Aug 14, 2008 4:19 pm US/Eastern
Dozens Left Without Homes As Barns Close
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
Stable hands at Pimlico, who have lived for years above the horses they care for, say they're scared about the future.
Suzanne Collins reports those barns are being closed down in just two weeks.
Every day at 5 a.m. there's a lot of activity at Pimlico. Trainers work out horses, groomers keep the animals healthy and then there's just the general cleanup.
But that activity will come to a halt at the end of August, after a decision not to keep the barns open year-round. This is a frightening thing for those who have lived for free for more than a decade above the stables.
John Collins grew up in Pimlico. His first job 40 years ago was parking patrons' cars. The Baltimore track is all he's known.
"I am devastated," he said.
The Maryland Jockey Club says it will give all 111 people who are living there a new place to live at Bowie or Laurel. But for those who lived at Pimlico their entire lives, they are a little skeptical.
"There's a tear in my heart what they're doing to this. [It's] like an old lady, like a queen and they're dismantling her without any respect whatsoever," said Collins.
"Sometimes it stresses you out because you wonder where you're going to live, or what jobs you're going to have," said Harry Dale, stable hand.
A spokesman for Magna Entertainment, which owns the track, says the barns will open for a few months around Preakness. The cost to house workers and keep the stables open is $180,000 a month.
"These decisions to close the stable area at Pimlico and to slash the fall stakes schedule at Laurel Park has to do with trying to stay competitive with Delaware Park, West Virginia and Pennsylvania," said Mike Gathagan, Magna spokesperson.
Trainers who live off site are also affected.
"It will mean four or five times more than we would normally have to give for fuel each month, so it will make a lot of difference," said Steve McHargue, trainer.
The move comes a month before a public vote to allow slots in Maryland, something that if passed, is expected to revitalize Maryland tracks.
The stable workers and trainers plan to meet to discuss their predicament Saturday in the track kitchen.
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