Superior Court judge Chantal Corriveau has deferred judgment on a request for a further 28-day extension of creditor protection for Quebec racetrack operator Attractions Hippiques after a three-hour court
hearing today.
She said she’ll decide by Tuesday.
Attractions Hippiques’ lawyers said they need until the end of the month for further talks with the Quebec government and negotiation with an unnamed bidder for the sale of all its assets except Hippodrome Gatineau in Aylmer.
A separate offer was made for the Aylmer track and it’s been accepted in principle by Attractions Hippiques’ lending syndicate.
Few details emerged on the offer for the bulk of Attractions Hippiques’ business, only that there were several scenarios and conditions which required further study, as well as some commitments by government for licence approvals, regulatory changes and tax and VLT revenue.
In all, seven offers were made for various Attractions Hippiques assets (one of them a single loonie). Quebec finance minister Raymond Bachand has asked for permission to view the offers, and Corriveau granted it.
In creditor protection since June of 2008, Attractions Hippiques owes $52 million to its guaranteed lenders and another $12 million to unsecured creditors. Its financial position is deteriorating monthly because the government recently stopped refunding the provincial pari-mutuel tax (Attractions Hippiques had collected the maximum $4 million specified in its contract) and has warned the company VLT revenue “won’t continue indefinitely,” trustee Yves Vincent said.
Of the four tracks managed by Attractions Hippiques, only Quebec City is presenting live racing these days, and the purse total is roughly equivalent to what the company is paying each week in professional fees related to creditor protection: $62,500. Vincent said the company is not currently being charged rent by the government agency that owns Hippodrome de Montreal, but the understanding is they’ll vacate the premises by October 1. The Quebec horsemen’s association opposes any further extension of creditor protection, saying it allows Attractions Hippiques to stay in business while leaving the rest of the industry paralyzed.
“The racing industry, as we speak, is dead. Attractions Hippiques killed it,” horsemen’s lawyer Jean-Philippe Gervais told the court. "The only question is whether it will be resuscitated by someone serious.”
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)