BEYER: Hialeah visit pleases, raises hopes
 

The old girl hasn't lost her looks
By Andrew Beyer

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do...9&subs=0&arc=0

HIALEAH, Fla. - People who remember the glory days of Hialeah Park surely feel a sense of trepidation as they walk into the racetrack this winter. Out of business since 2001, Hialeah reopened in November as a Quarter Horse track. Instead of being a showcase for the greatest Thoroughbreds in the United States, Hialeah offers dashes for cheap horses that are known for their sprinting ability but that generate little interest and minuscule betting totals. A visitor might feel the way he would if he was about to meet an old flame after decades have passed. Are all of your beautiful memories about to be tarnished?

Yet when you step inside Hialeah's storied clubhouse, you can immediately see and remember why this was once the greatest racetrack on Earth. Owner John Brunetti Sr. spent some $8 million refurbishing the facilities for this Quarter Horse meeting, and the clubhouse is spic and span. It is an elegant building with grand staircases that give the place the atmosphere of a palace rather than a parimutuel facility. It is decorated with the silks of C.V. Whitney, George D. Widener, the Greentree Stable and the other patricians who campaigned their horses here every winter.

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I hope they can bring back Thoros there. I love that place. More than Gulf.

I went there for the first time on Tuesday and was just simply amazed. Coming from a Saratoga guy, Hialeah Park is spectacular, even when it's not at its best. You truly are in a hidden paradise. The grandstand, the facility and grounds - if in tip-top shape - would make a dream home for the Breeders' Cup, much less thoroughbred racing once again.

If he could somehow get the card room/casino going and ran a November/ December meet with decent purses it would be great. But knowing Brunetti he will want to go head on versus GP in a battle that will hurt everybody

putting him inline for a bc ..calders meet is way to long

Calders meet is too long. Hialeah would be a nice change. A lot of guys would send horses after Belmont and Keeneland closed.