Published: September 08, 2009 12:05 pm      

Chickasaw Nation almost certain owners of Remington Park

Ada —

Pending approval of a license application that is considered little more than a formality, the Chickasaw Nation is in the horse racing business.

A bid of $80.25 million, through Global Gaming LLC, was accepted Tuesday morning, paving the way for the tribe to take over operation of Oklahoma’s largest racetrack before the end of the year.

“It looks like we have prevailed,” John Elliott, CEO of Global Gaming, said Tuesday morning after the sale by Magna Entertainment to his company became official. “We move another step closer.

“There has to be a final sales court order, and I think that’s scheduled for Sept. 14,” he added. “Once that’s entered, we can start the licensing process.”

Elliott said he expects the license application to be approved by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission without any problem — probably in November.

“Barring an earthquake, I think we’re there,” he said. “I’m just assuming that by the time we collect everything they need it should be the November meeting.”

Remington recently opened its fall thoroughbred meeting, which will continue until December. Elliott said his group hopes to take over operation of the 21-year-old facility before the meet ends.

“It will be at the tail end of this race meeting before we get the keys,” he said.

“After that, we’ll start worrying about what we’re going to do to improve it. I don’t think (patrons) will notice this year, but hopefully they’ll start noticing some changes by next year.”

Remington was one of the prized offerings in a recent bankruptcy sale of properties by Magna — the world’s largest owner and operator of racetracks — because the track’s casino made it one of the few Magna holdings to show a profit in recent years. Elliott said that despite Remington’s recent success, he sees a huge upside for his new purchase.

“We think it’s an underutilized and undervalued asset,” he said. “If you look at the track in its original heyday compared to what it is today, you can see a big difference.

“It’s hard to get people to go to a facility that doesn’t have amenities,” Elliott noted. “When you go to Remington Park, you see walls that need painting and a facility that hasn’t been maintained.

“I just think it has a lot of potential to be part of an entertainment area (with the Oklahoma City Zoo, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Softball Hall of Fame and the Firefighters Museum) on that side of the city.”