Restaurant's horse-betting plan picks up speed in Lake Forest

Developers Bruce Lehman, left, and Brad McKinzie are two of six partners planning to transform the former Black Angus restaurant in Lake Forest into a high-end restaurant and sports bar with satellite horse-race betting.  The site is near I-5 and Lake Forest Drive. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LAKE FOREST – Brad McKinzie can't wait to get the mint juleps flowing on the first Saturday of May.

That's when the 139th "Run for the Roses," the Kentucky Derby, kicks off.  It also will be opening day for Sammy's, a restaurant that plans to offer satellite horse-race betting that day if all remodeling, landscaping and renovation of the 10,000-square-foot former Black Angus site is complete. 

"Our big goal is to have fun on Derby Day," said McKinzie, one of six partners in what will be Orange County's first high-end restaurant with mini-satellite horse wagering. " We'll be tearing down and building as fast as we can." 

McKinzie, a 25-year executive at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, bought the Black Angus building in 2009 with five longtime golfing buddies.  He told Lake Forest planning commissioners Thursday that Lake Forest residents last year spent $1.44 million betting on horses from their living rooms. 

He said Sammy's will cater to a much-underserved demographic and will be a spot where horse-racing aficionados can experience the thrill of the races on big-screen TVs amid a classy dining scene. 

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan, opening the gates for a $1 million remodel of a vacant building and weed-covered parking lot off I-5 and Lake Forest Drive.  In April, the panel approved an ordinance that allows mini-satellite wagering. 

"I'm comfortable with what I see," said Commissioner David Carter, who also visited San Clemente's OC Tavern, a sports bar that in 2010 added a mini-satellite wagering facility. 

In 2007, the California Legislature passed a law allowing satellite wagering facilities at restaurants and bars.  All wagering is operated by Southern California Off Track Wagering Inc., an association of racetrack and race-horse owners created to oversee and administer statewide satellite facilities.  According to law, the facilities must be at least 20 miles from a horse track and at least 10 miles from another satellite wagering facility.  The closest wagering spot to Lake Forest is the one in San Clemente. 

Carter and Commissioner Terry Anderson, who also visited OC Tavern, said they were sold on Sammy's because of its upscale emphasis along with the idea of making it a 21-and-older establishment.  The restaurant's architect, Larry Henry from Reno, reinforced the quality aspect of Sammy's.  His most recent restaurant, Campo, built in Reno, received Esquire magazine's billing as "Best New Restaurant in America for 2012," he said. 

The commission questioned sheriff's Lt.  Pat Higa, Lake Forest's chief of police services, about the facility's proposed late hours and any other security risks identified with this type of establishment. 

Higa said his counterparts in San Clemente have seen no rise in calls for service around OC Tavern.  He said he doesn't expect Sammy's to create an upswing in crime or other security risks. 

"I'm in favor of this," Anderson told McKinzie. " If you follow what you'll say you do, this will be a very nice facility and something that's truly unique." 

Commissioners had reviewed the proposal in September but asked McKinzie and partner Bruce Lehman, a real estate developer, to return with more details.  At that time, commissioners questioned how an adult-use business fits into Lake Forest's family-minded vibe.  They also wanted to know more about plans for the exterior and changes to the parking lot. 

Henry's designs call for one-third of the restaurant's space to be a horse-race wagering room.  The room will be decked out with leather-upholstered chairs, two- and four-person tables and soffits housing high-definition, flat-screen TVs showing races. 

Initially, fans will be able to bet on live races Wednesdays through Sundays.  All the money bet would go to the same pool as those betting at Southern California tracks such as Santa Anita Park, Los Alamitos and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. 

Developers Bruce Lehman, left, and Brad McKinzie are two of six partners planning to transform the former Black Angus restaurant in Lake Forest into a high-end restaurant and sports bar with satellite horse-race betting.  The site is near I-5 and Lake Forest Drive.  EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The former Black Angus restaurant in Lake Forest has designs to be replaced by a high-end establishment called Sammy's Restaurant and Bar.  EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The interior of this former Black Angus restaurant in Lake Forest is planned to be extensively renovated to transform it into a high-end sports bar and restaurant.  EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Developers Brad McKinzie, left, and Bruce Lehman plan to remodel this former Black Angus in Lake Forest into a high-end restaurant and sports bar with satellite horse-race wagering.  Analog televisions sets would be replaced with more than 50 flat-panel TVs.  EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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