Foes Might Become Co-Owners : Los Alamitos: Current owner, a proponent of harness racing, negotiates with quarter-horse interest.

Los Alamitos Race Course, which was recently purchased by a harness racing group headed by Lloyd Arnold, might soon undergo another ownership change.

Arnold is close to completing a deal to sell half interest in the 125 acres of race track property to Ed Allred and R.D. Hubbard, the quarter-horse interest that fought to prevent Arnold’s purchase of the track.

Allred and Hubbard would purchase half of the race track property for about $16.5 million. The Allred group would then run the two quarter-horse meetings at the track and Arnold would run the two harness racing meetings. The 93.5 acres of golf course and the 75 acres of property Arnold hopes to have rezoned as commercial are not part of the deal.

In addition, if the deal was completed, Arnold would not oppose the construction of a race track in the Riverside area that Allred and Hubbard hope to build. They will be seeking the approval, perhaps as soon as next month, of the California Horse Racing Board to build the facility. It would be located off Interstate 15, between the 60 and 91 freeways, near Norco.

The opening of a facility near Riverside would create some overlap night racing in the Southern California area. Allred would like to race quarter horses at Los Alamitos for 23 or 24 weeks a year and at Riverside for another 14 to 16 weeks. Harness racing would be at Los Alamitos for about 25 weeks a year.

There is even a possibility that harness racing could be run at the Riverside facility. Allred’s group is exploring a larger concept of a regional equine park that would include a rodeo ring and horse show arena. However, no such plans have been finalized.

Arnold declined comment on the impending deal but did acknowledge the negotiations.

“There’s a lot of things on the table,” Arnold said. “It’s something that could happen or something that could not happen.”

Allred said the sale would not affect the improvement plans that Arnold revealed last week.

“All that will be done by mutual consent,” Allred said. “We see pretty much eye to eye and there are going to be improvements to the existing facility.”

Allred said that at the very least a clubhouse would be built costing between $5 million and $7 million. Allred also said he would like to build skyboxes at the facility, similar to ones at Anaheim Stadium.

Allred is the owner of several family planning and abortion clinics in Southern California. He is also president of the Horseman’s Quarter Horse Racing Assn., which runs a meet at Los Alamitos.

Hubbard is the owner of Ruidoso Downs, a quarter horse track in New Mexico, and The Woodlands, a horse racing and dog racing facility in Kansas City, Kan. Both are horse owners.

“This is a life and death struggle for two breeds,” Allred said of quarter horses and standardbreds.

“And this will work out great for both breeds. Each race meet will have its own management. I’ll be president of the company that runs the quarter horses and Lloyd will run the harness group.”