Maryland Was Building a World-Class Racetrack. Nobody Was Checking Who Worked There.

A broken fingerprinting machine went unreplaced for seven years. In the meantime, Maryland’s Division of Racing issued nearly 6,000 licenses a year — to people it knew nothing about.

By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews

---

Maryland has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars positioning itself as home to a world-class horse racing destination. The Pimlico redevelopment is underway. The state took over the track. The Preakness stays in Baltimore. By nearly every public measure, Maryland’s commitment to its racing industry has been comprehensive, well-funded, and loudly celebrated.

The only thing Maryland apparently forgot to do was check who was working there.

A fiscal compliance audit released this month by the Office of Legislative Audits found that the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Racing — the agency responsible for licensing every jockey, trainer, concessionaire, and track worker at Maryland’s five racetracks — stopped performing required criminal background checks in 2018. The reason, according to DOR management: the fingerprinting machine broke.

Nobody replaced it for roughly seven years.

The agency charged with vetting everyone at Maryland racetracks simply stopped doing it — and kept issuing nearly 6,000 licenses a year in the meantime. — OLA Audit Finding, April 2026

During that window, DOR continued issuing approximately 5,746 licenses annually at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, Rosecroft Raceway, Timonium Race Course, and Ocean Downs. State law requires the Maryland Racing Commission — which DOR implements — to conduct both State and national criminal background checks for all licensees. The Commission retains authority to deny a license for any reason it deems sufficient. That authority means nothing without the checks to support it.

The audit’s sample of just 25 licenses — a narrow slice of the thousands issued each year — turned up immediate results. One 2024 licensee had a 1993 conviction for battery and malicious destruction of property. A 2026 licensee had a 1986 conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. DOR was unaware of either conviction. It had not checked.

The background check failure was not the audit’s only finding. State regulations also require DOR to suspend or revoke a Maryland license when a licensee has been suspended or revoked in another jurisdiction. DOR told auditors it did review national databases — including the Association of Racing Commissioners International, the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit — for such activity. The problem: it never documented those reviews, and it could not demonstrate what, if any, action it took.

By the Numbers — DOR Audit Findings
Years without background checks Since 2018 — roughly seven years — DOR performed no required criminal background checks after its fingerprinting machine broke.
Annual licenses issued Approximately 5,746 licenses issued in fiscal year 2025 alone, covering all individuals at Maryland’s five racetracks.
Criminal convictions found in 25-license sample Two licensees with prior criminal convictions identified through publicly available records — neither known to DOR.
Active Maryland licenses held during out-of-state suspensions Four of the 25 tested licensees were suspended in other jurisdictions while holding valid Maryland licenses. DOR could not document it was aware of any of them.
One egregious example A 2025 Maryland licensee was suspended three separate times during that year in other jurisdictions. DOR could not document that it identified or acted on any of the suspensions.
DOR budget $202 million in fiscal year 2025 expenditures, including $195.7 million in video lottery terminal fund distributions.

In the sample of 25 tested licenses, auditors found four individuals who were suspended in other jurisdictions while holding active Maryland licenses. One of those individuals — licensed in Maryland in 2025 — was suspended three separate times during the year in other jurisdictions. DOR could not document that it had identified any of the suspensions, let alone acted on them.

The audit covers the period from September 2021 through January 2026, but the background check failure traces back further. DOR’s own management acknowledged to auditors that checks stopped in 2018 — predating the audit window by three years and spanning two gubernatorial administrations.

It’s worth placing this against the broader backdrop. Since 2023, Maryland has undertaken an ambitious, publicly subsidized effort to transform its racing industry. The Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority was created, then dissolved. The Maryland Jockey Club was reconstituted as a nonprofit. The Maryland Stadium Authority took over demolition and reconstruction at Pimlico. Hundreds of millions in bond authority was authorized to support what state officials called a “best-in-class” racing venue. Governor Moore’s administration has repeatedly pointed to the Preakness redevelopment as a signature economic development achievement.

All of that investment flows through and around an industry whose workforce DOR is statutorily required to vet — and demonstrably did not.

The irony is not subtle. While the General Assembly was debating new audit compliance legislation as recently as March 2026 — including bills to strengthen mandatory background check requirements across state agencies — the agency directly responsible for criminal screening at Maryland racetracks had quietly allowed its own program to lapse for the better part of a decade.

DOR, through the Maryland Department of Labor, agreed with both findings. The agency response, signed by Labor Secretary Portia Wu, noted that the current executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission — who began his tenure in January 2025 — had been working to address the background check issue since taking office. A new fingerprinting machine was procured. Staff were trained in February 2026. Fingerprinting resumed on March 14, 2026, according to the agency’s response — the estimated completion date for Recommendation 1a.

On the documentation front, DOR stated it has begun retaining all notes on fines and suspensions for licensees’ lifetimes, rather than deleting records once a fine is paid or a suspension is lifted, and will investigate amending state regulations on data retention for out-of-state disciplinary actions. That process began on March 3, 2026.

The corrective actions are straightforward. The question the audit raises is harder to answer: how does an agency with a clear statutory mandate, a $202 million annual budget, and a workforce it is legally obligated to screen go seven years without anyone above the machine operator noticing — or caring — that the checks had stopped?

A broken fingerprinting machine is a logistical problem. Seven years without one is a management failure.

Sources: Maryland Department of Labor – Division of Racing, Fiscal Compliance Audit Report, Office of Legislative Audits, Department of Legislative Services, Maryland General Assembly, April 2026. Audit period: September 1, 2021 – January 15, 2026. Legislative Auditor: Brian S. Tanen, CPA, CFE. Agency response signed by Portia Wu, Secretary of Labor, April 7, 2026.

---

Keep MDBayNews Reporting Free

MDBayNews exists to help Marylanders understand decisions made by state and local leaders — especially when those decisions affect daily life, rights, and public services.

If this article helped clarify what’s happening or why it matters, reader support makes it possible to keep publishing clear, independent reporting like this.

👉 Support Local Journalism

Have a tip or documents to share?

We review submissions carefully and confidentially. Anonymous tips are welcome when appropriate.

 👉 Submit a Tip