Those negotiations were lengthy and Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) put an end to them this year after it had "put pressure" on the firm to increase the price, a statement of claim from Seed Housing to the High Court said.
HRNZ then claimed to have bought about 11.6ha of property from the Forbury Park Trottting Club, lawyers for Seed Housing said.
But the firm already had in place an unconditional agreement to buy 6400sq m on the edge of Forbury Park and had first right of refusal on the rest, Seed Housing said.
HRNZ and the trotting club have yet to submit their defence to the court.
However, documentation showed HRNZ argued in previous proceedings the slice on the edge of Forbury Park was the most valuable bit.
The value of Forbury Park could be maximised if sold as one block, HRNZ corporate services general manager Liz Bishop is purported to have said in an affidavit.
The slice at stake was described in the statement of claim as a narrow, disused edge of the broader Forbury Park racecourse land between an old brick grandstand and a daycare centre at the southwest corner of the property.
HRNZ argued sale of the 6400sq m piece to Mr Todd’s company was not unconditional, a court judgement issued in July showed.
HRNZ also expressed irritation about the deal between the trotting club and Seed Housing director Gary Todd being pushed through in 2020 the day before Royal assent was given for national legislation.
Attempting to confirm or waive conditions immediately before the Racing Industry Act 2020 came into force suggested a scheme "concocted to evade the clear dictate of Parliament", HRNZ said.
Harness racing and greyhound racing events were run at Forbury Park, in St Kilda, for decades, but the venue became surplus to the racing industry’s requirements in 2021.
Disposal of the land owned by the trotting club was complicated by a combination of the legislation and moves made locally just before its implementation.
The legislation was aimed at shoring up the future of the racing industry, including by, as the Department of Internal Affairs put it, enabling "property to better benefit the racing industry while making considerations for community input and interest in the venue".
The focus of the court proceedings is on whether HRNZ was entitled to block the transfer of the 6400sq m portion from the club to Seed Housing.
In September 2020, HRNZ — relying on the new legislation — lodged memorials on titles of racing venues across New Zealand.
Seed Housing argued this had no validity concerning the land area it had already sought to buy.
It put its own caveat on the land and HRNZ tried, and has so far failed, to get this lifted.
Among the housing firm’s arguments were that it incurred significant costs in designing plans for developing the land and had paid $70,000 in subdivision costs.
Mr Todd told the Otago Daily Times his company remained interested in "being part of the future of the broader Forbury Park land to achieve the best outcomes for the Dunedin community", the trotting club and HRNZ.
He said he hoped issues could be resolved in the months ahead.
