Maryland District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett has ruled that standardbred racetrack Rosecroft Raceway can move forward with a lawsuit alleging that Maryland's thoroughbred industry participated in a simulcast boycott
which ultimately resulted in the track going out of business last month.
A report by The Washington Examiner cites a part of Bennett's written ruling as saying, "Cloverleaf's (Rosecroft's parent company, Cloverleaf Enterprises) allegations are sufficient to state a claim that both the [Maryland Jockey Club] and the horsemen engaged in concerted activity with out-of-state racetracks by requesting that they stop sending their simulcast signals to Rosecroft."
The article also explains that Bennett dropped two of nine charges the defendants in the case were looking to have dismissed.
Cloverleaf says the Maryland Jockey Club, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and 16 other defendants drove Rosecroft out of business by encouraging thoroughbred tracks to turn off the signals that allowed Rosecroft to simulcast thoroughbred races, which reportedly accounted for 95 per cent of Rosecroft's business.
“I am very pleased that Judge Bennett found that our case deserved to move forward," Cloverleaf Enterprises President Kelley Rogers said via release. "The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen and The Maryland Jockey Club mounted an aggressive case to dismiss and I am happy Judge Bennett rejected their arguments. I am looking forward to the discovery phase of this case.”
(With files from The Washington Examiner)