Md. lawmakers advance bill to take over Pimlico

The plan for Maryland’s state government to take over ownership of Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course "cleared its first hurdle" in Annapolis yesterday, as a House of Delegates committee "voted to advance the plan to the full House" for a vote. Lawmakers must approve legislation for the complex racetrack deal to move forward. Those on the House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee "expressed reservations" when the bill was presented to them last week. Some "worried whether the new nonprofit track operators could turn a profit when a private company could not." The bill moves to the full House of Delegates, and then "the entire process would be repeated" in the state Senate. The bill "must move quickly," because lawmakers adjourn their annual 90-day session at midnight on April 8 ( BALTIMORE BANNER, 3/27 ).