2002 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA
Executive Newsletter
A daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyond
Stanley F. Bergstein, Editor
JUDGE APPOINTED IN INDIANA
The Indiana Racing Commission appointed an
administrative law judge to hear evidence in an
investigation involving the state’s second parimutuel
racetrack. Joe Gorajec, the commission’s
executive director, issued reports on June 27 accusing
officials of Indianapolis Downs with failing
to disclose details about Larry Mohr, a paid lobbyist
and consultant. The reports alleged Mohr
made several phone calls to commission member
Janet Bozzelli and met with her and Nicholas Stein,
also a commissioner at the time, during a threeday
period in May 2001 when the panel was considering
Indianapolis Downs’ application. Gorajec
has recommended that the track under construction
southeast of Indianapolis in Shelby County
be fined $1.2 million. Indianapolis Downs officials
have maintained they met disclosure requirements
and want the fine and the allegations behind it dismissed.
If administrative law judge Bernard Pylitt
accepts the case, he will hear evidence and make
a recommendation to the commission on whether
actions should be taken. Indianapolis Downs wants
someone else appointed to hear the case because
Pylitt played a part in the investigation as an administrative
law judge. The track is also seeking
sanctions against Gorajec and wants him disqualified
from any proceedings involving the track. It
has filed affidavits from two former commission
members who said the investigation was flawed,
in part because Gorajec was prejudiced against
the track. The commission postponed consideration
of the allegations against Gorajec until the law
judge makes a recommendation on the other matters.
Commission Chairman Richard Darko said
he could not give a timeline for having the disciplinary
matters resolved, but said it was important
other regulatory proceedings continue. A commission
attorney defended Gorajec’s actions
as “fair and even-handed.”
July 22, 2002
ISLE OF CAPRI TO SELL CASINO
Isle of Capri Casinos, the Biloxi, Miss., riverboat
casino operator and parent company of HTA member
Pompano Park, has announced it will sell the
Lady Luck casino in downtown Las Vegas to AMX
Nevada for an undisclosed price. In a statement,
Isle of Capri Chairman Bernard Goldstein said the
Lady Luck Las Vegas never really fit into the
company’s core business model. “This sale, if consummated,
will allow the Isle of Capri Casinos to
return its focus to what we know best, operating
regional casinos outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic
City.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
N.J. NEXT FOR MAGNA???
The Bergen Record reports that the Meadowlands
Racetrack and Monmouth Park, the New Jersey
Sports and Exposition Authority’s two racetracks,
may be the next steps in a current buying spree by
Frank Stronach’s Magna Entertainment
Corporation. George Zoffinger, president of the
Sports Authority, told the Record’s John Brennan,
“If Magna would like to enter into discussions with
regard to the racetracks, we would have an open
ear at the appropriate time. Right now is not yet
the appropriate time, because we are in the process
of looking at the overall development of the
Meadowlands.”
SAUDI PRINCE DEAD AT 43
Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, owner of
2002 Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem and
the powerful Thoroughbred Corp. racing stable
died Monday of an apparent heart attack at age
43. According to the Associated Press, Ahmed, a
nephew of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and chairman
of a Saudi publishing empire, died in the capital
of Riyadh. Last year, Ahmed’s elder brother,
Prince Fahd, died of a heart attack at age 46.