Wild Spartans

About Wild Spartans

Angelozzi is set to serve as the combined company’s chairman and CEO, while Lottomatica’s deputy CEO and CFO Laurence Van Lancker will assume the same role.

Hostench and Cirsa CFO Antonio Grau will also continue to lead the teams at Cirsa.

Following the deal’s completion and approval by Lottomatica’s general shareholder’s meeting, the combined company’s board would consist of the existing 11 Lottomatica directors, as well as two new directors nominated upon designation by Blackstone.

About Wild Spartans

According to the German Press Agency, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office, together with the Frankfurt tax investigation unit, the State Office for the Combat of Financial Crime in North Rhine-Westphalia and Frankfurt police, executed coordinated searches across 11 premises on Tuesday.

Over 100 officers participated in the operation. Authorities seized several high-value vehicles, froze numerous bank accounts and imposed an asset restraint order valued at around €82 million. An arrest warrant was also executed.

Prosecutors allege that five suspects had operated internet-based gambling services without the required German licences from at least July 2021. The volume of bets placed on these platforms reportedly exceeded €5.8 billion between mid-2021 and the end of 2023. 

What is Wild Spartans?

The redevelopment was financed by a $455 million loan from New York State, approved in 2023. State officials have projected the project will generate $155 million in annual economic activity once fully operational, along with around $10 million annually in state and local tax revenue.

The redesigned complex features four distinct racing surfaces: a 1½-mile dirt track, two turf courses, and a one-mile Tapeta synthetic track.

The Tapeta surface will be used exclusively for winter racing, allowing Belmont to take over Aqueduct’s former winter schedule as NYRA consolidates its operations at Belmont and Saratoga.