Magna reports better results in 1st quarter

Magna Entertainment Corp., the publicly held Canadian company that owns Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness Stakes, reported a first-quarter profit of more than $2.2 million, worth 2 cents a share. Last year for the same period, Magna Entertainment lost 4 cents a share, with the results restated to exclude performance of discontinued operations.

Company chairman and interim CEO Frank Stronach said that it was Magna Entertainment's first quarter with net income since the first quarter of 2004 and that it marked the third consecutive quarterly improvement over the previous year's comparative period. Revenue was up $35.8 million to $281 million, an increase of 14.6 percent.

Stronach attributed the improved results to several circumstances, including the opening of a casino at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, better weather and more racing dates at California tracks, better results at Florida's Gulfstream Park, increased revenue at Laurel, where there were more racing dates and increased wagering on racing content, and increased betting revenue at the company's European wagering platform.