CNet founder wants to buy, resurrect Hialeah Park
 

Steve.

A serious contender has emerged to bring back Hialeah Park to its glory. I would love to hear you interview Mr. Minor on At the Races.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/Sports/...18hialeah.html

At last, someone with a vision for racing as it is meant to be...Frank Stronach and company...are you listening?

I hope it's for real ....... I hope the state of FL doesn't mess it up.

Thats great!

Place is in really bad condition. Needs a ton of work. Gulfstream is in bad shape for numerous reasons, and if they reopened this track they would have the same problems.

1) There are a ton of casinos in south florida to compete with

2) Arkansas and LA have put together very solid meets to compete with

3) Good horses take the winter off now.

John B estimate of 20 -30 million to get Haileah operational again is way way on the short side BUT it seems this Gentlemen has very very Deep Pockets. So more power to him I would love to see it happen.

The key to this working is Hialeah itself. Yes there is competition but the competition is not Hialeah. History sells.

I assume he would include a casino, which would have a nicer setting than most of those around it. People do like nice surroundings, like the garden of Hialeah - look what Vegas puts up to attract people.

Would there be enough horses? There are at least two training centers, maybe more, that opened up in So Fla after Hialeah closed for training. Tampa has been poaching GP horses for a couple of years now, since Magna messed up the program and plant; the trainers may prefer the shorter cross-town trip.

I have so say, I would love to see the Widener and the Flamingo return.

i would really love to see hialeah back up and running, returned to its glory days. it's a beautiful place, it's a crying shame they let it go for this long.

Gulfstream probably would close down if Hialeah opened up.

If Mr. Minor can do it right and is able to secure the prime Winter dates of January and February, Hialeah could be one of those short boutique meetings that becomes a destination for vacationers. I realize it's not in a good area, but sometimes it just takes a prime attraction to revitalize an area. Something like what Oriole Park at Camden Yards did for downtown Baltimore. A casino and a state-of-the-art racebook for simulcasting customers could keep the dollars coming in during the off season.

I also like the idea that Steve Byk put forth about adding Hialeah to the Breeders' Cup rotation.

First, there is nothing wrong with the city of Hialeah. If you leave Gulfstream and walk across Federal Hwy, it is every bit as funked up as Hialeah. Maybe more so.

Second, just how are they going to get late fall or winter dates? Is Tropical (which leases Calder for the fall dates) just going to give away their days? Is Stronach, after spending $300,000,000, going to walk away?

Third, the place is now a total dump. $75,000,000 to get it ready sounds cheap.

Fourth, this is only a story because the land is worth 1/2 of what it was worth 2.5 years ago. Brunetti has been sitting on the place for seven years and turned down every offer. Now, he's screwed.

When pigs fly.

Am correct in that he doesnt even actually own the land, he just holds a 99 year lease or something like that?

I don't know.

What would the difference be?

The owner could let him out of his lease if the land
was worth bundles with buyers waiting.

So in essence, there is very little difference.
Right now.

The difference is that if he doesnt actually own the land, and the City of Hialeah does it may make things easier or more complicated. I really dont know.

And arent the racing days in FL deregulated so if Hialeah was brought back they could run against either GP or Calder, not that that would be a great idea.

I guess that is true. They and the feds can make it complicated anyway since the track is a designated national landmark.

I believe they are deregulated, yes. By the way, this is a real good article from 2001, when they were facing ruin:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2001-03...st-pony-show/1

I think Hialeah could knock out GP. GP is just not happening.

The only way any Hialeah comeback happens is if Stronach buys all or part of it.

The bottom of that article says Minor doesn't like the racetrack/casino model. Not to say that it'd never happen but I bet he'd try to avoid it if at all possible. He seems like a guy that knows what works and goes all pit bull to get it. He's also a horse racing lover. Might be just the ticket. Looking at his family and work history among other things, this ain't no lightweight. You can see why they're taking him pretty seriously.

I also like the BC rotation thing. I say Hialeah and Pimlico should be two tracks with BC ambitions. Two historic venues that deserve better than they've gotten.

i wonder why pimlico has never gotten a look for the bc now that you mention it.

Have you been to Pimlico lately?


I happen to love the Preakness and everything about it. But hosting a BC is wayyyyyyy too ambitious for a facility that is falling apart at the seams.

i figured that might be why. what about laurel? to be honest, i'm really surprised they haven't moved the preakness there, and shut pimlico down-since slots in md seems to have as much a chance occurring as me winning the powerball tomorrow.

edit-also, from what i read, the handle goes to the bc, so i wonder if there really is much in it monetarily for the host track. seems monmouth lost money on the deal.

I'm kind of surprised too, but Laurel isn't built to handle the crowds like Pimlico. Don't think they have an infield that's usable, for one...

well, that would definitely hurt them as far as having it at laurel. it would be cool to see it at hialeah tho, but odds are not in this guys favor. but i wish him luck. i'd love to see the flamingo stakes back!

Horse racing needs an off season. December, January, February would be a good break country wide.

that would be unfair to those who don't make millions of dollars a year. not every trainer and owner is rich. they need to run their horses sometimes.

and in the REAL world....

ok, so what if Hialeah came back and someone was willing to make the investment to offer Aqueduct+ sized purses in the southern Florida climate for the winter? Doesn't anyone think that would work? Obviously the upfront investment would be huge but wouldn't you draw horsemen like Pletcher, Mott, and Zito over from Gulfstream in a second and get the old regulars like Jerkens and Shug to come down from Aqueduct? Is there anyone during the winter that is actually happy being at Aqueduct or Gulfstream?

It looks like Congress will have to mandate an off season if there is to be one. Horse racing will just continue to race their horses year round without that.

F*ck, just when I was hoping someone would answer my post the threadkiller shows up

That is why Churchill bailed out (for the time being). They want a bigger piece of the pie to host the BC.

a day like that (sort of like preakness day keeping pimlico going) can be a boon to the track. but not if the bc committee takes all the funds. churchill is set up to handle stuff like that, but monmouth looked to have a huge day-i doubt they ever make the attempt again.

More on the story:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/...21hialeah.html

I dont think adding another racetrack is a good idea. Winter racing is already diluted. I never been and do not know much about Hialeah, but it sounds like a great place. Restoration and attendance are two different issues. You can restore the track all you want, but you also need people to bring back the glory days.

Fighting for choice dates was a huge problem that ultimately led to Hialeah's demise. Hialeah traditionally had the best winter dates. When Gulfstream began drawing more fans and competetive handles, they fought for the choice dates. Every year there was a big battle in the legislature over dates. (Calder seemed content with the off-season periods). Finally the legislators got tired of the bickering and said that the tracks could run whenever they wanted. Hialeah ran simultaneous with Gulfstream for a short time and did awful. (If I remember correctly, they also instituted an outrageously high takeout, which didn't help matters.) That was the end.

The date problem is still going to be huge if this resurrection plan gets off the ground. If Hialeah is going to run in the winter, they are going to have a hard time prying dates away from Gulfstream.

--Dunbar