Santa Anita Park's parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., faces the threat of bankruptcy amid mounting losses and a $600 million debt burden. The current racing season and status are unaffected. Frank Stronach of Magna Entertainment Corp. said he was looking for partners for the track.
Santa Anita Park president Jack Liebau recently resigned because of disagreements with Magna Entertainment's Frank Stronach over the direction the track is headed.
Since he purchased Santa Anita Park in 1998, Frank Stronach has added five tracks to his stable and grouped them under a spin off company called Magna Entertainment Corp.
Employees at Santa Anita Park fear bankruptcy of its parent company Magna Entertainment Corp (MEC). Chairman Frank Stronach said the horsemen would not have to worry about any of their monies. Paymaster accounts total $11 million at Santa Anita Park. The accounts contain money earmarked for winning owners, who must pay a percentage of those earnings to jockeys and trainers. Magna Entertainment Corp. has lost $500 million in the past 5 years.
Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC), owner of Santa Anita Park, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Santa Anita Park may be sold to pay off Magna's debts. Frank Stronach paid $126 million for Santa Anita Park in 1996. The track has three potential buyers, including a group from Asia.
Since Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner of Santa Anita Park, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The race track will be auctioned off in September. That land is zoned for horse racing. Jason Kruckeberg, Arcadia's Development Services Director, said it will remain as a race track.
Developer Rick Caruso, whose stalled $500 million, 820,000 square feet retail project "The Shops at Santa Anita," is planned for Santa Anita Park's south parking lot, said he has "no control" over possible bankruptcy at the race track's parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC). Caruso said he was still planning to go ahead with his mall and would "wait and see what happens and deal with it." Any reorganization at Magna Entertainment Corp. may delay the mall plans.
Magna Entertainment Corp, owner of Santa Anita Park, is the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the State of California. The lawsuit alleges that the compacts between Governor Schwarzenegger and five Indian tribes is illegal.
Santa Anita Park was named last week to a list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Places" because of owner Frank Stronach's plans to create a retail-entertainment center in the historic race track.
Although Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) , the parent company of Santa Anita Park race track, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday, the fate of the track's paymaster accounts remains uncertain. The bankruptcy judge could declare the $15 million, which was placed in the joint trust account, an asset of MEC and order it frozen.
Santa Anita Park race track's CEO and President Ron Charles said Santa Anita Park race track will not be sold to help Magnum Entertainment Corporation eliminate a $600-million-plus debt. However, Santa Anita Park race track is entertaining discussions with Magnum Entertainment Corporation concerning potential partnerships or joint ventures on a minority interest basis. Includes a historical timeline.
City Councilman Gino Roncelli, who was named last year to the board of directors of Santa Anita Park, will also join the board of the race track's parent company, MI Entertainment Corp.
Magna Entertainment Corporation, owners of Santa Anita Park race track, is bidding to purchase the September race dates at the Los Angeles County Fair for September 13-29. The Breeders Cup will be returning to Santa Anita Park next October after a gap of ten years.
Santa Anita Park Race Track owner Frank Stronach has met with city officials about Arcadia's concerns with the track expansion plan and future sessions will be held. The concerns centered around plans to build new barns on the north side of the property, the internal connections between the track and Westfield Shopping mall traffic and people, and architectural compatibility with the track.
More than $1.2 million was bet across the state in the first 11 days that computer and telephone betting was approved in this state. It is known as account wagering. There is no way of telling yet if this is affecting attendance and live betting at Santa Anita Park. Two providers of online betting, XpressBet and TV Games, where approved by the California Horse Racing Board. Xpress Bet is owned by Magna Corp., which owns Santa Anita Park.
Trainers and owners found to have sent injured or retired racehorses to slaughter will be banned from running or stabling horses at Santa Anita Park under a new policy from Magna Entertainment Corporation. Santa Anita Park President Ron Charles hopes to ensure the safety of its racehorses by monitoring injured or retired horses and keeping dealers known to sell horses for slaughter off the property. The policy was entered into the track's horseman's agreement, which governs racing terms and conditions.
Arcadia's officials, harboring "serious concerns" about a massive expansion plan for the Santa Anita Park property, want to meet with owner Frank Stronach. An artist's rendering of the proposal is included.
With the winter-spring racing season less than three weeks old, Santa Anita Park has laid off parimutuel and other workers, and track owner Frank Stonach is being publically chastised for his leadership style.
City council members refute charges that they met in private with a developer and property owner. Arcadia councilman Bob Harbicht said council did not meet in closed sessions, but met only with city staff to discuss land located in the parking lot of Santa Anita Park. The Council has never met privately with Caruso Affiliated or Magna Entertainment.