Ocean Downs
| Location | 10218 Race Track Road Berlin, Maryland, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°21′8.5″N 75°9′50″W / 38.352361°N 75.16389°WCoordinates: 38°21′8.5″N 75°9′50″W / 38.352361°N 75.16389°W |
| Owned by |
Churchill Downs, Inc. (50%) Saratoga Casino Holdings (50%) |
| Date opened | July 25, 1949 |
| Race type | Harness racing |
| Notable races | Maryland Sire Stakes |
| Live racing handle |
 $3,768,901 (2011) |
| Attendance |
77,466 (2011) |
| Official website | |
Ocean Downs is a casino and harness racing track in Berlin, Maryland, near Ocean City. It is owned and operated by a joint venture of Churchill Downs, Inc. and Saratoga Casino Holdings.
Construction started in 1947 as a harness racetrack, and it opened in 1949 with Ocean Downs Racing Association (ODRA) as owner. After two failing years, ODRA began to speculate switching to thoroughbred racing, but that did not happen. In 1986, the Maryland Racing Commission was hesitant to approve race days at Ocean Downs due to the track's management, so the owners of Rosecroft Raceway, a competing harness track in Maryland, purchased Ocean Downs and renamed it Delmarva Downs.
In 1987, real estate developer Mark Vogel purchased the racetrack. Ocean Downs went into bankruptcy in 1991, however, and it was sold to Fred Weisman, a California entrepreneur. Weisman died in 1994, and the track was sold again to Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association (CSOA) with partnership from Bally Entertainment. After the purchase, the racetrack returned to the former name of Ocean Downs. Two years later, CSOA sold Ocean Downs to Bally Entertainment because the track continued to lose money, and Bally Entertainment expected slot machines to be legalized in the state. That did not happen, and William Rickman purchased Ocean Downs from Bally Entertainment in 2000. Maryland voters approved slot machines in 2008 for five locations, including Worcester County. In 2010, construction of a $45-million casino began, and it opened the following year.
The United States saw a nationwide surge of interest in harness racing in the 1940s, fueled largely by the addition of parimutuel betting, electric lights to allow night racing, and development of the mobile starting gate. In 1947, the Maryland General Assembly (MGA) authorized up to 100 days per year of harness racing with no more than 20 racing days at one track. The Ocean Downs Racing Association (ODRA), formed by a group of Eastern Shore promoters, was one of 22 applicants to the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) for harness racing licenses. Four applications were approved: Ocean Downs, Laurel Raceway, Rosecroft Raceway, and Baltimore Raceway.
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