Lots of rumblings about Santa Anita's future

I heard from a very reliable source today that there is more than a good chance Santa Anita might have to shut down in the immediate future because parent company Magna Entertainment Corp. is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy and a bankruptcy judge in Delaware would freeze all of the company's funds, including paymaster accounts that are used for purses. No purses mean no racing, for either Santa Anita or Magna's other track in California, Golden Gate Fields.

According to the source, Magna may file for bankruptcy as early as Tuesday, sending a mess of trainers and owners to the paymaster window early Wednesday morning to try to retrieve their money before it's frozen. There is reportedly $11 million in Santa Anita's paymaster account and another $4 million in Golden Gate's.

Santa Anita president Ron Charles had no comment when I contacted him early Monday evening, but there is very little doubt Magna will be filing for bankruptcy soon, probably sometime this week. A source at Santa Anita told me there is little chance that racing would be interrupted before the end of the meet on April 19, although there could be some anxious moments. The source could not guarantee that racing will not be interrupted, but at the same time said there were some ongoing efforts to reorganize and avoid such a dilemma.

Stay tuned. I have a feeling something big is going to come down sometime this week.