With the future of harness racing at stake, I put on my Scarborough Downs staff t-shirt, as my public relations job at Scarborough Downs took me to Augusta last Wednesday.

It was about an hour before a rally was to take place at the Augusta Civic Center. As countless construction vehicles and horse trailers filled the parking lots, banners, steamers and promotional materials were distributed. This was a united effort that meant business – Maine business. But more than that, it meant our jobs. We weren’t going to let the Appropriations Committee tap into Penn National’s profits.

The Appropriations Committee was considering fixing a $13 million budget shortfall by taking 61 cents of every net revenue dollar in taxes, and reducing the payout at Penn National’s racino to 92 percent that would be returned to the player the player. The state now takes 51 cents of every revenue dollar from Penn National, and 93 percent goes back to the player. But a protest rally at the State House last week convinced members of the committee to reconsider, proving how important organizing and speaking out can be.

The turnout at the rally was impressive, with so many people surrounding the State House that it caused a logisitical problem. The plan had been to circle the State House three times in vehicles. But because so many vehicles showed up, the circle around the State House had to be bigger, encompasing city streets in addition to the roads adjacent to the State House.

As we circled around the State House, I barked orders from the back seat. “Sound the horn; make lots of noise!” The horn of an SUV was nothing compared to that of the big construction vehicles, many of which had been brought by Cianbro Corp. The company was losing work because Penn National decided to halt construction on its new slot facility when the Appropriations Committee decided to reconsider its deal with the company.

Our participation in the rally would send an important message: Every voice must be heard – be it big, or small. The actions of this committee’s decision affected all of us in a variety of ways.

The convoy made its way to a spare parking lot near the State House. My colleague tossed me some tape and a couple of signs. Pointing up to the second floor balcony railing, she told me signs were to be hung. I agree, but how to get in? All the doors were locked, with signs indicating that if they were disturbed, alarms would sound. She navigated the tight security flawlessly. Finding the correct door to enter, we climbed the impressive marble stairs in haste. Between breaths I comment that she storms through the place like she owns it, and she snaps back: “We pay for all this!” I chuckle, and pick up my pace with a renewed confidence.

Hanging the signs, a photographer snaps my picture and asks me my name. Below, swarms of TV cameras have arrived, and industry representatives speak to the press. A mingling of state representatives filtered through the crowd. I had never participated in a protest rally before and the collective effort impressed me.

I took my seat on the State House steps and listened to a variety of speakers. A standardbred horse grazed on the front lawn. Construction vehicles and horse trailers continued to roll around the state capital sounding their horns in the distance. Speaking over the disruptive noise was all part of the message.

For the horsemen, it had been a long hard road, with years of negotiations to finally arrive at a deal that worked for their industry. Maine had been a day late and a dollar short in advancing the sport of harness racing. Many farms had become housing developments, and harness racing had all but left the state, crippling a nearly 200 year tradition that had been a part of Maine life, profession, and landscape.

Hope had arrived. Just 18 months into it, harness racing was making a comeback, becoming more competitive with out-of-state race tracks that had become racinos years ahead of Maine. Harness racing had found their working partner: Penn National. This publicly traded company with impeccable credentials by all measures had lived up to their advertising slogan: “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” As we gathered at the State House steps, the rally was all about holding Maine lawmakers accountable to their side of the bargain.

Penn National is the highest taxed company in the state of Maine, operating in a temporary location with 475 slot machines. In 18 months has generated an impressive $26 million in new tax revenue for the state. Going into this deal they agreed with lawmakers that 51 cents of every net revenue dollar would go to the state. They also made a promise to the betting public that 93 percent of the money bet would be returned to the player.

Based on this deal, they invested in Maine. They were just about ready to begin building a new $131 million dollar facility with 1,500 slot machines in Bangor. Cianbro Corp. was happy to receive the contract. It meant many jobs for the construction industry. If 475 machines could generate $26 million in tax revenue, can you imagine what 1,500 machines in a nice new facility could do?

For harness racing this was to be a dream come true. In the past 18 months, the average purse increased by $400 and the live racing season was extended by 39 days giving horsemen 459 more races to earn a living. Maine’s harness racing was heading in the right direction, with the fast track in sight. Today’s fast tracks are all out-of-state, where the high stake races pay a purse of $19,000. Maine’s highest stake race currently pays $6,000. This new facility would mean Maine could soon compete with the big leagues.

But when the state couldn’t balance the budget, greed got the best of them. And where did they turn? Penn National.

The proposal to increase the state’s take and reduce the payout to gamblers changed everything. Looking at the bottom line and their return on investment, Penn declared the move an unprofitable deal breaker. Construction came to a halt as Penn considered their options: scale back the project, remain in the existing temporary location, or pull out of the state completely. Who could blame them? No matter how you look at it, this was a lose, lose, lose, lose situation: The state loses, harness racing loses, construction loses, and Penn loses.

But by Monday afternoon, breaking news announced that the Appropriations Committee decided to leave the original racino deal in place. Our rally had been a success.

But where will they turn next? What does this say to investors and developers? Robbing Peter to pay Paul isn’t the long term solution. But for now, I’m convinced, if lawmakers set out to pick your pockets, organize a protest rally, and make your voices heard.