Amid the big hats and drunken debauchery, slots advocates used Preakness as a platform to gain support for November’s referendum — even though Pimlico will not be housing any of the machines.

Volunteers handed out 5,000 free t-shirts with pro-slots messages during the event. The shirts were paid for by Magna Entertainment, the owners of Pimlico and Laurel Park (a potential recipient of a slots license). Although Magna previously threatened to move Preakness to an out-of-state track if the slots referendum doesn’t pass, they now say that “the plan is to keep it here [at Pimlico].”

Gov. O’Malley spent much of Preakness week campaigning for slots as well. State analysts estimate that slots may generate $1 billion in revenue by 2012 — a number that seems to be continuously growing and now has opponents questioning the math. About $90 million of that revenue is being allocated for bigger purses for Maryland’s horse races.

Some anti-slots groups, like Marylanders United to Stop Slots, believe the campaigning had no place at Preakness: “Slots will do nothing to affect the Preakness or bolster the horseracing industry.” They cited statistics from neighboring states like Delaware, where slots were legalized in 1996. Since that time, betting on live horse racing has dropped 40 percent in the state.

So what do you think? Is Preakness hallowed ground that should not be tainted by political campaigning? Should horse racing and slots even be mentioned in the same argument? Or like me, are you already tired of the slots campaigning — with nearly 6 months remaining until voting day?

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