From Cindy Adams (of all places): Stronach wants to turn \"old and run down\" Belmont into a mall.
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/cindy.htm
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Smarty Jones wasn\'t the only winning smarty at the Preakness. In the clubhouse I sat with Frank Stronach, founder/chairman of Magna Entertainment, America\'s leading track owner. His turf includes Pimlico. Said Stronach:
\"New York should be the center of racing. Not Kentucky or anyplace else. New York. To make that happen I am prepared to invest a billion dollars.\"
I right away ordered seconds on the Maryland crab cakes.
\"I have 15 tracks - Gulfstream, Pimlico, Santa Anita. Your Belmont is old and run down, built back when people had no choice about what to put up. I want to create a whole new facility. A major entertainment destination center for the entire family. Track for the father, mall for the mother, games for the kids, adjacent Vegas-style hotel with big name concerts. And I\'ll build up the back end. Stables. Dorms. Housing. Training center for the people.\"
Stronach\'s from Austria. \"Same town as Schwarzenegger.\" But, trust me, he speaks better. He\'s also handsomer. He lives in Canada. His beautiful daughter Belinda came within a blonde hair of becoming prime minister, and creates media copy throughout North America. In \'62 he bought his first horse. He now employs 80,000 people. Smarty Jones should only keep running this good.
\"With all my tracks I could have a constant program going. Everything linked together. New York, with the greatest population, should be its center. The government has to make up its mind. A new licensing process is coming due in two years. They should just put it out for tender.\"
The man\'s right. Then, maybe, we might even have New York steak and New York cheesecake on the lunch menu at Pimlico.
Holy smoke. Stronach found the only person in the world who would take what he says at face value. Breathlessly.
I want to be a fly on the wall at the board meetings where Stronach and Barry Schwartz square off. There is no way that Barry is involved if someone else is running the show.
\"With all my tracks I could have a constant program going.\"
Great. Six horse fields and declining purses for everyone. Hallelujah
I promised Jerry I would lay low but this string will go away by the time I come back and I can\'t control myself.
This portion of my post almost went up last week before the Preakness after Stronach took control of the microphone last year on the NBC telecast and totally embarrassed himself with his \"We Are Going to Rebuild This Place\" lie.
Would someone introduce him to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
This is a Public Company he is running and to be out in public making all kinds of statements shows how dangerous he is. Someone call Pit Bull Shareholder Attorney, Bill Lerach of Milberg,Weis he will explain the definition of the law to him.
The guy can\'t be saying this stuff and never back it up. He just said he was prepared to spend A BILLION DOLLARS, forget the Belmont Exacta unload on Magna Entertainment PUTS.
Also Jerry giving you a heads up,someone used the word syncophant in their post...maybe nothing.
ouch! forgot to proofread my sychophant post...just kidding. \"slakboy\", if you are so close to Stronach, would you please tell us the real skinny on Belinda and Bill Clinton?
Seriously, the remark about 6 horse fields is right on target...I am all for updating the fan base (better pools for us), but a mall at the track? Frank must not be around GP when the Guess Who are making the horses rear up....
Good point about Stronach/public company.
Just to be clear-- I fully expect the wack jobs to continue to swing from the rafters on the other site, but what I don\'t want is to have those guys affecting what is taking place here. What they do on the Ragozin site is fine, it sends guys over here, and that is working out pretty damn well. But it is one thing for me (or someone else) to go after Ragozin errors (the latest of which, the Derby lengths, they haven\'t even corrected, let alone admitted), and another to get into a squabble with the lunatic fringe. One is productive, the other just static-- and the only reason I even added my comments at all was because Mandown felt compelled to write that long post. I understand why he did it (he runs the data base, and by the way, there are few in this industry with as good a resume as his), but he\'s shooting a mosquito with an elephant gun.
Thats a dang Gossip column. That old needy bag was probably daydreaming that Stronach would knock her down and some loose change would fall out of his pockets in the process.
Money talks, but New York would be daft to consider any overtures from that moron. Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga have something Stronach doesn\'t and thats tradition and class.
Take a hike Frankie
CtC
Don\'t underestimate Frank S. He built the Magna Auto company from nothing to a multi-billion dollar international company in Canada (where they often look sideways at the concept of free enterprise). Asfufh
I\'ll be shocked if Magna is not running the NY racing show within a couple of years. Although math was my worst subject, the math in this case looks pretty simple to me: a very troubled NYRA\'s expiring franchise + Magna\'s exceptionally well-connected Albany lobbying crew = legislature giving control of NY racing to Magna. The lobbyists, who best of all for Frankie have the total mainline to Joe Bruno, are already hard at work. For instance (if I have my facts straight, and I think I do), a few weeks back Bruno spoke of \"disappointment\" over NYRA\'s refusal to enter into any sort of \"discussions\" w/Magna. Lo and behold, a week or two later I pick up the paper to see that NYRA and Magna are in \"discussions\" about possible \"partnerships.\"
Ah yes, I can see it now...\"The Shops At Saratoga Race Course\"....your full service mall and race track, featuring a beautiful new auditorium for those concerts featuring thrid-string 1970\'s bands...
Think I need to go get some coffee...
Post Edited (05-17-04 17:04)
I have been going to Saratoga since I was a baby. The thought of Stronach getting his hands on this track makes me sick. For all of the faults of NYRA they have kept the old time charm of Saratoga while making it more accessible to a larger nimber of fans. Joe Bruno seems to like it as he seems to be there an awful lot on the taxpayers dime.
GOWAND,I\'ve been at the SPA for 26 straight years.The best race meet by far.Stronach is an Auto Parts giant, who is an arrogant, egotistical, rude guy who has flourished in CANADA with the help of the Canadian government. This guy has HUGH resources, bad ideas, and is a real danger to Monopolize racing in this country.Sen.Bruno and company surely must know of the reputation of this imported clown, FRANK STROOONACHHH!!!Pardon my accent.
I\'ll make book on Magna being at least a partner with NYRA and, more likely, in outright control of NY racing, within three years. A few numbers which I\'m basing this opinion on:
- April 1, 2003; the date by which slot machines (or \"Video Lottery Terminals\" if you prefer the spin-friendly term) had to be installed at Aqueduct in order for NYRA\'s franchise to be extended through 2012.
- $68 million; NYRA\'s debt to NY\'s Thoroughbred Capital Investment Fund.
- $10 million; NYRA\'s debt to NY\'s horsemen.
- $3 million; amount in Federal fines NYRA must pay as punishment for the mutuel dept. fiasco.
- $15,000 per month; amount Magna is paying Ken Bruno and his law firm for lobbying on their behalf in Albany. Ken Bruno is Joe Bruno\'s son, of course.
- $10,000 per month; amount Magna is paying Al \"Senator Pothole\" D\'Amato\'s lobbying/consulting firm. D\'Amato is widely regarded as Gov. Pataki\'s mentor and a key force behind his 1994 upset of then-Gov. Mario Cuomo.
- $110,000 per year to lobbyist Patricia Lynch, a former top aide to Assembly Speaker Shelly \"Marbles In My Mouth\" Silver.
Looks like an awfully weak hand for NYRA, at least to me. While Stronach has a lobbying all-star team ready to bring the full court press on the three guys who run New York state gov\'t, NYRA has huge debt, no real way of paying it, a slots installation plan that seems totally up in the air, and a state facing never-ending budget shortfalls (which are only going to get worse due to, among other things, a court-ordered change in the way school districts get funded that could result in a spending explosion unlike anything ever seen in NY). Do I think that, when push comes to shove, when the lobbyists start making the Big Pitch, the state legislature, desperate for revenue, is going to make the franchise decision based on fears that Stronach might desecrate the charm of Saratoga Race Course? Not so much.
Saratoga is the single biggest reason I got hooked on this game, and I am indeed frightened about what Magna might do to the place if and when they get their hands on it. I just think it\'s more a matter of when than if.
Hope I\'m wrong about all this...
Great, great post. I had heard about the D\'Amato angle, but the details are a shocker.
Dead serious-- why not send a letter to the editors of DRF and Bloodhorse with the same info? Or to Finley, Kerrison, the Times, etc.? The more sunlight on this the better.
Stronach is freak, and does not need to be telling anyone how to run a race track. Anyone who has been to Santa Anita and has had to stand inline for 15 minutes to make a bet knows what I am talking about. Or , you can ask the horsemen at Gulfstream about what they think of him. Also, you make it sound as if he created 80k jobs in the horse industry, which is false. I personally think that his interests are not aligned with what may be best for the horse industry, and don\'t want to walk through a mall to get to the track.
STB wrote,
>Do I think that, when push comes to shove, when the lobbyists start making the Big Pitch, the state legislature, desperate for revenue, is going to make the franchise decision.
Stronach is making one key mistake if he thinks that by acquiring NY Racing he will be taking control of the largest part the Thoroughbred Racing Industries Handle.
Jerry Brown Controls That.
STB, your points are scary given the mentality and general ignorance of the ALBANY crowd as to their opinion of the NY Racing Industry. MAGNA\'S control of racing in NY would surely be a disaster to all of us who love the game.
Magna is a major threat to racing. Here in Ohio they have done nothing with Thistledowns. Purchased over a year ago by Magna, racing has continued to decline. Shorter fields and small purses, all centered in a terrible neighborhood. So much could have been done to improve the situtation. What has Magna done? Free parking, added self betting machines, and redesigning the central bar. I would rather pay a dollar for parking if they added security and cleaned up the dump! It\'s no wonder people travel to WV to wager.
Wrongly,
Doesn\'t that sound familiar? Maryland, Gulfstream, NoCal, Santa Anita, Lone Star. Grand promises, little accomplished. This guy is a definite threat to racing.
All of my joking aside JB is a minnow in a pool of sharks. You guys are dead-on about Stronach he is a disaster.
So why does he want the Properties, is it the Handle or the Content??? Figure that out and you have a better chance of stopping him. The \"We Will Rebuild This Place\" lie is the same one he uses in every acquisition presentation. And all of his wide-eyed listeners believe him because they are so tight for Cash they think he will actually pull it off.
Let me tell you he can\'t, the gross profit margins are too small and after the Series of Acquisitions he performed a few years ago he knows it by now, IF??? he didn\'t before.
Technology has changed the game, the NY Handle is about what 20% of the total Racing Handle ?? But like I said, the game has changed and the handle CAN MOVE. He has already proven he will close off access to the Content to only his paying customers.
Figure out where he is going with this and you are a long ways towards beating him head-on.
Right now with the interest in Racing starting to build momentum, access to Content should be made easier not more restricted.
Stronach is absolutely the wrong guy for what is beginning to look like the right time for Racing.
Post Edited (05-18-04 15:47)
It\'s simple why he wants ALL race track properties.Total control gives him all the cards, his game, his rules.This guy has successfully mononoplized the multi billion dollar canadian retail auto parts market. If anyone sells him short in trying to do the same thing to US racing, they may be mistaken.He is hotly after Monmouth Park to establish a foothold in the Northeast which brings him in close proximity to NY Racing.
I think where SC is going is that control of the content (signals) gives him a very strong bargaining position with simulcast rates and home betting. I agree, that\'s where he\'s going, or trying to. Boy, is this game changing fast.
Miff, For the record, MagnaAuto sells its products primarily to OEM manufacturers like GM, Ford, Mercedes, etc., not to retail customers and does not come close to monopolizing this very competitive business. Asfufh
Agree with the control of content theories. To a lesser extent, but still probably worth a few bucks, is a desire to sell off and/or develop land he\'s acquired through all these buy-ups. To wit:
\"We believe that MID\'s real estate business and Magna Entertainment are a natural fit due to MEC\'s highly attractive underlying real estate assets...MEC\'s assets include under-utilized excess lands in some of the premier real estate markets in the United States. They are prime locations for premium retail, entertainment, and/or residential development.\" Brian Tobin, CEO of MI Developments, as quoted in a bloodhorse.com article earlier this year.
MID, by the way, owns a big chunk of MEC equity, and they hemorrhaged money last year, posting a big fourth quarter loss.
STB, thanks for a great post. I think everyone is exactly right about this guy. As a Canadian I\'ve seen what a self promoter this huckster is.
I think the one hope racing has is that he hangs himself with his own words. How could anyone, ever the blind fools in Albany, have watched his attempted takeover of the post Preakness celebration on live tv and come away thinking this guy is anything but an absolute arrogant blowhard.
And I\'d like to commend Bob Costas for realizing this and basically just cutting Frank off. There are not too many sports reporters that would have had the balls to do this, but Costas is smart enough and experienced enough (see his fine history of interviews on the Later program and now HBO) to smell a rat even when it\'s going on live with chaos surrounding him. To me, his ability to quickly cut away from Frank was one of the highlights of Preakness day.
Most other reporters in the sports industry (such as almost all the fools/hacks working for ESPN) would have just let Frank go right on talking.
Let\'s just hope that Frank, given enough rope, hangs himself with his own words.
But as many have pointed out this is unlikely. If I were a betting man... (lol)...I\'d set the odds as follows
MEC at least partially involved in NYRA within 2 years:
YES-180
NO +160
Hope we\'re all wrong about this though, as clearly he is just about the worst possible thing that could happen to New York racing.
And one other thing...is there an honest politican out there anywhere? I mean for heavens sake...the son of the senator is the one lobbying for MEC.
That sort of insestious conflict of interest just makes me sick.
We are very ill served by most of our public representatives...all partisanship and very little actually focus on the greater good.
Gentlemen
Magna takes over the NYRA race tracks. OK now what? Nothing.
Nothing, their will be no response. The politicians know this.
As long as people wager on horses and demand nothing they will recieve nothing.
My visits to the track have been infrequent since november 2003. Previously i attended almost every day. When computerized wagering was available in NJ life was very good. But I am fedup with getting nothing. I started playing Hold em Poker and while I do not enjoy it as much as the horses, the rake is very, very, low and card clubs are forming all over the Greater New York area. You want change stop betting on horses for a few months, if the handle drops 20% - 30% then the politicians will notice.
Thank You
Cozzene
Frank isn\'t all bad. Without his intervention, Santa Anita would now be the site of $million dollar homes and fancy shopping malls.
The true intent of MEC is getting a gigantic foot in the gaming industry through the \"racino\" door. There have been pushes at virtually all the states where his properties are located, for slots and other forms of gaming. He\'ll take the smaller tracks and pull an Atlantic City, having very short meets to justify the simulcast portion of its existence. Also don\'t be surprised to see racing at just a few centralized locals. It\'s coming, you can book it. Lower upkeep, more profits.
\'sheets
Having lived in Albany all my life nothing surprises me re:NYS gov\'t. Ken Bruno was a D.A. in a local county before he realized that people would throw money at him because of his last name. Joe Bruno and Shelly Silver will do anything that is in their best interest. If this also is good for racing then this is a pleasant coincidence. If not, they could care less. If stronach ever had an easy mark it would be the NYS legislature and the Govenor\'s office. NYRA clearly has its problems. However, I have attended hundreds of days of racing at Saratoga along with a number of big racing days at Belmont. For the most part I have never left dissatisfied with the way the track was run. I cannot say this strongly enough. THE NYS POLITICIANS DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ATTEND THESE TRACKS.
Nice post Sheets, however in Franks case he has acquired an awful lot of Plant over the last five years. If he starts to close those assets down strictly to use as simulcast outlets and can\'t provide some sort of potential zoning approval for development of the idle space to his bankers. He has real problems.
His monthly Borrowing Base Certificates will not add up to enough collateral on his loans and his Bankers will say:
Show Me The Money