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Laurel Park winter meeting to run 58 days

Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 5:37 PM

by John Scheinman

Amid deep uncertainty about the future of Thoroughbred racing at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, the Maryland Racing Commission on Tuesday approved a schedule of 58 days of live racing for the Laurel Park winter meet at its monthly meeting.
 
The meeting, which will run from January 1, 2010, to April 10, will be highlighted by the traditional winter stakes fixtures—the $150,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap (G2), a seven-furlong event for fillies and mares; and the $150,000 General George Handicap (G2) two days later for horses three years old and older.
 
The Maryland Jockey Club also reinstituted its pick six for the meet.

The meeting was shrouded in a mist of unknowns as Bruce Spizler, the state counsel to the commission, detailed the status of bankruptcy proceedings on both the Thoroughbred and harness sides of the industry.
 
Commission members were told by the board's director, Mike Hopkins, that the 2008 audited financial statements for Laurel and Pimlico, tracks that are set for upcoming auction in the Magna Entertainment Corp. bankruptcy proceedings, have been “delayed and delayed and delayed."

Maryland Jockey Club Chief Financial Officer Doug Illig told the commission he has prepared an analysis of cash flow within the Maryland Jockey Club, the entity that operates the state’s two main thoroughbred tracks, and is awaiting approval from Ernst & Young.

Officials at the Maryland Jockey Club are concerned the accounting firm will not accept the longstanding practice of shifting funds from Pimlico to Laurel to balance the books.

“The problem is in the past no one has had a problem with Pimlico and Laurel being looked at as a single entity under [the Maryland Jockey Club],” said Tom Chuckas, president of the tracks. “If they accept the cash flow, we believe you’ll have the financial analysis within a month.”

Spizler detailed for the commission a timeline for the auction of Magna assets in Maryland, which include Laurel Park, Pimlico, the Bowie Training Center, the Preakness Stakes (G1), and the Woodlawn vase.
 
On November 18 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, a stalking horse motion will be heard to determine which, if any, entity will become the lead bidder for one or all of the properties. Definitive stalking horse bids were due on November 2.

A second round of bids has a December 4 deadline. Three days after that, Magna will notify each party if their bids qualified for participation in the auction. The state of Maryland has the right of first refusal to match any and all bids in the process, although there has been no indication the state has an interest in taking over the tracks.
 
The auction is set to take place on January 8 for all assets with a final sale hearing held at the bankruptcy court on January 20.
 
Negotiated terms of any bids include a promise not to move the Preakness Stakes out of the state.

“If someone other than the state buys the Preakness, the state’s right of first refusal is statutory,” Spizler said.

Commission member Mary Louise Preis asked if the language protecting the Preakness was strong enough from a legal standpoint.

“The enforceable nature of the Preakness rule remains to be seen,” Spizler said.

John Scheinman is a Maryland-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent