December 6, 2001
 
 STANTON, Del. - The man sits quietly at meetings, and when he does speak, it's in a soft, unassuming tone. Yet Bill Rickman Jr., in appearances before the Maryland Racing Commission, has quietly established racing fiefdoms on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland.
 
 Last week, he became the first person in 52 years to receive a new license to operate a racetrack in Maryland. With patience, determination and unlimited funds, he single-handedly demolished the Maryland Jockey Club's monopoly on thoroughbred racing in the state.
 
 With the MJC mired in disputes, racing stagnant in Maryland and slot machines looming as possible cash cows, Rickman - take your pick - provides a breath of fresh air in helping to revitalize horse racing, plans on someday replacing the MJC's Joe De Francis as kingpin of Maryland racing, or poses an ominous threat in wanting to corrupt the state's citizenry with slot machines or, worse, full-fledged casino gambling.
 
 All that and more is being said about Rickman as Marylanders try to figure out just what the man is up to. Sitting in a conference room at Delaware Park, the track and hugely profitable slots emporium Rickman owns with relatives near Wilmington, the man seemed bemused by the swirling speculation.
 
 "It's real simple when you think about it," Rickman said, addressing his motives. "Delaware's very small. There's no room for expansion in the state.
 
 "Maryland is our home. It's the logical place we'd like to be involved in the business of racing."
 
 Part owner of a lucrative family construction company in Montgomery County, Rickman, 54, began plotting his entry into Maryland racing several years ago. Although he couldn't anticipate every twist in the meandering quest, the evolving outcome is about exactly what he had hoped for, he said.
 
 One year ago, he and his father, William Rickman Sr., 80, bought Ocean Downs, the harness track near Ocean City on the Eastern Shore. Within the next year, they plan to open an off-track-betting facility at a shopping center they purchased in Cambridge, also on the Eastern Shore.
 
 They figure that construction of the track in Allegany County will take two years, although groundbreaking is dependent upon obtaining various county and state permits. As support for the track, which they acknowledge will not be profitable on its own, they plan on building one or two OTBs west of the bay.
 
 That would give them two racetracks, one on either side of the state, and two or three OTBs at sites, other than Cambridge, still to be determined. Then what? Do they pursue Pimlico and Laurel Park in an attempt to procure a monopoly of thoroughbred racing in Maryland?
 
 "We definitely have no interest in owning Laurel or Pimlico," Rickman said. "That's a nightmare to run those places. I take my hat off to Joe [De Francis, president and CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club]. He's got his hands full.
 
 "For us, one major track is enough. Delaware Park is just fine."
 
 He said that two small tracks with short meets, essentially year-round simulcasting centers and two or three OTBs would fulfill his objectives in Maryland.
 
 "And that's it," he said. "We're not a large company. We're stretched pretty thin as it is."
 
 The Rickmans - namely Rickman Jr., the spokesman - have been generally well-received in Maryland. Whereas racing commissioners have criticized the Maryland Jockey Club for inaction and not fulfilling promises, they praise Rickman for his forthrightness and can-do approach.
 
 "I'm a firm believer that actions speak a lot louder than words," said Terry Saxon, a commissioner particularly impressed with Rickman's upgrades at Ocean Downs. "Believe me, he's delivered on everything he's promised. I have the highest regard for the man."
 
 John Franzone, a commissioner especially critical of the MJC, said Rickman has the desire and wherewithal to become a positive force in Maryland racing. Plus, Franzone said, he's a pleasure to deal with.
 
 "What you see is what you get," Franzone said. "He's a very low-key individual. He's a straight shooter. He states his case. You state yours. And when you turn to leave, you know where each other stands.
 
 "If there is such a thing, he's almost too honest. I'd love to play poker with the guy. He'd probably tell you what he's got in the hole."
 
 Alan Foreman, lawyer for the state's thoroughbred owners and trainers, said Rickman made them a deal they couldn't refuse - "a terrific deal" - for sharing expenses and profits at the soon-to-be-opened OTB in Cambridge. Meanwhile, the horsemen's relationship with the Maryland Jockey Club is poisoned by mistrust; the two sides are stalemated in their attempts at opening OTBs.
 
 Foreman also heads the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which represents trainers and owners in several states, including Delaware. He said Rickman has nurtured a solid relationship with horsemen there.
 
 "He's been very receptive to horsemen's issues," Foreman said. "He has delivered on his promises. When he says he's going to do something, he does it. There's no game playing, no hidden agenda."
 
 What Rickman brings foremost to Maryland racing is competition, said Casper R. Taylor Jr., speaker of the House of Delegates. Taylor is an ardent supporter of Rickman's effort to build a track in Allegany County, which would offer live racing 21 days a year and simulcasting year-round.
 
 "The idea of expanding and creating competition within the industry - I know the governor believes this, and so do I - is a good thing," Taylor said. "And this is all this guy's own money. There's no taxpayer money involved here."
 
 De Francis has heard the talk about competition for years. He said it is vastly overrated because horse racing in the state has no shortage of competitors, from the lottery to state-funded stadiums to nearby tracks in West Virginia and Delaware, including Rickman's, subsidized by slot machines.
 
 How much of a competitor Rickman will be to De Francis depends in large part on where Rickman decides to try to build OTBs. State law prohibits his building an OTB within a 35-mile radius of a racetrack.
 
 Rickman originally proposed OTBs in Cecil, Frederick and Montgomery counties. He decided not to pursue them in Cecil and Frederick, for the time being, so as not to compete with OTBs run by the MJC.
 
 "He has stated over and over again that he has no desire or intention to harm Maryland racing or the Maryland Jockey Club," said De Francis, choosing his words carefully. "And I'll take him at his word."
 
 De Francis has called Rickman "the slots king of Delaware," and that label remains for those who believe Rickman's goal in accumulating racetracks and OTBs in Maryland is to fill them with slot machines. He has said he will not lead the charge for slots in Maryland.
 
 "The absolute best thing for us [at Delaware Park] is if there are never slots in Maryland," Rickman said. "But I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say they'll never come to Maryland. I'm not a proponent of it, but I'm not stupid enough to sit on the sidelines and not hedge my bets."
 
 He said that if slots came to Maryland, he would expect to lose 25 percent to 30 percent of his business at Delaware Park. Even with slots at his two racetracks in Maryland, he said, he could not come close to making up the deficit.
 
 Rickman said he is dead-set against full-fledged casinos and slots at OTBs. Slots should be only at racetracks and "destination locations," where a person has to make a special effort to go, he said.
 
 "I think widespread gambling is bad," Rickman said. "[Gambling on] slots is too impulsive to have them on every corner.
 
 "If they come to Maryland, I hope it's done in a responsible manner, in a limited manner. Somehow, racing will have to be associated with that, or racing will cease to exist. Racing cannot compete."
 
 The debate over slots will take place in Annapolis perhaps over the next year or two. For now, Rickman is setting up shop in a state desperate for progress on the racing front. Whether his presence as competition for the Maryland Jockey Club can spur the industry forward remains to be seen.
 
 "I think we're all sort of curious to see what's going to happen," said Mike Pons, president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. "It certainly makes things interesting."
 
 
 
 Copyright (c) 2001, The Baltimore Sun
 
 Link to the article: http://www.sunspot.net/bal-sp.rickman06dec06.story
 
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