by Charlene Polk, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Berlin, MD — The first of many changes that are sure to come to Ocean Downs with the approval of slot machines in Maryland began Monday, as crews began tearing down the track’s five summer barns.

Horsemen jogging are relegated to the main track indefinitely until workers finish demolishing the barns that sat adjacent to the path out to the sand jogging track. The barns, which were built across the ditch half a century ago, were used every summer by the horsemen who would come to spend the season at the Ocean Oval.

“It’s sad,” said trainer Pam Polk, who has been racing at Ocean Downs since the 1970s. “They’re from an era of harness racing that’s gone. It makes you wonder if this symbolizes the beginning of the end of harness racing as we knew it in Maryland.”

Although the horsemen in Maryland breathed a sigh of relief when slot machines were approved by referendum last fall, the future of racing in the state has been shakier than ever. Rosecroft Raceway remains closed (open only for stabling and occasional qualifiers) and horsemen at Ocean Downs spent months negotiating for continued racing at the half-mile track.

The Cloverleaf Standardbred Owner’s Association, the organization that represents the horsemen, and Ocean Downs owner William Rickman finally came to an agreement that guarantees live racing at the track for three years but closes the barn area at the end of 2009. There are currently about 100 horses in training at Ocean Downs.