Sunday, December 2, 2001; Page B06
 
 
 TAKE IT from the touts at trackside: The Maryland Racing Commission's approval of a new track in Allegany County means slot machines and casinos are lining up at the legislative starting gate in Annapolis. Hardly anyone believes that a track in Cumberland can be economically viable unless slots come with the turf; and in time, slots sire horseless casinos, with all the trappings of big-time gambling. How eager are Marylanders to get hooked on slot machines and other casino activities as a magic way to save racing, help schools, build roads and work any wonders that the gambling promoters say they will?
 
 There is some evidence that horse racing in Maryland may be dying, and not just because tracks in Delaware and West Virginia have slots; the horses at those tracks aren't the main draw and aren't likely to be ever again. Adding to the problems in Maryland is infighting in the racing industry between thoroughbred owners and harness racers over how wagering revenue should be divided and what assistance should be sought from the legislature. How long should public money be used to bail out racing? And for how long could the casino interests be expected to underwrite the horses once the machines are off and running?
 
 It took Maryland a long time to shed the taint of slots -- and the political corruption that attended gambling years ago. Only six years ago, the Joint Executive-Legislative Task Force on Commercial Gaming Activities in Maryland documented significant instances of compulsive gambling attributed to casinos and the resulting debts that wreck families. A state dependency on gambling revenue is not without costs.
 
 
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