A very obscure piece of New York thoroughbred racing history crossed through my Monday morning searches today. What was important about Porter, New York? On the Stronach Group's Wikipedia page is this one line item regarding "other assets" of the corporation : 800 acres (3.2 sq.km.) of land, in Porter, New York. Magna is attempting to sell the land where they had proposed to build a track.
Wait, a proposed racetrack in the obscure area of Porter? When was this proposed? In the NY State Racing and Wagering Board minutes of March 27th, 2000 (Link :
https://www.gaming.ny.gov/pdf/Mar.27.00.pdf) was this report.
OPEN COMMENT PERIOD: Patrick Brown from Plunkett & Jaffee, who represents Magna, stated that the request before the Board (Board item D-7) is for approval to create a subsidiary to hold racing track license. He stated that Magna wants the corporation to be formed in New York and hopes that the Board will grant this request to Magna. He also stated that this project was in the best interest of racing for New York and that the people at Magna were the right people for the project.
Jerry Campbell, President and CEO of Magna gave a brief description of Magna. Andrew Stronach, also from Magna and one of the incorporators, stated that he thought the area was a good location for the track.
William Brandt, from Nixon Peabody, which represents Finger Lakes, had reservations regarding Magna's application being in the best interest of racing and wanted an opportunity to address this. He stated that he was unsure exactly what was being considered today and would like a reasonable amount of time to respond to the application before Board determination.
Patrick Brown questioned how Magna could not be in the best interest of racing (referring to Section 201 of the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law).
Mr. Brandt replied this was not an easy determination for the Board.
No idea as to when the licensing was denied (or if it was denied) but think of what might have changed in the New York landscape if Stronach/MEC has ever gotten an industry foothold in the state.
