Back to the track: judge rules Gate 1 belongs to Santa Anita Park, despite deed.

An 18-year error in a real estate legal description is still riding roughshod over 2.4 acres of land.

Ruling that Westfield America Trust did not acquire Santa Anita Park's Gate 1 in good faith, a judge has ordered the 2.4-acre property returned to the track's owner.

L.A. Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Alarcon ruled that the parcel, which borders Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita, was mistakenly omitted from the racetrack property and deeded to the shopping center when both properties were sold in 1998 by the predecessor to La Quinta Properties Inc. Westfield "knew of or suspected" the error at the time, the judge said in the ruling.

Though the gate had long ceased to be a primary entrance to the 70-year-old racetrack, Santa Anita owner Magna Entertainment Corp. had used the narrow parcel for parking and various festivals. With space for about 650 cars, it was also used for overflow parking for the shopping center, whose management had asked the racetrack for permission to use it during every holiday season until the error was discovered in 1999.

The parcel, according to the ruling, is valued at $3.5 million.

It was not known whether Westfield would appeal. "The company declines comment on litigation and is reviewing its options," said Westfield spokeswoman Katie Dickey. Ronald Reynolds, partner at Kaye Scholer LLP, who represented Westfield, did not return calls.

The error arose from a faulty legal description of the mall site by First American Title Co. in 1986, according to the decision. But it was not an issue until 12 years later because the racetrack, opened in 1934, and the mall, built in 1972, had been owned by the same entity.

In December 1998, La Quinta's predecessor, Meditrust Corp., sold the racetrack for $112 million to Aurora, Ontario-based Magna, owner and operator of 13 racetracks in the United States. Westfield, whose local holdings include Westfield Shoppingtown Century City and Westfield Shoppingtown Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, had operated what had been known as Santa Anita Fashion Park since assuming its lease in October 1998 and bought the property outright subsequent to the Magna deal for $40 million.

Officials of Magna, La Quinta and First American Title did not return calls.

Magna had continued to pay property taxes and maintenance for the parcel, only to discover the error in June 1999 when it attempted to refinance the property. Its prospective lender, Wells Fargo, notified Magna that the Gate 1 parcel was not part of the racetrack property.

Magna sued for the return in May 2002 when no agreement could be reached, said John Sturgeon, partner at White & Case LLP, who represented Magna. By then, Westfield had begun a $98 million plan to redevelop and add theaters to the mall.

Gate 1, off West Huntington Drive near Baldwin Avenue, had been the primary entrance to the 320-acre racetrack site in its nascent years. Since the section of the Foothill (210) Freeway in Arcadia was completed in the 1970s, however, most of commuters use entrances off Baldwin Avenue and Colorado Place in favor of Gate 1.

Still, the dispute was enough for Westfield to put what Sturgeon termed a "spite fence" around the parcel once it believed the property was part of the mall. Sturgeon has requested the fence be taken down this week. "Otherwise, we ought to get a Humvee and go right through it," he said.