Santa Anita Park's owner MI Developments canceled a meeting with the Oak Tree Racing Association last week and said they could not meet the association's June 4 deadline to agree on terms for a new lease. Sherwood Chillingworth of Oak Tree Racing Association would prefer to stay at Santa Anita Park but has to consider Hollywood Park and Del Mar.
The Oak Tree Racing Association lost its lease to operate its fall horse racing meet at Santa Anita Park. Oak Tree has operated a fall meet at the track since 1969. Due to bankruptcy restructuring, Frank Stronach's company MI Developments took control of Santa Anita Park from Stronach's Magna Entertainment Corp (MEC). MI Developments wants to negotiate a new lease agreement with Oak Tree for fall racing.
The Oak Tree Racing Association plans to move its annual fall meet to Del Mar in 2011. Oak Tree has raced at Santa Anita Park since 1969, but will be run this fall at Hollywood Park, before moving to Del Mar. Santa Anita Park ended Oak Tree's lease.
Santa Anita Park will host the Oak Tree Racing Association's fall meet one last time. Oak Tree's five-week fall meet has been held at Santa Anita Park since 1969. Frank Stronach, chairman of MI Development (owner of Santa Anita Park), said he doesn't want to have a tenant (Oak Tree) in the long run and talked about deregulation of the horse racing industry.
New state-of-the-art library coming to Arcadia. The Los Angeles County Public Library will replace the current branch in unincorporated Arcadia (4153 East Live Oak Avenue) sometime in 2017 at a new site at 22 West Live Oak Boulevard. It will cost about $9 million from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors capital projects funding.
Santa Anita Park's current Pro-Ride synthetic track surface will be replaced with a dirt track after the Oak Tree meet ends October 31 and before Santa Anita Park's winter-spring season starts December 26, 2010. Frank Stronach said it will cost about $6 million to install.
Oak Tree Racing leaves Santa Anita Park after 41 years and races at Hollywood Park for its 42nd season, starting today. It is a 22-day season that consists of four 4-day race weeks. Oak Tree's lease at Santa Anita Park was voided by MI Developments.
Frank Stronach, chairman of MI Developments, is scheduled to address the California Horse Racing Board to address a number of issues, including a potential new racetrack surface for Santa Anita Park and the recent cancellation of its lease with the charitable Oak Tree Racing Association. Dennis Mills, MI Development's CEO and vice chairman has said Santa Anita Park might replace its synthetic track soon, which could jeopardize hosting Oak Tree's meet there.
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) denied a license to Oak Tree Racing Association to run its fall meet at Santa Anita Park after representatives from the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the California Thoroughbred Trainers said they opposed having Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park due to safety concerns, saying they prefer Hollywood Park. Sherwood Chillingworth, executive vice president of Oak Tree, said he was moving forward to make arrangements to run the fall meet at Hollywood Park, but did not rule out the possibility that the board could change its mind.
If Oak Tree is not held at Santa Anita Park this fall, as it has for the last 41 years, it would be a significant hit to the city of Arcadia and the region, city officials said. Last year, the city of Arcadia made $185,000 from the Oak Tree meet's betting handle. In addition, the city would suffer the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in sales tax and hotel bed tax revenue. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) denied Oak Tree Racing Association's request to run its five-week fall meet at Santa Anita Park after horse owners, trainers, and a racetrack expert expressed concerns about the synthetic surface. Oak Tree officials say they are moving forward to make arrangements to run the meet at Hollywood Park.
A new HBO series called "Luck" starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte will begin filming in October at Santa Anita Park, during the Oak Tree meet. The pilot of "Luck" was filmed there too. "Luck" is a provocative look at horse racing--the owners, gamblers, jockeys and diverse gaming industry players," according to HBO. HBO is due to film at least two seasons of the series at Santa Anita Park, said Pete Siberell, director of special projects at Santa Anita Park.
MI Developments, the new owners of Santa Anita Park, defended canceling Oak Tree Racing Association's lease for fall racing, saying the contract did not account for the true economic cost of running the race track, according to Dennis Mills, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Canada-based MI Developments. On the other hand, Oak Tree's director and executive vice president Sherwood Chillingworth said the race track was getting the better deal, as Santa Anita Park got 75% of Oak Tree's profits. Chillingworth is talking about running Oak Tree at Hollywood Park or Del Mar.
Santa Anita Park and Oak Tree Racing Association are vying for the same fall racing dates in 2011. The California Horse Racing Board will meet today to discuss awarding the September 28, 2011 through November 6, 2011 dates.
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) delayed a decision on conflicting requests for 2011 racing dates from Santa Anita Park and Oak Tree Racing Association. The CHRB urged Santa Anita Park, Hollywood Park and Oak Tree to get together to come up with a plan that works for the good of the industry.
Santa Anita Park will undergo an inspection arranged by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to evaluate its safety before the Oak Tree Racing Association's upcoming fall meet. Horse owners and trainers are concerned that the track may be unsafe due, in part, to the number of rocks embedded in the racetrack's surface, said Sherwood Chillingworth, executive vice president of Oak Tree.
Racing returns for Santa Anita Park's 2013 autumn meet. Racetrack unveils $15 million renovation including a renovated clubhouse mezzanine, horseshoe shaped bar, new food options, improved audiovisual experience.
Faithful fans, such as Antonio Reyes, are missing the presence of Oak Tree Racing at Santa Anita Park this year. He says he will watch on television and bet off-track. Oak Tree is running at Hollywood Park in Inglewood starting today and next year too.
The California Horse Racing Board authorized Oak Tree Racing Association to have its traditional fall meet at another thoroughbred venue in Southern California since the association's use of Santa Anita Park is still uncertain. MI Developments, which is chaired by Frank Stronach, recently voided Oak Tree's contract after acquiring the race track from Stronach's Magna Entertainment Corp (MEC) through federal bankruptcy proceedings. Oak Tree's director Sherwood Chillingworth said, "If we can't make a deal with Santa Anita...we can take our dates and run them in Hollywood or Del Mar."
Trouble at Santa Anita Park. According to figures taken from Equibase, Santa Anita Park's total handle was down $77.1 million, or 17.7% from a year ago. If the current trend continues, the track's all-sources handle could show a decline of more than $100 million for the 2010-2011 meet. George Haines, the president of Santa Anita Park, has other troubles, including some wet weather, a players' boycott, and the inconsistencies of a new dirt racing surface.