R D Hubbard

After an executive shakeup at Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., formed three years ago in the aftermath of the sale of Hollywood Park to Churchill Downs, the Glendale-based gaming company may face sanctions Monday at a meeting of the Indiana Gaming Commission. R.D. Hubbard, a prominent owner and breeder of thoroughbreds who led a proxy fight that resulted in the ouster of Marje Everett as chairman of Hollywood Park in 1991, has resigned as chairman of Pinnacle and begun a divestiture of his stock.

Asked how he wound up buying Restless Con for $17,000 at a Kentucky yearling auction, trainer Duane Offield said: "He looked like he was athletic." Any other reasons? "The best reason of all," Offield said. "He was in our price range."

R.D. Hubbard, Hollywood Park's chairman, unveiled plans Friday for a $100-million expansion of the park. The project, including a 16,000-seat concert hall, a Hollywood Park Golf Academy recreation area and a card-club casino at trackside, will generate 3,000 permanent jobs inside Hollywood Park and as many as 4,000 jobs for vendors and other businesses that will serve the facility, Hubbard said.

The unexpected decision by Marje Everett to relinquish power as Hollywood Park's chief executive came as a surprise to everyone but her closest advisers. Why would Everett, considered a tough battler who has a convincing record for not being stopped, suddenly give up and take a less active role at her track? Given Everett's history, it doesn't make sense. The principals in the fight to gain control of Hollywood Park say the predictable.

With disgruntled shareholders apparently about to vote in a new regime, and with her board support disintegrating, Marje Everett is expected to resign as chief operating officer at Hollywood Park. The resignation of Everett would end a proxy battle that has cost the Hollywood Park shareholders almost $5 million and R.D. Hubbard $3 million.

A team of NFL executives and Hollywood Park officials, meeting in Denver on Thursday, drew closer to a deal for the construction of a $200-million football stadium in Inglewood, but one key player in the agreement is still missing. It is--who else?--Al Davis. The Raider owner did not attend the Denver meeting, causing league insiders to wonder for the first time whether he would walk away from one of the top three stadium deals in the league.

R.D. Hubbard, Hollywood Park's chairman of the board, cannot understand why horsemen are not willing to embrace Friday night racing. During a news conference Wednesday at Santa Anita, Hubbard, quoting a study commissioned by Hollywood Park and the California Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Assn., listed the benefits of Friday night racing.

Let's put this into words that can be understood on the backstretch--or is that end zone?--of Hollywood Park. The new stadium deal is a mortal lock. Real grass. Seats so close to the field you can hear the players bleed. Safe parking. Easy access. Family outings. Four-hour tailgates. And football. A lineman's facemask full of football. Possibly UCLA on Saturday. Certainly the Raiders on Sunday. A second professional team the next Sunday. Then the Raiders again. Same place. Same times.

Every Hollywood Park bigwig was there, including several with big wigs. Every politician from Inglewood was there, all bubbly, but what do you expect from guys carrying $35 million around a racetrack? Every clean water glass on the club level was there, one for each celebrant, lined up expectantly next to a dais, a party waiting to happen. Even Al Davis was there, although few saw him. He spent most of the afternoon in a meeting room behind a bar next to a betting window.

The audit committee of Hollywood Park has launched an investigation into allegations that Marje Everett, the track's chief executive officer, may have used company goods and services for private use. Meeting Monday, the audit committee delegated the Arthur Anderson Co. to look into conduct by Everett that was questioned by R.D. Hubbard in a letter to Warren Williamson, secretary-treasurer of the Hollywood Park Operating Co. The letter, dated Nov.