The Houston Chronicle

                     July  3, 1993, Saturday, 3 STAR Edition

SECTION: A; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 753 words

HEADLINE: Horse track investors in homestretch; Land, fund deals almost 
set

BYLINE: RICH BURK; Staff

KEYWORD: Horse Racing Houston

 BODY:    Partners in the Class I horse race facility in northwest Harris 
County expect to complete their land deal and financing next week and 
have set a target date for racing to begin in April 1994, sources said 
Friday.

   The sources said groundbreaking on Sam Houston Race Park is possible 
this month or in early August, less than three months after  Maxxam  Inc.  
President  and Chief Operating  Officer  Charles Hurwitz took control of 
the project.

   Texas Racing Commission Executive Director David Freeman said the 
swift turn of events did not surprise him.

   ""I think this is a comment of the ability of someone like Charles 
Hurwitz to put together major business deals because of his standing in 
the New York financial circles,'' Freeman said.  ""When you have someone 
with experience in sophisticated financial deals, they are always going 
to get the job done.

   ""The racing commission couldn't be happier, either.  Somehow it seems 
fitting that the first track to receive a Class I license would be the 
first to open. '' Despite his enthusiasm, Freeman said the 10-month 
timetable for constructing such a facility ""seems very aggressive to me. 
'' Construction of Gulf Greyhound Park, the La Marque dog track, required 
approximately 11 months.

   Sources said the partners have secured $ 75 million in bonds for 
construction of the facility, which will be located on nearly 300 acres 
off Sam Houston Tollway near Texas 249.  Land costs are estimated at $ 4 
million.

   ""I'm not in a position to confirm this,'' said Maxxam's public 
relations director Scott Lamb, who is acting as a spokesman for the 
track.  ""All I can say is that we are on course with our plans.  When we 
reach the next milestone, there will be an announcement. '' The track 
partners plan to seek racing dates for

                                                                       
PAGE   65                       The Houston Chronicle, July 3, 1993                       


thoroughbreds in the spring and fall, and for quarter horses in the 
summer, sources said.  Because it will be the only Class I racetrack in 
operation in the state, an unlimited number of racing dates could be 
granted by the state racing commission until other Class I tracks open.

   Retama Park northeast of San Antonio and Lone Star Jockey Club in 
Grand Prairie also have been awarded Class I licenses.  The former has 
been bogged down in putting together its financing, and the latter is 
entangled in appeals over the awarding of the license.

   Former Gov. John Connally announced at a May 11 news conference that 
Hurwitz was stepping up his participation in Sam Houston Race Park, which 
received a Class I racetrack license nearly two years ago.

   Connally, a member of Maxxam's board of directors, entered the 
hospital shortly after the news conference and died in early June.

   Already a minority stockholder, Hurwitz bought the stock held by 
former Astros owner John McMullen and the Houston Sports Association, 
paying a reported $ 7 million.  He also reportedly put up $ 3 million to 
be used as interim operating capital.

   The transfer of the McMullen and HSA holdings to Hurwitz, his wife, 
two sons and their wives was approved last Friday by the state racing 
commission.  Hurwitz and his family reportedly now control about 40 
percent of the racetrack's stock.

   Maxxam, of which Hurwitz is also chairman of the board, is a 
Houston-based holding company with interests in aluminum and lumber.

   Salomon Bros. of Chicago is handling placement of the bonds for 
construction of Sam Houston Race Park.  The original goal had been to 
subscribe $ 70 million, but the firm has subscribed $ 75 million, sources 
said.

   The $ 5 million surplus is expected to help pay off the $ 5.4 million 
debt the partners have accrued since they began to seek the license.

   A potential stumbling block to the start of construction on the 
300-acre site had been a dispute over about 15 acres of wetlands.  Lamb 
said that no longer is expected to be a problem.

   ""We understand the Corps of Engineers is satisfied with our efforts 
and have signed off on the report,'' said Lamb.  ""We don't think it will 
be a problem. '' The $ 70 million racetrack is expected to accommodate 
crowds of about 25,000 and employ between 800 and 1,000 people.  Plans 
call for a one-mile dirt track and a seven-furlong inner turf track.

   The racing commission has said it would allow simulcasting of races 
from other tracks up to six months before on-site racing

                                                                       
PAGE   66                       The Houston Chronicle, July 3, 1993                       


begins, which would allow for betting on races as soon as October.

   However, the ambitious construction timetable is likely to preclude 
such activity.

GRAPHIC: Map: Sam Houston Race Park site (p. 12); Chronicle

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