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
Paul Joseph Estok, Editor
CLOVERLEAF VOTES TO SELL
The board of directors of the Cloverleaf Standardbred
Owners Association (CSOA), owner of HTA
member Rosecroft Raceway, voted yesterday to
sell the Maryland racetrack after listening to presentations
from three prospective buyers. The
only question remaining is which of the three suitors
will get to buy the track. On that issue, the
board gave itself until Oct. 17 to decide among the
three potential buyers -- or anyone else who steps
forward with the highest bid, Tom Chuckas,
Rosecroft’s COO told the Baltimore Sun.
Chuckas said the three current bids belong to
Magna Entertainment Corp., which recently signed
a deal to buy a majority interest in the Maryland
Jockey Club properties, Centaur Racing, Churchill
Downs’ partner in Hoosier Park, and Greenwood
Racing, the parent company of Philadelphia Park.
Chuckas reported that the offers for the Prince
George’s County racetrack varied greatly, with
Centaur offering $47 million, Greenwood $49 million
and Magna $68 million. Jim McAlpine, Magna
Entertainment president, made the presentation
to the CSOA board. Chuckas said that CSOA
members seemed to agree that new owners with
money and political clout would benefit Rosecroft
and Maryland’s racing industry in general.
’NET GAMING BILL “UNLIKELY”
The effort to set a vote this month in the U.S. House
of Representatives on an Internet gambling ban
appears to have failed, and Congress is likely to
adjourn this year without passing any restrictions
on wagering online, sources told the Las Vegas
Review Journal yesterday. Rep. Jim Leach was
optimistic that a vote would be called after he met
last week with Rep. Mike Oxley, the
chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte in
an office provided by House Majority
Leader Dick Armey. But Armey spokesman
September 19, 2002
Richard Diamond said Wednesday a vote will not
occur this month, and the House is scheduled to
adjourn in the next few weeks. “The leadership is
going to discuss this issue next week, but it will
not be scheduled for a vote next week,” Diamond
said. The problem is reported to be that the GOP
leadership is divided on the issue of Internet gambling.
Another possible problem is that the ban
may be too controversial to be called to the floor
under the House’s conventional procedure. “It
would be subject to amendments, and there are so
many interest groups involved that if one side gets
an amendment, the other side is going to demand
an amendment,” one congressional aide said. Instead,
Leach and others had hoped to advance the
bill to the House floor under an expedited procedure
which would limit debate but would require a
two-thirds majority to pass. Now that prospect
appears dim.
EMERALD ACCEPTS BANKRUPTCY
Emerald Casino, once considered a sure thing as
a money-producing machine, announced in court
that it will not appeal a judge’s Sept. 6 ruling that
it is bankrupt. Instead, it will submit to a Chapter
11 reorganization to be overseen by the federal
judge. Representatives of the village of Rosemont,
Illinois, the main force pushing the casino company
into bankruptcy, called the decision by Emerald
not to appeal a positive step in Rosemont’s ongoing
battle to keep the Emerald Casino gaming license
in town. Rosemont claims it is owed at least $45
million for a parking garage it built. The town wants
the bankruptcy court to force Emerald to sell its
gaming license in the hope that not only will the
village recoup the money it spent but that whoever
buys the license will open a casino in the Chicago
suburb. Emerald, however, struck a deal with
the Illinois Gaming Board to let it sell the
license and put a casino in whichever
community the gaming board chooses.