Churchill Downs Inc. agreed to purchase Hollywood Park
racetrack and casino in CA yesterday for $140M, making the
61-year-old track the "western outpost in the Kentucky Derby
host's growing empire," according to Kevin Modesti of the
L.A. DAILY NEWS. The park's casino "will be leased back to
Hollywood Park Inc." for $3M a year, and Hollywood Park will
sell or build on the 138 acres it retains from the 378-acre
property next door to the Great Western Forum. Modesti
writes that the purchase, which is "expected to close in
August," will "mean the departure of freewheeling" Hollywood
Park Chair R.D. Hubbard, who will be replaced by the
"button-down corporate style" of Churchill Downs President &
CEO Thomas Meeker. The purchase will also give Hollywood
Park Inc. "more money to pursue its shift from the racing
business to the casino business" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/7).
HIGHER STAKES: In N.Y., Joseph Durso writes that 10
race tracks in the mid-Atlantic region joined yesterday to
protest the NTRA's recent decision to become a "national
wagering hub for the Television Games Network," saying the
move threatens the "viability of the racing industry" in
their respective states (N.Y. TIMES, 5/7).
