Published: September 17, 2009 11:37 am      

Chickasaw Nation wants to buy Texas track

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Chickasaw Nation subsidiary said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Lone Star Park for $27 million from the bankrupt owner of the horse racing track in Grand Prairie, Texas.

According to documents filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Global Gaming Solutions LSP LLC will pay for the track, though the sale remains subject to a competitive bidding process. The subsidiary of the Ada-based tribe has asked the court to schedule a formal auction for Oct. 7 and a hearing to approve the sale for Oct. 14.

Once those hurdles are cleared, Global Gaming Solutions LSP then would have to obtain a racing license from the Texas Racing Commission. According to Texas law, majority ownership of a racing license must be held by Texas residents, so Global Gaming would have a minority ownership interest in the license.

John Elliott, the CEO of Global Gaming Solutions, said the tribe’s intentions are to “continue the operations of Lone Star Park without disruption to the staff, horsemen and racing fans who have made Lone Star Park a prestigious sporting attraction.”

He said the licensing process could take six months.

Lone Star Park’s current owner is Magna Entertainment Corp. The Canadian company, which is the largest horse track owner in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 5.

Another Chickasaw tribal subsidiary, Global Gaming Solutions RP, is in the final stages of buying Remington Park in Oklahoma City from Magna Entertainment for $80.25 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath approved the sale of that track on Tuesday and now the tribal subsidiary must seek a racing license from the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission.

The Chickasaw Nation has made no secret of its interest in buying both Remington Park and Lone Star Park. “We always approached it from the standpoint that we wanted both of them and saw synergies between them,” Elliott said.

Although, he said it has not yet been determined how the tracks might work together.

“Racing has to do something to reinvigorate itself. In our view, part of that issue is people go to the races because they like horses and want to bet a few dollars, but they also go for entertainment. We see enormous entertainment value in both these tracks.”

Lone Star Park’s pavilion opened in 1996 and live racing at the track started in April 1997. The track hosted the prestigious Breeders’ Cup in 2004, becoming the youngest track to do so. Both thoroughbreds and quarter horses race at Lone Star Park.

“We welcome the news,” said G.W. Hail, the track’s vice president and assistant general manager. “We don’t want to speculate too much on the future, but we’re encouraged by the fact the next step in the process has been identified.”

Unlike Remington Park, which has a casino — the proceeds from which have boosted the track’s purses in recent years — Texas law does not allow for that sort of gambling at racetracks. Elliott said the tribe would like to see that changed.

“We’ll certainly support trying to get gaming at Lone Star,” he said. “All we can do there is what Lone Star does already and use whatever political muscle we can engender to lobby appropriately.”