Rosecroft deal collapses

Published reports in Wednesday's Washington Post and Baltimore Sun have revealed more details in the apparent collapse of the agreement by the family of Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos to purchase Rosecroft Raceway.



On Monday night the 23 state delegates from Prince George County, the site of Rosecroft Raceway, agreed to oppose any bill that would permit slot machines in the county, including at the racetrack. On Tuesday morning, the Angelos family sent word to Rosecroft officials, who were already present and in place for the formal signing of the purchase agreement, that they were pulling out of the $13 million agreement if a penalty-free extension of up to 60 days was not granted.



The Angelos family will lose a $500,000 deposit, but they continue to hold a $7.2 million mortgage on Rosecroft they purchased in an early stage of the deal.



Rosecroft CEO Tom Chuckas Jr. told the Baltimore Sun that although he was disappointed in the developments, the track would continue to race. He said a decision on finding another buyer hadn't been decided by the Rosecroft board of directors. However, an attorney for a local group of African-American investors who lost out to the Angelos family in the bidding for Rosecroft, said that group remains interested in purchasing the facility.



"We're going to buy the racetrack," said the attorney. "If slots come, that'll be an added benefit."

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