WILMINGTON, Del. - - A federal bankruptcy judge approved Wednesday a plan to auction Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park early next year, over objections from the tracks' former owners, who opposed the speed of the sale.
Meanwhile, two potential Maryland buyers - developers David S. Cordish and Carl Verstandig - reiterated their interest in bidding on the tracks and the Preakness Stakes.
Magna Entertainment Corp., the Canadian firm that owns the racetracks and the Preakness Stakes and filed for bankruptcy protection in March, said the auction should be held quickly because Maryland law gives the state 60 days to review a deal and the right to match any bid.
FOR THE RECORD - Because of conflicting information, The Sun reported that the auction of the Maryland Jockey Club assets is expected to take place in mid-January. In fact, the auction is scheduled for Jan. 8 as reported earlier on the Sun's Web site. The Baltimore Sun regrets the errors.
The sale procedures also would require potential buyers to keep the Preakness, the middle leg of racing's Triple Crown, in Maryland, satisfying concerns of the state and others in the horse industry who had feared losing the state's single largest sporting event.
But Benjamin Feder, a lawyer representing Joseph De Francis and other former owners, argued that the sale procedures do not consider the group's rights to slots and other alternative gambling at the racetracks, particularly at Laurel Park. When the former owners sold their controlling interest in the Maryland Jockey Club, the umbrella organization for the two tracks, they entered into a deal with Magna to split the proceeds from any alternative gambling development.
Feder also revealed in court that De Francis and other former owners have engaged in talks with Magna about the Jockey Club assets.
De Francis said the group has submitted several proposals on "how they might recapitalize the Maryland assets and allow them to emerge from bankruptcy."
Asked whether any of the plans include the group buying back the tracks, De Francis said he could not discuss the details.
"We continue to be very disappointed that the Maryland assets are in bankruptcy and very interested in any plan that might bring them out of bankruptcy and restore them to viability," he said.
Magna, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, withdrew a proposal to auction the Maryland tracks last spring, in part because of objections by the state. That plan did not take into account the state's "right of first refusal" for the Preakness, which has a "chilling effect" on Magna's sale efforts, according to court papers filed by the company last week.
