A bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Monday granted insolvent Magna Entertainment Corp.'s request for approval of its plan to sell several horse racing tracks and other assets.

The sale includes Santa Anita Park in California, Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Thistledown in Ohio and Portland Meadows in Oregon, as well as its interest in Lone Star Park in Texas.

Magna Entertainment, the largest horse track owner in the U.S. and part of the Magna group of companies controlled by Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in March, saying it was unable to obtain new financing while supporting its existing debt.

The sale plan calls for expressions of interest in any of the racetracks to be submitted by May 27, with definitive bids due by July 31. An auction will be held in New York City on Sept. 8, followed by a court hearing in Delaware three days later.

Magna Entertainment lawyer Brian Rosen said the company may seek approval later to sell other assets currently not in the mix, including Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, home of the second jewel of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. Last week, the company pulled Pimlico and its other Maryland properties from the list of assets to be sold.

Officials with the state of Maryland and city of Baltimore are fighting to keep Pimlico and the Preakness in Baltimore.

Rosen said opposition from Maryland, which he described as "peripheral noise," didn't play a role in the decision to withdraw Pimlico from the sale process. He said the company simply wanted to move forward with selling more valuable assets.

"The Preakness is a great day," Rosen said after Monday's hearing. "The problem is that the Preakness funds operations [at Pimlico] for the rest of the year."

Rosen reiterated that MI Developments Inc., a property-management company that is Magna Entertainment's controlling shareholder as well as its largest secured creditor, will not participate in the bidding, except to prevent the "firesale" of any asset subject to a low-ball bid.

That change in approach is part of an effort to address complaints about potential conflicts involving insiders, particularly Stronach, who is chairman of both Magna Entertainment and MI Developments.