Maryland Legislature Passes `Unique’ Bill to Support Backstretch Workers

[Wandering Eyes]

News this week out of the Maryland state legislature has mainly concerned lawmakers moving oversight of the rebuilding of Pimlico Racecourse (among other industry operations) from the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA) to the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Maryland Economic Development Corporation.

What garnered far less coverage was the successful passage of another bill that designates $250,000 annually for the next two fiscal years towards needed services for the backstretch staff living and working at Laurel Park.

“I think this is unique,” said Mary Kay Vavasour, who volunteers in the office of state delegate Mary Lehman, and is a long-time advocate for backstretch workers and Thoroughbred aftercare. She said she is unaware of another state legislature having funneled such significant state funds for racetrack workers.

“It reaffirms Maryland's seriousness about its embrace of racing and support for racing,” said Vavasour. “It also shows that when a state gets involved, it can also create another source of funds for some of the more neglected parts of racing.”

HB 337 provides $250,000 for the next two fiscal years to Anne Arundel County, Howard County, and the City of Laurel to be used for programs and services in the communities in and surrounding Laurel Racecourse. The funding is for Laurel Park's backstretch workers and their families only.

More specifically, these grant monies can be used for health and mental health services, counseling and social services, drug and alcohol addiction awareness and treatment, and nutrition and wellness programs, as well as transportation to off-site programs.

According to Vavasour, there are an estimated 1,000 backstretch workers and their families living at or near Laurel Park. The funds are designed to cover the remaining tenure of Laurel Park, before it's closed for good as part of a major reshuffle of the state's racing furniture.

Possible grantees need only apply if they've an established history of helping the backstretch community at Laurel. They must also employ Spanish-speaking staff, or else provide translation services.

Among some of the individuals and programs that provided testimony in support of the bill was Ronald Singh and Will Humphry of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of Maryland, as well as representatives from two local food distribution programs, including the Anne Arundel County Food Bank.

Aside from Lehman, the bill's sponsors include state delegates Sandy Bartlett (D), Pam Guzzone (D), Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D), Deni Taveras (D), and Jen Terrasa (D).

The funds, said Vavasour, will shore up needed services for the backstretch community at Laurel Park, the vast majority of whom are workers who have come to the state to work in racing over multiple generations from just five or six small Mexican villages.

“This is like a family business. These are people that are raised to do this. They are taught horsemanship from one generation to the next,” she said, stressing the need of fostering a strong backstretch community to help this familial connection thrive. “If this community were to go away, racing would collapse here.”

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