Hialeah Park re-opening tomorrow (after 8 years)
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from the Miami Herald:
For eight long and lonely years, John Brunetti sat defeated inside his office at Hialeah Park, dreaming of this day. His fabled thoroughbred track, which is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, was decaying from neglect.
What the tropical heat and salt air didn't ruin of the facility, the winds from Hurricane Wilma did, wrecking the barns that once housed a who's who of horse-racing greats, from Citation to Seabiscuit.
``I got friendly with the foxes and the flamingos,'' said Brunetti, the track's owner.
After a filly named Cheeky Miss won the final race on May 22, 2001, Hialeah was shuttered, the loser in a decades-long battle against Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course for exclusive racing dates.
On Saturday, though, the 84-year-old track -- gussied up after years of dormancy -- will reawaken for two consecutive 20-day quarter-horse meets that are certain to rekindle memories of a time when the sport of kings was the biggest game in town.
``It was the most beautiful track in America,'' said Braulio Baeza, a retired Hall of Fame jockey who first set eyes on the tropical oasis during a vacation from Panama in the 1950s. ``I fell in love with it.''
As workers painted and polished in preparation for Saturday's opening, Baeza -- who counts the 1963 Kentucky Derby among his many triumphs -- was busy putting the jockeys' room in order, arranging numbered saddle cloths and whatnot.
Outside, a few racing old-timers wandered about, checking out the improvements while reminiscing about days gone by.
Jack Wilson, retired chart caller for the Daily Racing Form, has memories of Hialeah going back to the 1940s. Wilson said he used to place bets -- illegally, wink-wink -- when he was 10 years old, standing outside the track entrance with chauffeurs and sending in his wagers with a runner.
``I'd go after school,'' Wilson said.
BIG PLANS AHEAD
Brunetti is hoping to restore some of Hialeah's glory while resurrecting it in the form of a combination race track, casino and entertainment center -- a ``destination point'' patterned along the lines of the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood.
The proposed $25 million casino and accompanying retail complex are at least two years from fruition. And the track is licensed for quarter horses only, not the thoroughbreds that once graced the track and performed in front of the rich and powerful, from the wealthy Vanderbilts to Winston Churchill.
Quarter horses are to thoroughbreds what dragsters are to Indy racers, a breed capable of sustaining hellfire speed over short distances. Their races typically last about 20 seconds compared with the minute-and-longer thoroughbred races.
For Brunetti and Hialeah, they'll be serving as a vehicle for his casino plans and, ultimately perhaps, the return of thoroughbreds.
``It's a long road, and I can't guarantee anything,'' said Brunetti, the track's 78-year-old owner. ``But do you want to sit still and wallow around in the muck and the mire and the defeatism? Or do you want to go ahead?''
For years, Brunetti waged war against Gulfstream and Calder further north, battling to secure the coveted winter racing dates, when the region is packed with tourists and many of the nation's top horses are shipped in to race in the warmth and sunshine.
Hialeah tried going head-to-head against Calder in 1989, couldn't compete for customers, and closed. When it reopened in 1992, a crowd of more than 30,000 poured through the turnstiles, eager to see racing at a track many had given up for dead.
But its newfound popularity was temporary, and when attendance continued to erode, the track closed again in 2001.
Since then, Brunetti has watched and studied from afar as the two surviving tracks were taken over by large corporations and struggled in the face of declining attendance, much of it brought on by increased competition for the gambling dollar.
``Sure, I did some things wrong, and part of the fault is mine,'' Brunetti said of Hialeah's initial demise. ``But I hope they realize I wasn't the fault of this industry. You just can't say that we get rid of Brunetti and everything is going to be solved. I believe -- and there are many people who believe -- that with the reintroduction of Hialeah [Park], and its prestige and its history, that we can help the industry.''
Brunetti said he hopes to persuade racing leaders and politicians that there is room for three thoroughbred tracks in South Florida. He hopes to win back old fans -- and win over new ones -- with a renovated clubhouse. The grandstand is in need of repair and will be closed for the meet, and the old barns have been replaced with temporary stalls.
But the life-sized statue of Citation glistens, the red and green lights on the toteboard are blinking properly, and the clubhouse looks almost as fresh and new as the day it was built.
``It looks like something out of Architectural Digest,'' Brunetti said.
``I didn't think we could bring it along this far. But we have, and it shows. What's the expression? The place always had good bones. It was built right. And it was just a matter of taking advantage of that.''
EXPECTATIONS
The racing surface, long regarded as one of the safest and best in the sport, looks the same. Dennis Testa, the track superintendent, said horses wouldn't detect a change if they could dip their hooves in it once again.
``Turkoman could probably do 1:08 , like he did before,'' Testa beamed.
Brunetti is anticipating a crowd of 10,000 to 12,000 for Saturday's reopening. He figured most fans would turn out to sight-see and soak in the past.
``This is the biggest gamble I've ever taken in my professional life,'' Brunetti said. ``The worst that can happen is I can fail. Right now, I don't have legislation. I don't have outside financing. I have minimum flexibility with the quarter-horse permit. But there was nothing like Hialeah. I said that 40 or 50 years ago. And, even in a bad market, in an industry that's contracting, I think there's a place for it in racing.''
For eight long and lonely years, John Brunetti sat defeated inside his office at Hialeah Park, dreaming of this day. His fabled thoroughbred track, which is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, was decaying from neglect.
What the tropical heat and salt air didn't ruin of the facility, the winds from Hurricane Wilma did, wrecking the barns that once housed a who's who of horse-racing greats, from Citation to Seabiscuit.
``I got friendly with the foxes and the flamingos,'' said Brunetti, the track's owner.
After a filly named Cheeky Miss won the final race on May 22, 2001, Hialeah was shuttered, the loser in a decades-long battle against Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course for exclusive racing dates.
On Saturday, though, the 84-year-old track -- gussied up after years of dormancy -- will reawaken for two consecutive 20-day quarter-horse meets that are certain to rekindle memories of a time when the sport of kings was the biggest game in town.
``It was the most beautiful track in America,'' said Braulio Baeza, a retired Hall of Fame jockey who first set eyes on the tropical oasis during a vacation from Panama in the 1950s. ``I fell in love with it.''
As workers painted and polished in preparation for Saturday's opening, Baeza -- who counts the 1963 Kentucky Derby among his many triumphs -- was busy putting the jockeys' room in order, arranging numbered saddle cloths and whatnot.
Outside, a few racing old-timers wandered about, checking out the improvements while reminiscing about days gone by.
Jack Wilson, retired chart caller for the Daily Racing Form, has memories of Hialeah going back to the 1940s. Wilson said he used to place bets -- illegally, wink-wink -- when he was 10 years old, standing outside the track entrance with chauffeurs and sending in his wagers with a runner.
``I'd go after school,'' Wilson said.
BIG PLANS AHEAD
Brunetti is hoping to restore some of Hialeah's glory while resurrecting it in the form of a combination race track, casino and entertainment center -- a ``destination point'' patterned along the lines of the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood.
The proposed $25 million casino and accompanying retail complex are at least two years from fruition. And the track is licensed for quarter horses only, not the thoroughbreds that once graced the track and performed in front of the rich and powerful, from the wealthy Vanderbilts to Winston Churchill.
Quarter horses are to thoroughbreds what dragsters are to Indy racers, a breed capable of sustaining hellfire speed over short distances. Their races typically last about 20 seconds compared with the minute-and-longer thoroughbred races.
For Brunetti and Hialeah, they'll be serving as a vehicle for his casino plans and, ultimately perhaps, the return of thoroughbreds.
``It's a long road, and I can't guarantee anything,'' said Brunetti, the track's 78-year-old owner. ``But do you want to sit still and wallow around in the muck and the mire and the defeatism? Or do you want to go ahead?''
For years, Brunetti waged war against Gulfstream and Calder further north, battling to secure the coveted winter racing dates, when the region is packed with tourists and many of the nation's top horses are shipped in to race in the warmth and sunshine.
Hialeah tried going head-to-head against Calder in 1989, couldn't compete for customers, and closed. When it reopened in 1992, a crowd of more than 30,000 poured through the turnstiles, eager to see racing at a track many had given up for dead.
But its newfound popularity was temporary, and when attendance continued to erode, the track closed again in 2001.
Since then, Brunetti has watched and studied from afar as the two surviving tracks were taken over by large corporations and struggled in the face of declining attendance, much of it brought on by increased competition for the gambling dollar.
``Sure, I did some things wrong, and part of the fault is mine,'' Brunetti said of Hialeah's initial demise. ``But I hope they realize I wasn't the fault of this industry. You just can't say that we get rid of Brunetti and everything is going to be solved. I believe -- and there are many people who believe -- that with the reintroduction of Hialeah [Park], and its prestige and its history, that we can help the industry.''
Brunetti said he hopes to persuade racing leaders and politicians that there is room for three thoroughbred tracks in South Florida. He hopes to win back old fans -- and win over new ones -- with a renovated clubhouse. The grandstand is in need of repair and will be closed for the meet, and the old barns have been replaced with temporary stalls.
But the life-sized statue of Citation glistens, the red and green lights on the toteboard are blinking properly, and the clubhouse looks almost as fresh and new as the day it was built.
``It looks like something out of Architectural Digest,'' Brunetti said.
``I didn't think we could bring it along this far. But we have, and it shows. What's the expression? The place always had good bones. It was built right. And it was just a matter of taking advantage of that.''
EXPECTATIONS
The racing surface, long regarded as one of the safest and best in the sport, looks the same. Dennis Testa, the track superintendent, said horses wouldn't detect a change if they could dip their hooves in it once again.
``Turkoman could probably do 1:08 , like he did before,'' Testa beamed.
Brunetti is anticipating a crowd of 10,000 to 12,000 for Saturday's reopening. He figured most fans would turn out to sight-see and soak in the past.
``This is the biggest gamble I've ever taken in my professional life,'' Brunetti said. ``The worst that can happen is I can fail. Right now, I don't have legislation. I don't have outside financing. I have minimum flexibility with the quarter-horse permit. But there was nothing like Hialeah. I said that 40 or 50 years ago. And, even in a bad market, in an industry that's contracting, I think there's a place for it in racing.''