OXFORD – An idea to bring up to 1,500 slot machines to the Oxford County Fairgrounds horse-racing track was floated during a recent selectmen’s meeting by County Commissioner Caldwell Jackson of Oxford.

Jackson appeared before the board on May 1 to see if the town would hold a public hearing on the subject so the fair association could gauge reaction to the possibility of adding non race-related gambling to the fairgrounds.

Selectmen agreed to set a hearing date as soon as the Oxford County Agricultural Society was ready.

In support of the idea, Jackson distributed information about the Penn National Gaming Inc.’s Hollywood Slots racino in Bangor. Records show that $609.7 million was spent at the Bangor slots emporium. Penn National had net revenues of $14.5 million and 1 percent – $371,546 – went to Bangor under the casino’s agreements with the state and city.

Bangor also earned 3 percent or $679,929 of the company’s $22.6 million in earnings from 2006.

Jackson said the numbers are based on revenue from 475 slot machines, which gives some perspective as to what 1,500 machines could mean for Oxford.

“Think of this not as the 475 machines,” Jackson said. “Think of it as 1,500 machines.”

In response, Selectman Dennis Sanborn’s eyes grew wide as he let out a low whistle.

A so-called racino is a combination casino and horse-racing track where revenue from slot machines supports the race track, Jackson explained. He also said any effort to bring slot machines to the fairgrounds was not related to a November ballot question that asks Maine voters to approve a privately run casino for Oxford County.

Jackson said the law creating Hollywood Slots also allows for another 1,500-machine racino operation for Southern Maine if voters approve it, but so far proposals in Scarborough and Westbrook have failed. The Oxford County Agricultural Society hopes to capitalize on the law, he said.

“I’d like as many slot machines as we can get, whatever we can get approved for,” Agricultural Society President Suzanne Grover said.

Selectmen agreed they would set a public hearing whenever the agricultural society was ready to name a date. However, selectmen had only one question, based on Jackson’s statement that the Oxford fairgrounds would have to become a commercial track in order to qualify for the slots.

“Does that mean you’d lose your fair status?” Selectman Scott Owens asked.

“No,” Jackson said. “There will still be a fair there.”

Only one thing would be expected to change, Jackson said. As a commercial operation, the track would have to be open for racing a minimum of 35 days per year.

Jackson said he believed the slot machines would easily support the extra racing days.

In Bangor, more than $4.8 million from Penn National’s net revenue is funneled to horse-racing purses, Jackson said.

“Not long ago, $2,000 was a big purse for a race,” Jackson said after the meeting. “Now, that’s a small race.”

With slot machines helping to boost prize money, more local farms are raising race horses, he said. In the past three years alone, the horse population in Maine has increased by 33 percent, Jackson said.

“That’s helped out the farming,” he said. “Horse racing is back, which is good because there’s a trickledown for everybody.”

Before any of that can happen, the fair wants the support of Oxford voters.

“The town first has to say, ‘yes, we want it,'” Grover said. “Then we’ll take it from there, but I can’t say for sure right now how things will go – in what order.”