Magna to sell horse tracks as part of bankruptcy plan

Magna Entertainment Corp.’s request for approval of its plan to sell several horse tracks and other assets has been approved.

Judge Mary Walrath approved the plan which includes selling Santa Anita Park in California, Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Thistledown in Ohio and Portland Meadows in Oregon, as well as MEC’s interest in Lone Star Park in Texas. Magna is the largest horse track owner in the U.S.and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, saying it was unable to obtain new financing while supporting its existing debt. Expressions of interest in any of the racetracks are to be submitted by May 27, with definitive bids due by July 31. On September 8. an auction will be held in New York City which will be followed by a court hearing in Delaware three days later. Magna attorney Brian Rosen noted the company may seek approval later to sell other assets currently not in the mix, including Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, home of the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Pimlico and its other Maryland assets, Laurel Park and a training center in Bowie, were puled from the list of assets to be sold, just last week. Both the state of Maryland and city of Baltimore want to keep Pimlico and the Preakness in Baltimore. Attorneys for the state and city said they reserve the right to object should MEC decide to put Pimlico up for sale. Rosen, referring to the opposition from Maryland as “peripheral noise,” ,did not play a role in the decision to withdraw Pimlico from the sale process, added MEC simply wanted to move forward with selling more valuable assets, including Santa Anita, Remington Park and Lone Star. “The Preakness is a great day,” Rosen said after Monday’s hearing. “The problem is that the Preakness funds operations [at Pimlico] for the rest of the year.”