Churchill Downs and Magna Entertainment announced this week that they have joined Empire Racing’s bid to takeover the New York racing franchise currently held by NYRA. Empire Racing has previously announced the support of Delaware North (operator of Finger Lakes); Woodbine Entertainment (the Canadian racino operator); and Scientific Games (a pari-mutuel systems supplier). Empire Racing bills itself as “a group of visionary New York horsemen and breeders seeking to revive New York racing by securing the exclusive right to operate the three New York Thoroughbred racetracks (Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga1:place>).”
What’s not clear (at least I haven’t seen it reported anywhere yet) is who or what is the true financial power behind the folksy Empire Racing façade. What force has managed to bring all these competing interests to heel behind the bid? New York State comptroller Alan Hevesi put the value of the state racing franchise at $1 billion or more last September (which exceeds the combined market capitalization of both Churchill and Magna Entertainment). Who is ready to front this type of money for Empire Racing? Are New York horsemen and breeders sitting ready with access to a $1 billion warchest? None of the Empire Racing ‘supporters’ identified to date have been willing to discuss the terms of their involvement, but it doesn’t they are committed to putting major cash behind the bid. The parties simply seem to accept Empire as the inevitable winner of the franchise, and are just lining up behind the bid to gain whatever benefit they can. Who’s really pulling the strings at Empire Racing?
TBA blogger and Racing Saratoga correspondent Alan (of Left at the Gate) has some excellent points on the issue over at Saratoga Racing Daily.
No comments:
Post a Comment