Santa Anita top exec resigns

One year into his job as president and CEO of the racing and gaming division of The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Park, former Breeders’ Cup president Greg Avioli has resigned, effective April 1.

Mark Verge

Mark Verge, 44, a Los Angeles entrepreneur and horse owner, has been appointed to fulfill some of the duties that were handled by Avioli, according to The Daily Racing Form. He will oversee all operations of Santa Anita Park as the new CEO of the track, a position that had been vacant in the past year or two.

Avioli’s resignation came on the same day last Wednesday, March 14, that HBO canceled the TV series being shot at Santa Anita, “Luck.” Verge officially took over on Saturday, though he was quoted in media releases last week about the demise of “Luck.” It was believed that Avioli was hired to have an even stronger link to Breeders’ Cup, which Santa Anita won for the 2012 running this Nov. 2-3.

“It was a pleasure working with Frank Stronach, and the entire Stronach Group team over the past year to reorganize this impressive group of racing and gaming properties,” Avioli said in a statement. “With the transition to the new ownership structure now complete and each of the business units fully licensed and operational, I just felt it was the right time to move on to new business ventures outside the company.” Avioli was previously with Breeders’ Cup for five years.

“Greg has been a valuable part of our team during this transitional period. We very much appreciate his contributions to The Stronach Group and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” said Frank Stronach, chairman of The Stronach Group.

Avioli “led the efforts to transition MID’s racing and gaming assets, including Xpressbet, HRTV, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino, and the Maryland Jockey Club, to The Stronach Group, a privately-held company.”

Verge is the owner of more than a dozen businesses in the Los Angeles area and is the author of a marital advice book called “Access to the Boy’s Club.” He told The Racing Form that Stronach made him a sweet offer with much control and an equity in the company as part of his hiring. He called the racetrack “his passion” and said that he would look to “shake things up” at the Stronach Group’s properties. “If we can’t beat baseball and bowling, I’ll give up,” Verge said.

The Stronach Group was formed last July following a bankruptcy by the Stronach company that previously owned Santa Anita, Magna Entertainment. Those assets were transferred to the shareholders of publicly traded company MI Developments.  The racing and gambling properties of MI Developments, which had posted hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, were then transferred to Stronach in exchange for Stronach giving up control of MI Developments.

— By Scott Hettrick