Racetrack operator Magna Entertainment, the owner of financially
strapped Gulfstream Park, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
and will abide by the terms of a January settlement with the official
unsecured creditors’ committee. The creditors will get a payout of at
least $96.5 million, and Magna can keep the Santa Anita and Golden Gate
Fields tracks in California and Gulfstream Park in Hollywood, Fla.
Magna will sell Pimlico and Laurel Park in Maryland at a Feb. 23 auctionto finance the payout. [Miami Herald]

Frank Stonach, the largest shareholder of the Hallandale Beach racetrack Gulfstream Park, has arranged to take direct control of the property and two other racetracks. Stronach, chairman of MI Developments in Aurora, Ontario, reached the agreement with unsecured creditors of Magna Entertainment, the parent company of Gulfstream. MI Developments is the controlling shareholder of bankrupt Magna, which filed for Chapter 11 last March. The agreement gives MI Developments a 50 percent stake in the Village at Gulfstream Park, a shopping center slated to open Feb. 11. The company also gets control of California tracks Santa Anita Park in Arcadia and Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley. [Miami Herald]

Gulfstream Park President Bill Murphy abruptly resigned Saturday, according to a company press release that offered no further details. He left his position immediately, Gulfstream’s parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., said. Murphy joined the Hallandale Beach horse track and casino in June 2006 and was promoted to president and general manager in January 2007. Gulfstream is slated to open Gulfstream Village, a shopping center, in February 2010. The $1.2 billion mall will have restaurants, nightclubs and stores, including a Crate and Barrel and a Pottery Barn. [Sun Sentinel]