Santa Anita May be Sold

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The Canadian owner of Santa Anita Park may put the famous horse-racing venue in Arcadia up for sale as it struggles to be profitable in the troubled racing industry, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Magna Entertainment Corp., which has owned Santa Anita for almost a decade, announced Thursday that it planned to sell several assets and perhaps issue new stock in the hope of eliminating as much as $700 million worth of debt.


The Aurora, Ontario-based company said it would sell real estate in Maryland, Florida, Ohio and Oregon. It said it would “explore” selling Santa Anita and its stake in the Gulfstream Park racetrack in Florida.


“I am determined that our debt elimination plan will be successfully and fully implemented on a timely basis,” Frank Stronach, Magna Entertainment’s chairman and founder, said in a statement.


Developer Rick Caruso, who is planning a $500-million shopping center and office complex on land adjoining the racetrack complex, says a sale probably will have little effect on his project.


The Shops at Santa Anita development had been planned as a joint venture between Caruso and Magna, with Magna providing the land. With the potential sale of Santa Anita, Caruso says, his Los Angeles company may now move to buy the development site.


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