the body. In other words, I understand that we might need to shrink the size of the sport before it’s able to grow healthily again in the future. I get that, I really do.
That being said, much like Colonel Travis and his predecessor (and early co-commander of the fort, before becoming bed ridden with illness), the famed knife fighter Jim Bowie, were originally ordered to demolish the Alamo and retire from San Antonio and yet wound up falling in love with the mission and calling it the “key to Texas”, so can I not let go of the mystic beauty of Maryland tracks like Laurel Park and Pimlico and feel that I must defend their walls to my last gasp of air. I know most folks have trouble seeing their beauty, but if residents of the state would only remember their proud history – a history which gave them the Baltimore “Colts” and bore witness to such classic moments as Seabiscuit against War Admiral in the greatest match race in history – then perhaps they too would rally to the cause and draw their own lines in the sand.
Baltimoreans in particular should be sensitive to such occasions. Recall that it was they who watched an army of Mayflower trucks cart off their precious football franchise, named in honor of the state’s proud thoroughbred racing and breeding tradition, to greener stadiums in Indianapolis during the winter of 1984. The fans stood helpless, heart-broken, and mystified. How could it have come to this? And yet here we stand again in almost the same position. The Preakness is OUR race. It’s OUR tradition. We SHARE it with the rest of the world, but it is OURS….unless of course we turn our back on the entire sport here in the state and allow it to die a slow, cruel death.
For Travis and many of the Alamo defenders, at least death came rather quickly. With the help of the fort’s defensive artillery batteries, the first rush of the Mexican Army was actually repulsed. Despite that early success, however, as the Mexican soldiers attempted to shy away from the blasts of deadly cannister and grape-shot that ripped through their lines, they wound up rushing for the safety they found near the base of the North Wall. A veritable mass of humanity grouping together as columns originally intended to strike 3 separate locations of the fort’s defenses instead converged under fire and found common protection under the guns of the North Wall. The defenders, you see, could not suppress the barrels of their cannons to shoot the attackers below them at such close range, and instead had to expose themselves by leaning over the wall to fire downward.
Indeed, leaning over the wall to administer a point-blank shotgun blast early in the fight, Colonel Travis was shot in the head and tumbled backwards, landing near the base of the artillery ramp for the North Wall battery. He died within minutes. With him went any hope for a unified and well coordinated defensive effort. From here on out it would be every man for himself.
Colonel William. B. Travis, shown here atop the North Wall in the center of the painting with his sword over his head, reached over the wall to administer a shotgun blast to the mass of Mexican soldiers clamoring underneath. Travis was shot in the head, tumbled backward, and died at the foot of the ramp used to position the artillery pieces of the North Wall battery.
Soon after the death of Travis, the Mexican Army skillfully climbed the North Wall, overwhelmed the defenders there, and then burst through the breach in the wall, allowing entire attacking columns to spill into the interior plaza, effectively outflanking the western and eastern defenses of the perimeter.
In other words, the game was up. Every position inside the walls had been immediately rendered untenable. While it was a fight to the finish, the rules were clear. No quarter was given, even, as we are told, if it was asked.
Diagram of the Alamo defenses. Colonel Travis fell near the artillery position along the North Wall depicted on the left of this map. Crockett's men held the position on the right that connected the South Wall to the Alamo chapel itself. The "last stands" occurred in the long barracks and around the courtyard of the chapel.
The lesson to be learned from this? The Maryland Legislature and local county level governments (and others…there’s no shortage of guilt to go around) do not seem to appreciate that once our version of the North Wall falls, our entire position, like the Alamo, becomes untenable. In other words, despite it not being a fix-all for the ills of racing, if Laurel doesn’t get slot machines, then it really may well be our last stand. If so, god help all of those whose livelihood is made on the backstretch or behind the scenes supporting the sport. Especially in these economic times.
And don’t, for the love of god, tell me that the politicians of Maryland, whether local or state level, are “concerned” about the morality of gambling and it’s potential impact on the inner city. Disgraced mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon was just recently convicted of using gift cards intended for poor inner city families to purchase lavish gifts for herself and friends. Yes, this is the face of the corrupt political machine that gets to decide the fate or racing in the state.
The irony here being that both the U.S. Government and the recently declared Independent Govt. of Texas were unable or unwilling to assist the Alamo defenders. Their memory was not invoked in glorified fashion until weeks later when Sam Houston would annihilate Santa Anna’s army at the battle of San Jacinto.
That’s all well and good. But Maryland racing does not want to become another state’s rallying cry. We have no interest in seeing racing in the state become a martyr for racing elsewhere.
So what can you, the reader, do about this?
First, get off your you-know-whats and tell the local councilmen voting on this issue that the slots machines need to be at Laurel Park, where the racing is, rather than at Arundel Mills Mall. Here’s a few email addresses of council members who will voting on the issue that you can contact to express your opinion:
- District 1 – Daryl Jones: daryl.jones@aacounty.org
- District 3 – Ronald C. Dillon: rdillon@aacounty.org
- District 4 – G. James Benoit: james.benoit@aacounty.org
- District 5 – Cathleen M. Vitale: cvitale@aacounty.org
- District 7 – Tricia L. Johnson: tricia.johnson@aacounty.org
Second, and most importantly, get down to the Laurel Park paddock for a rally tomorrow morning (Saturday 12/19/09) at 11 AM.
This may be it folks. This may well be our “line in the sand.”
Who will stand up with us now?
And while your there, don’t forget to take in a day of beautiful racing action at Laurel Park. Old man winter just might have a little something to say with the snow expected to fall, but the feature race of the day, the Juvenile Fillies Championship, ought to be a good one. For the record, here’s my picks that I gave out over on CaseTheRace.com.
I went with #6 Popeye’s Lady (3/1) for the win, although I respect the morning line favorite, #5 Jim’s Prospect (5/2*) that I’ll include her on top in my Exacta play. Underneath I tend to prefer #2 Molly Molly Molly (10/1) , and #11 Smart Tori (4/1).
- W- #6 Popeye’s Lady (3/1)
- P – #5 Jim’s Prospect (5/1*)
- S – #2 Molly Molly Molly (10/1)
- Exacta: 5,6 with 2,5,6, 11
- Trifecta: 6 with 2,5,11 with 2,3,4,5,9, 11
Best of luck to all, and special thanks to those who take the time to contact the Anne Arundel County (MD) Council members listed above and/or attend the rally at the Laurel Park paddock on Saturday morning (12/19) at 11 o’clock AM.
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