MEC Looking To Sell Santa Anita, Lone Star Tracks To Relieve Debt

MEC Hopes Selling Santa Anita, Lone Star, And Three Minor Tracks Will Help Annul Bankruptcy

Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) yesterday in court filings said that it "will seek to sell Santa Anita Park in California and the racing assets of Lone Stark Park in Texas in a bid to become solvent," according to Matt Hegarty of DAILY RACING FORM. The court filings indicated that MEC is "no longer considering an auction of many of its racing properties, including Gulfstream Park in Florida, Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, and Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland," though MEC's attorneys said that the company "will continue to consider private offers for the tracks." MEC is "hoping that an auction of Santa Anita and Lone Star -- along with three minor tracks it had been attempting to sell for several years -- will raise enough cash to retire some of its crippling debt and provide a way out of bankruptcy." Parties interested in bidding on any of the properties "would need to submit expressions of interest by May 27 and formal bids by July 31." The auction "would be held on Sept. 8 in New York." It is "unclear what price Santa Anita, Lone Star, and the other racetracks -- Remington Park in Oklahoma, Thistledown in Ohio, and Portland Meadows in Oregon could bring at auction." MEC purchased Santa Anita in '98 for $126M and Lone Star in '02 for about $100M, but the racing industry and the real-estate market have "undergone significant changes since then" (DRF.com, 5/4). Santa Anita President & CEO Ron Charles said the track is a "really prime piece of property," adding MEC will "expect, and I think they are going to get, a good price" (PASADENA STAR NEWS, 5/5).