Field Narrows to Two in Race to Run Del Mar Track

A state commission narrowed the field Thursday to a pair of finalists for a new Del Mar Race Track lease, eliminating from consideration a partnership criticized by local residents for its plans to offer concerts along with horse racing.

After more than five hours of discussion in a drafty pavilion at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the state Race Track Leasing Commission voted 4 to 1 to scratch the Ogden-Nederlander partnership from the competition for the 20-year lease.

The commission’s decision left the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, a local outfit that has operated the track for the past two decades, and Florida horse-racing impresario John J. Brunetti as the remaining contenders for the Del Mar crown.

At the request of the six-man leasing commission, which is composed of three high-ranking state officials and a trio of Del Mar Fair Board members, the finalists will return in one month for a showdown to determine which group will get the lucrative lease.

On another 4-1 vote, the board agreed to have the pair respond to several new issues, among them the possibility of limiting administrative costs and a provision that the lease undergo periodic reviews and potential renegotiation.

Commissioner William J. Anthony, a state general services official, abstained from the vote, and Commissioner Jan Anton, a fair board director, dissented. Anton, already on record in support of the Thoroughbred Club, argued that the current operator should be allowed to stay on at the track because the club is not a for-profit organization.

“Brunetti would take out millions over 20 years. His proposal is just like the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s, but he’d be taking out profit,” Anton said, adding that he did not “see any great benefit” to the Brunetti proposal.

Leaders of the Thoroughbred Club expressed surprise at the commission’s decision to delay a final vote, but remained confident about their ultimate chances.

“I think we have so much more expertise here in running a track,” said John Mabee, patriarch of the Big Bear grocery store chain and longtime club president. “Brunetti has his problems in Florida. And, like they said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Brunetti, meanwhile, voiced hope that the commission would favor his proposal, despite strong support for the Thoroughbred Club from residents of Del Mar and Solana Beach as well as the Fair Board.

‘Proposal Is the Most Creative

“I don’t think anything will substantially change over the next month,” said Brunetti, a New Jersey construction magnate who owns the Hialeah track near Miami. “As a race-track owner and operator, my proposal is the most creative, not only in terms of aesthetic values and promotions, but in my idea to add an extra, 10th race each day.”

The big loser on Thursday, however, was the Ogden-Nederlander partnership.

Commissioner Jack Parnell, the state’s Food and Agriculture Department director, said the partnership’s plans for an eclectic mix of up to 40 concerts ranging from symphony performances to rock ‘n’ roll threatened to undermine the state-mandated role of the Del Mar Fair Board, which operates the seaside grounds.

“It would establish a level of control over the operations of the complex that is not properly performed by a private entity,” Parnell said. “That control has historically been vested with” the Fair Board.

The joint venture promised to build a 20,000-seat grandstand at the track to replace the existing 9,600-seat facility, which is suffering the infirmities of old age. But competitors said the partnership would have tapped as much as $140 million in profits during the life of the lease, money that could go to the state or back into the facility.

In addition, dozens of local residents and officials paraded before the commission to complain about the potential effects of the concerts, griping that they would cause problems with noise, traffic and pollution.

Attorney’s Complaint

Neil Papiano, a Los Angeles attorney representing Ogden-Nederlander, complained that the commission “should have told us they didn’t want any private operators.” He also hinted that the decision was a result of power politics, saying “they had to find a way to attack us.”

“I think we obviously had the best bid, and the best bid didn’t win,” Papiano said, adding that he doubts a new grandstand can be delivered now that his group is out of the running.

Officials with the Thoroughbred Club and Fair Board have proposed a 15,000-seat grandstand and have already commissioned architectural work on the plan.

The Leasing Commission gave that effort a boost Thursday, unanimously agreeing to set aside 80% of the track’s annual revenues until $30 million is raised to help defray the financing cost of the stadium, which is expected to run about $85 million.

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