Magna to sell land in Florida

Magna Entertainment Corp., the largest racetrack operator in the United States, has reached an agreement to sell 157 acres of land adjacent to its Palm Meadows training facility in Florida to a real estate developer, potentially raising $51 million for the cash-strapped company.

The buyer, Toll Bros., is a Pennsylvania-based developer of homes and retirement communities. Magna had previously said that it planned to develop the tract itself, which sits alongside a $90 million training facility 40 minutes north of Miami that Magna opened late in 2002 to house horses running at its Gulfstream Park.

Magna has lost $245 million over the past 3 1/2 years. Officials at Magna have said recently that disposing of real estate would be one of the company's focuses over the next year in order to shore up its balance sheet and return to profitability.

The transaction is scheduled to close by March 30, 2006, Magna said in a release.