Minor makes $200 mil. bid on Maryland racetracks
While his $31 million Landmark Hotel faces an indefinitely long work stoppage while he slugs it out with his lender in court, Internet entrepreneur and Charlottesville native Halsey Minor has reportedly made a $200 million bid to buy a collection of Maryland racetracks, including Baltimore's 139-year-old Pimlico Race Course, home to the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, the Preakness. Pimlico's current owner Magna Entertainment Corporation has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That's not to say Minor has the cash on hand. Minor tells the Baltimore Sun that in order to make the deal happen, he would sell off some of his assets. In addition to the $200 million purchase, Minor would also either buy or re-structure the company's remaining $225 million debt. A judge will hold a hearing on Minor's and other bids in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday, April 15.
–updated Monday, April 6 at 10:30am
23 comments
RE the landmark deal... it seems to me that a REAL man would have kept up with the payments and sued for restituion in the courts.
That is not only the proper legal procedure but the proper way to preserve the family name.
If he had been conned into buying a car that was a lemon he should seek redress in the courts but STILL make the payments.
Too bad for him that he created a situation where most people assume he is all talk.
As long as he takes that skeleton with him when he leaves, I'll say good riddance.
Who says he stopped payments before the bank pulled the plug? Minor claims the manager, Danielson, who had been trying to put this hotel deal together for years when he finally sold the idea to to Minor, lied to him about the costs. Halfway into the project, he tells Minor the cost has gone way up. That is Minor's version of the story and I think it deserves equal play.
Additional facts: contractors were left with unpaid invoices in this case and the Ice Park 13 years before. The Ice Park also involved a very wealthy partner & Danielson. Sure, Minor is a more colorful character, but commenters should see the facts are about 50/50 at this point, from what we know of it from the news. And that is all I know of it.
http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=121304064644348&z_Issue_ID=18925100...
Ethical businessman, are you saying he should have sunk an additional $20 million into the project, if it went down as he says? That would have been $20m cash, because it was in the middle of the banking crisis that the bank pulled the plug and the giant cost overrun came to his attention. Would you have been "ethical" enough to do that, and then try to sue Danielson and the bank afterwards? And hope they had the scratch?
What I am saying is that he should have either made the payments or sought an injunction and escrowed the payments with a third party until things are resolved.
When you are renting a home and the landlord does not fix the heat you still face eviction if the rent is not paid. The proper thing to do is to hire a lawyer and sue for specific performance but give the lawyer the cash to prove TO THE WORLD that you are not just crying a river to get out you obligations.
Sorry to say, he looks like an ass when he could easily have done it differently.
If he stands to lose the 6 million he has already put into it then he should protect that through proper channels.
If he wants to restore the family name then SHOW US THE MONEY.
Since the building is not yet completed then the money is not yet spent. So buy them out and find a new partner.
The judge refused to protect him. Do you think the judge would have ruled the same way if Minor had brought in certified funds for his share and offered to let the court hold them until things are resolved?
I have no axe to grind, I am just giving my opinion of what a truly upstanding man who wants to preserve his good name (and money) would do.
th old saying goes... " if their some doubt, just whip it out"
So...isn't this confirmation that he still has $?
And he's just a ____________ (fill in the blank w/your own epithet)
So when will the lawsuit follow this purchase?
FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED ALREADY @#$!%^*!
Lawyers must love this guy's money.
Dear James,
Not exactly. See the addition above about having to sell off some of his assets.
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Barnes
Yeah, I don't know either. I just read a detailed timeline the other weekly has assembled:
http://c-ville.com/index.php?cat=141404064435450&ShowArticle_ID=11800604...
The judges decision not to stop foreclosure is that last line, but he refused to stop Minor's suit against Silverton.
To tell you the truth, your "ethical businessman" thing sounds like P.R. Sorry if I'm wrong about your intent, but I just don't hear of a lot of $20m ripoffs where the victim keeps paying, whether in escrow or not. If he is a victim. I can read the timeline either way.
We live in a crowded County neighborhood. When our Lab is outside and starts barking, we bring her in immediately. It's only common courtesy for your neighbors.
When my dogs start barking, it means somebody is trespassing on what they have come to know as their property. I want them to bark as loud as they can until I come outside and handle the problem.
My neighbors do not whine. They appreciate well trained watch dogs alerting to the ganagsta wannabes who seem to be tearing this town up lately with vandalisms, car breakins and thefts.
Hidden from my view by a 4 car garage, "Big Dog" chased something out of my yard just the other night when I let her out for a few minutes. It was something big, either a deer or a person, because I heard them hit the chain link fence as they/it jumped over.
Banned is probably too strong a word. However, until you live next door to an irresponsible dog owner who lets their dog(s) bark CONTINUOUSLY at anything that moves, you would like to certainly ban the barking.
This is more an OWNER problem. No, most of you dog owners don't want to read that. You are the ones I am writing about. You are the ones who ignore the ongoing barking of your dogs and when the police come to check out the noise nusiance your precious ones are creating, you feign ignorance to the noise. You say, "they were barking at someone who was trespassing." Etc. Etc. It's time YOU take responsibility for the noise your animal is creating. Quit blaming outside forces for the barking. Your dog is trying to tell you he/she is bored, needs your love, or worse, in pain. If your dog is barking ALL the time, then tell me just how you know when they are barking at a trespasser?!
Our society would never ignore a crying baby for too long. Especially one that is left outside in the elements at all hours. Babies cry for a reason, dogs bark for reason. See what that reason is and take care of your animal. If you are too lazy to tend to your animal's needs then please give the dog away.
Living next door to ignorant dog owners is a nightmare. Trust me, I've been through it to the point where I had to petition my city council to make the noise nusiance laws more victim friendly. It was ME who had to do all the work to gather recorded evidence, a written barking log in order to try to get some peace on my OWN property. It shouldn't be this way. Noise is noise...period! Folks in neighborhoods don't seem to want to make waves with their neighbors by reporting a nusiance noise animal...screw the neighbors. I'm not here to make friends...I'm here to enjoy the sanctity of my home. If I can't sleep at night what the heck do I care if my neighbor likes me? If their dog is what is keeping me awake then they are going to hear about it. NO ONE should have to put up with that!
If you own a dog and call it a member of your family, then just tell me would you leave a family member outside ALL THE TIME?! No, you wouldn't. So don't leave your dog outside to bark at all hours. Get a clue! A dog left outside is not a family member, it's a possession. If this post is making you angry and you own a dog...then more than likely YOU are a dog owner that is irresponsibly letting your dog bark. There's no excuse for your ignorance. Your dog's behavior is likely a reflection of you. SHUT THE DOG UP!
Sick,
I don't think any ordinance would affect you since this issue is not about dogs or their barking. It is about negligent or spiteful dog owners who choose to allow their dogs to bark for hours.
Jeanne,
Kudos to your effort. I couldn't agree with you more!
This is a "Do Unto Others" issue. We need to ban it only if the OWNERS are too inconsiderate or self-centered to monitor their own (and their dogs') behavior.
Let's ban talking while we're at it too. Or a baby crying in a restaurant. Ridiculous question!
True, Lassie.
What annoys me more than a barking dog is the three child care centers being operated out of my neighbor's homes.... one forty yards from my house, and two about 60 yards from my house. There's nothing worse than listening to screaming and yelling children all day long. I should ask the city to compose an ordinance forbidding 3 child care centers within a 40 to 60 yard radius of each other in the city limits. I would absolutely go crazy if God hadn't managed to have somebody invent air conditioning.
Sick,
Sounds like they need to limit those child center hours. I didn't realize they are open at midnight or 4 AM. Great meaningful point!
Please listen to the Alex Jones Show. Watch "The Obama Deception" and other Alex Jones documentaries. Learn what's really going on behind the closed doors of the Bilderberg group and the illuminati banker scumbags!
Next, let's make a law forbidding the trees to drop their leaves in the fall. The mess that makes is a nuisance. I can't believe my neighbor allows leaves from their trees to fall on my property.
David, get a leaf blower and blow the leaves back onto their property.
Lassie, I feel your sarcasm. :)
But, what about people like my wife, who works a midnight shift and attempts to sleep during the day? Barking dogs, screaming kids.... really, what's the difference?
Well tell me this. Would you rather have 3 kennels outside your house with dogs barking non-stop and at a higher decibel or kids who go out to play at lunch time and leave at the end of the day? I think your wife would prefer the kids but I could be wrong. Perhaps she might want you to not sleep too. WOOOOF!
I think we should keep the dogs and ban the owners. The dogs would be better off. Meow.