After approximately 19 months of negotiations, Woodbine Entertainment Group appears to have a final deal in place to purchase the Thoroughbred racing operations at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Despite published reports that indicated a final agreement had already been reached, Phil Heard, general manager at Hastings Park, said he hoped a deal "might be done by Christmas."

"We're getting close, but we're not there yet," Heard said on Monday. "I'm heading out to Toronto later this week. There's still some things to finish, wrapping up paperwork, crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's. And it all needs government approval, too."

Completion of the sale is subject to board approval from Woodbine Entertainment, which was previously known as the Ontario Jockey Club.

Purchase price has not been disclosed, but initial terms of the agreement stated that the Ontario Jockey Club would pay the British Columbia provincial government $4-million in debt accumulated by the Pacific Racing Association (PRA), Hastings's current operators.

"To the PRA, it's a $10 purchase," Heard said. "It's paying off the government debt and they're working with the government on how much and when it will be paid. Things are looking good, but we're not quite there yet."

Negotiations for the sale of Hastings were first reported the week of the Queen's Plate Stakes at Woodbine in June of 2000. A formal agreement was reached in late January for the OJC to purchase Hastings in a plan intended to revitalize racing in the Western Canadian province.

Hastings is expected to be phased out and a new track built in the Vancouver area to accommodate both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing. Woodbine Entertainment is expected to develop an off-track betting facility in British Columbia's Lower Mainland region, where Vancouver is located.—Tom Law