Best quote of the year

Bryan Brown, CEO of Retama, on the grandstand they'll build at the proposed racetrack in Laredo, which was approved this week...

“There is nothing more fun than being outdoors in the un-air conditioned grandstand at Gillespie,” Brown said.

Yeah, I mean, all that air conditioning at other Texas racetracks is really cramping my ability to enjoy the 100-degree summer heat.

I love watching races outside as much as anyone, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate having the option to cool off indoors. I'm not an architect, but I'm pretty sure there are ways to have access to both air-conditioning and the great outdoors. Like these things they call balconies.

Come on, just admit that it would cost more than you're willing to spend. We're not stupid.

In any case, the good news is that we're getting two new racetracks, in Laredo and McAllen. A surprising development, if you believe all the stories in the mainstream racing media about this supposed dying sport. Here in Texas we'll have built five new tracks in less than 20 years. If business is so bad and the outlook so bleak, why are multiple interests competing for licenses to open tracks around here? Horseracing is supposedly in dire need of help, and yet, you don't read about many tracks going out of business.

Here's the news from the Texas Thoroughbred website...



At a meeting that stretched for more than 11 hours, the Texas Racing Commission on Tuesday awarded three new Class 2 racetrack licenses, the first ones granted in the state in over a decade. There was considerable contention over the licenses, all of which are for racetracks to be located in South Texas—two in the Laredo area and the other in McAllen. Laredo is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and McAllen has also seen significant growth in recent years. Both cities are along the Mexico border; McAllen is near the state’s southernmost tip in the Rio Grande Valley, a hotbed of Quarter Horse breeding and non-pari-mutuel racing, while Laredo is some 140 miles to the north.

The license for McAllen went to a group headed by Greg and Steve LaMantia, whose family owns a major beer distributorship in South Texas. The group also includes principals from Retama Park and several Texas horsemen. Plans call for a $23 million track with a 7/8ths-mile oval, outdoor grandstand and an indoor simulcast area. The proposed facility would offer 18 days of mixed (Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and other breeds) racing per year and be managed by the team from Retama Park. The license was granted despite opposition from officials with Valley Race Park, a greyhound track located about 35 miles away.

The issue of the Laredo licenses had been ongoing for more than three years, with much of the delay due to the competing applications being referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. After nearly two years, two administrative law judges decided that both applications met the requirements of the Texas Racing Act. The ALJs recommended approval of the application from MAXXAM Inc. over the one submitted by a group comprised of many of the same partners as the application for McAllen. The commission opted to award licenses to both applicants, whose proposed sites are located some 15 miles apart outside of the city of Laredo.

However, a condition was attached to the approval of MAXXAM’s license. The Texas Racing Act does not allow a person or company to own more than a 5% share in two racetracks in the state. MAXXAM already owns Sam Houston Race Park and Valley Race Park, the latter of which the company is in the process of selling. To receive the Laredo license, the commission ordered MAXXAM to divest itself of Valley Race Park by May 4. MAXXAM’s application calls for the track to be built at a cost of approximately $28 million with an enclosed, air-conditioned grandstand. The track would remain open year-round as a training facility.

“We want to build a top-notch facility that will show our commitment to live racing,” said Bob Bork, president and general manager of Sam Houston.

The other Laredo license application calls for a $15 million facility with an open-air grandstand. Like the McAllen track, it would also be managed by Retama Park. Both Laredo tracks would have year-round simulcasting and a 7/8ths-mile oval with 20-30 days of mixed racing per year.

Bryan Brown, CEO of Retama, said that the group’s track would offer a simulcast area patterned after the one at Lone Star Park, while the grandstand would be similar to the one at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds.

“There is nothing more fun than being outdoors in the un-air conditioned grandstand at Gillespie,” Brown said, emphasizing that economic feasibility of not having an enclosed grandstand, like MAXXAM’s track would.

Despite a general consensus at the meeting that Laredo could not support two racetracks, both licensees indicated a willingness to move forward with their respective tracks.

Also at the meeting, Retama Park, which will not run any Thoroughbred race dates this year, asked for Thoroughbred dates in January-March 2008. Sam Houston Race Park, which traditionally runs from November through early April, opposed that request. Retama’s request was voted down, however those dates were not awarded to Sam Houston and the issue could be revisited again.