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.
Adelphia Communications Corp. will launch Power Link, its high-speed internet service which will operate in Arcadia and other San Gabriel Valley communities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. (MEC) attorney Greg Scoggins appeared before a special meeting of the California Horse Racing Board to explain the impact of its bankruptcy. Track employees and horsemen will likely be protected. Satellite wagering locations that receive 2% commission on bets placed through their facilities will likely have to line up in court with other creditors to collect what is owed to them.
The Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum opened with a grand ceremony and ribbon cutting. A photograph shows Charles Gilb, Ruth Gilb, Micky Segal, Floretta Lauber and Carol Libby. A List of major donors is included.
Charles Norm Stevens is a World War II veteran and former bombadier who shares his experiences flying in the Army Air Corps and Air Force in his two books, "The Innocent Cadet" and "An Innocent at Polebrook." Stevens, a resident of Monterey Park, signed books at a Friends of the Arcadia Public Library event last week.