Magna Entertainment Corp.
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Magna Entertainment Corp. (TSX: MEC) is a gaming and horse racing company in North America with several holdings in Europe and Australia, and is North America's largest thoroughbred racing company, based on revenue and holdings.[1]
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[edit] History
Magna Entertainment Corporation (MEC) was created in 1999 by parent company Magna International Inc. Magna International, a major automotive supplier based in Ontario, Canada, underwent a corporate reorganization in which its non-automotive businesses and interests were transferred to MEC. In March, 2000, Magna International distributed shares in its new division to its current stockholders, establishing MEC as a separate public company.[2]
[edit] MEC Today
MEC currently owns or manages twelve racetracks in North America, and one racetrack in Austria, including eleven thoroughbred tracks and two mixed (thoroughbred and standardbred) tracks. MEC also operates the simulcasting venues at these tracks, as well as OTB (Off Track Betting) facilities.
Other ventures include XpressBet, a wagering business that allows customers to wager on over 100 horse racing tracks via internet or telephone, and Horse Racing TV, a premium television network featuring racing both MEC tracks and other participating tracks[1].
MEC also owns thoroughbred training facilities in conjunction with its racetracks in California, Florida, and Maryland, and owns and operates facilities that manufacture a straw-based bedding product, StreuFex.[1]
MEC has recently moved to add additional gaming attractions, such as slot machines, to several of its tracks. In 2004, voters in Oklahoma approved legislation that allowed MEC to incorporate slot machines at Remington Park racetrack in Oklahoma City. Remington Park opened its casino, featuring 650 Class II gaming machines, in November 2005.[3] Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, followed suit in November 2006, with 516 slot machines and poker.[4] Magna Racino in Austria also features alternative gaming.
In 2006, MEC Completed its purchase of AmTote International, who provide totalizator services to the horse racing industry.
[edit] MEC Racetracks
MEC owns the following tracks:[5]
- Golden Gate Fields, Albany, California. Acquired December 1999.
- Great Lakes Downs, Muskegon, Michigan. Acquired February 2000.
- Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida. Acquired September 1999.
- Laurel Park, Laurel, Maryland. Acquired February 2002.
- Lone Star Park, Grand Prairie, Texas. Acquired October 2002. (Owns operating assets but not the property itself)
- Pimlico, Baltimore, Maryland. Acquired November 2002.
- Portland Meadows, Portland, Oregon. Acquired 2001.
- Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Acquired 2000.
- Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. Unknown Acquisition Date.
- Thistledown Racecourse, North Randall, Ohio. Acquired November 1999.
[edit] Former MEC Racetracks
- Magna Racino, Ebreichsdorf, Austria. Opened April 2004, Closed 2007
[edit] Recent Transactions
MEC recently sold all interests in The Meadows, its standardbred-only track in Meadowlands, Pennsylvania, to PA Meadows, LLC. MEC will continue to manage racing operations.[6]
