6 Bidders Vie to Run Del Mar Racetrack for the Next 20 Years

Six bidders--including the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the operator of Florida’s Hialeah Park Racetrack, and spray-paint baron Earl Scheib--have submitted proposals to run the annual 43-day horse-racing season at Del Mar Racetrack.

Bidders’ names were announced Thursday in Sacramento by William Anthony, director of the state Department of General Services. Financial details were not released.

The bids will be scrutinized by state analysts before a hearing is held, possibly next month, by a State Race Track Leasing Commission subcommittee. The full commission could consider the bids as early as October.

A 20-Year Pact

Bidders are vying to operate the summer racing season for at least 20 years, beginning in 1990. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has managed the racing season for 18 years under a 20-year contract.

Bidders also were given the option of seeking to operate the 250-day, off-track, satellite wagering season at Del Mar, now run by the Del Mar Fair Board. There is no minimum on years for that contract.

The bidders are:

- John Brunetti, a New Jersey construction magnate, part-time resident of Carlsbad and operator of Hialeah near Miami. Brunetti is a controversial figure in racing and has been involved in a number of squabbles with other Florida track owners over race dates.

- Bloom, London & Associates of Encino, headed by Leon Bloom, a name not familiar to the other bidders.

- American Data Group of Palatin, Ill., which is involved in computers, cable television and race-track bookkeeping services in the Midwest. The firm’s chairman, Pat Flavin, is part owner of two small tracks in the Chicago area, Balmoral and the Maywood harness racing park, and is involved in off-track betting.

- Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which has run the racing season for 18 years. Its members include a number of prominent San Diegans, including supermarket chain owner John Mabee.

- Del Mar Thoroughbred Joint Ventures, composed of the Ogden Corp. and Nederlander Corp. of New York. Odgen has operated several race tracks in the East and Midwest, including Suffolk Downs in the Boston area and Fairmount Park near St. Louis. It also operated a dog-racing track in West Virginia. Nederlander, an entertainment firm, is best known for its theatrical presentations.

- Del Mar Associates, headed by Earl Scheib of Beverly Hills, best known for his 40-state chain of low-cost spray-paint centers for cars. A horse owner and breeder for 30 years, Scheib applied unsuccessfully for the license to conduct the fall meet at the Santa Anita track in the late 1970s.

The bids will be evaluated on the basis of financial return to the state, the quality of racing, the quality of food and beverage concessions, proposed improvements to the track and the applicants’ background and financial history.

Anticipating a Fight

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, anticipating a fight to retain the lease, has added former Del Mar Fair Board member Warner Lusardi and Washington lawyer and part-time Del Mar resident Robert Strauss to its board of directors.

Lusardi resigned from the Fair Board to join the club and help in its bid for the lease.

Lawyers and consultants from all six bidders are expected to make lengthy presentations to the subcommittee and then the full commission.

Last year, the Del Mar track had an average daily attendance of 19,600 and daily handle of $3.8 million.