Steve's Hialeah Idea.
 

On today's ATRAB show, JJ and Steve had on Alex Fuentes of savehialeahpark.com. They were discussing Hialeah's future. I love the idea that Steve Byk proposed for Hialeah Park. If you didn't catch the show, Steve suggested that Hialeah be used as a Breeders' Cup venue every 3 years. The plant obviously needs renovation, but what a great place to host a BC. Gulfstream can't host a BC any more since they turned the place into a casino, and they no longer have the seating capacity. Santa Anita and Hollywood are going synthetic, and I think the BC will stay away from the synthetic surfaces for the time being. That eliminates 3 venues that have been used multiple times in the past. Hialeah would make sense for a lot of reasons. It's big enough to handle the crowds, great fall weather, and, according to most horseman, an outstanding main track and turf course. I have never been to Hialeah Park, but I know of its history and its place among the great tracks of America. I am hopeful that such a beautiful facility can be resurrected and saved from the wrecking ball. I hope you're on to something Steve.

I would love to visit this track. I remember betting it in the mid-90's. Looked amazing. Wish the makeover they did on GP as done of Hialeah.

Hialeah was a beautiful facility... what a shame that there is no longer racing there. Great idea, Steve! I hope it comes to fruition.

www.savehialeahpark.com
 

For those of you who listened to the show tonight, you heard a discussion about about Hialeah Park. More importantly, and for those of you who didn't listen, there was a disucssion about an effort to save Hialeah Park and restore it to its days of glory and grandeur. It was an interesting and educational discussion to say the least. As I was driving home, I began to remember -- much of which I had forgotten -- all my days at Hialeah.

The huge effort to save this once great racetrack is being headed up by a gentleman named Alex Fuentes. He is part of The Citizens of South Florida for the preservation of the Hialeah Race Track.

I urge everyone to visit the the below websites and remember. The first one --

http://www.savehialeahpark.com/

is not fully functional yet, however, the myspace one below is -- and it is truly great!

www.myspace.com/savehialeahpark

Now, I am completely unfamiliar with the political aspects of this situation, who is to blame, the legislative aspects -- all of that! I really have very little knowledge of this. However, here is what I do know -- we all know Hialeah Park. I am sure we all have fond memories of this once great racetrack. It is time for people to set aside their differences. It is time to set aside the greed. It is time to set aside the factionalization that is so prevalent today in this industry. The industry has not been able to work together on so many of the important issues that confront us today -- drugs/medication, jockey insurance, simulcasting, wagering/rebates, VLT's, and so many more -- however -- THIS is something the industry MUST work on togtether.

Hialeah Park was not the first racetrack I ever went to. It certainly wasn't the last. But I remember it was the first and last racetrack I ever went to with my grandfather. I remember I had my first beer at a racetrack -- at 13 -- with my grandfather at Hialeah. I remember how worried he was that my grandmother would find out and throw us both out of the house. And I remember it was my grandfather who introduced me to the greatest sport I've ever come to know. So, my grandfather died some years later, right before I was going to see him in FL, and probably go to Hialeah. He never got to hang out with me at the track in my ownership years. Years later, the first time I won a race and stood in the winners circle, I lit up a cigar and blew some smoke toward heaven. Laugh if you want, and I am not a religious person by any standard, but I felt him there with me.

I remember years later, after my grandfather died, going to Hialeah with my friends, all of them knew my grandfather. I remember telling them the stories of my grandfather and me at the track. I remember all of us having a drink and toasting my grandfather. He wasn't there that day, but he was, I felt him there with me. I remember the same friends 20 years later at my wedding toasting my grandfather. He wasn't there either, but I felt him there with me.

One time my grandfather and I went to Hialeah and he took me on a tour of the entire grounds. He showed me all the statues and the plaques of the greatest horses our sport has ever known. He told me stories of all the great horses he saw and never saw. He took me onto the backstretch and showed me barns where Kentucky Derby winners and champions walked and were bedded down. He introduced to me Woody Stephens -- who my grandfather told me was the greatest trainer in the world. And he told me that if I doubted it, all I had to do was ask Mr. Stephens and he himself of course would tell me he was in fact the greatest trainer.

As I viewed that website I thought of all my days at Hialeah.

I respectfully ask all of you to visit these websites and remember. Now is the time for this industry to remember!

Thank you everyone for the opportunity to have me remember -- and one other thing -- a quick thank you to my grandfather. He introduced me to something that I have a passion for that I never thought I could have about anything. How can you thank someone for that. Well, many times words are hopelessly inadequate, and in trying to thank you, now is one of those times. Doesn't matter -- thanks pop!

Eric

http://www.savehialeahpark.com/

www.myspace.com/savehialeahpark

Go for it. Hialejah is like Saratoga. Beautiful and historic.

I think.....
 

Steve's got a brilliant idea. What a legendary track Hialeah is! It deserves to be saved no doubt about that. Hopefully the BC people would be open to the idea. I can't recall if it was a movie, tv show, or in a song, but I believe Hialeah is the first track I ever heard about. From hearing JJ's description of it sounds like quite a sight. I think if anyone can dig find & post pics of Hialeah it would be great. :)

Sounds like you and Gramps had some great times together

they had a link on equidaily not long ago with video footage of the place. considering it's been vacant for several years (and what is it with vacant buildings, it's like they KNOW they are empty and fall apart so quickly?!) it looked so beautiful. oh i wish i had the money, that place would open in a couple weeks! such a gorgeous place, and so much history. it's a shame it's sitting there like that.

Hialeah
 

Check out the orginal MIAMI VICE (not the current impostor!)...opening credits!

This would be like saying they should play the Superbowl in the Orange Bowl every 3 years in an effort to have the Dolphins move back to the Orange Bowl from Joe Robbie er, Pro Player er, whatever we call the stadium now.

I have been to probably 20 thoroughbred tracks Hialeah is by far the worst track I have ever been to. The most obvious word that comes to mind is toilet. Might as well petition for Tropical Park to reopen while we are at it.

What are/were you smoking, dude? That place was NICE.

Here's a cool site with some more pics, guys...

http://icuban.com/hialeah_park.html

Not smoking anything. Lived in So Fla for 25 years. Been going to the tracks (including Hialeah when it was open) for 20. Here is my short list:

* Surrounding area is, lets just say, unappealing (I work about 6 miles from Hialeah in a "higher end" community). Many of my cuban friends would not go no near the joint.
*Road access getting in / out of the track is horrible (though there was never anyone there which made it easier).
* Have to be bilingual to communicate with any teller, order a hot dog, etc.
* The quality of racing was horrible (all the northern horses would already have moved north and the local 2 year old season was not in full swing yet). Thus how many 5K claiming races can you run in a day? It is pretty sad when the early Calder meet is an upgrade to Hialeah.
* No Air Conditioning - Worst body odor per capita than any place I have ever attended outside of a September Dolphins Sellout
*Restroom / Cleanliness of facility - UGHHHH.
*30% takeout (yes this is true before it closed).
*1/2 the races were 5-6 horse fields with 8 races on a typical weekday.
*Biggest crowd of the meet - KC and the Sunshine Band live in concert.
*$2 parking, $5 entry fee to gate - This may mean little to many who pay to enter other tracks, but you are competing with Gulfstream and Calder who had a better quality product and would allow you in for less, free, or give you free stuff for entry.
*Management came 1st, customer last > see many comments above.

Need I go further????

My comments relate to the late early 90's and beyond. You want to go back to the 70's I am sure you can find many of these negative's go away. To me the old Gulfstream had the Hialeah positives without many of the negatives I have listed above.

Just one humble opinion.

I went once before it was closed. The pictures show its architectural splendor. Alas, the plant was never updated and it had the retro feel of a 50's- 60's feel. The horsemen loved it and felt it was a safe place to run. I heard the barns were torn down this year, so they would have to build some and or ship them all in. The location of the track is also in a very iffy neighborhood. The owner, Brunetti is also a very difficult character to deal with. While, I understand Steve's sentiment, the reality of the thing is if the BC comes back to Florida, it should go to Calder, which has a large plant, barns, etc to handle it. I'd love to see a "boutique meet" for Hialeah for the spring ,shoulder season at the end of the Florida Derby weekend, March 31st, this year. Gulfstreams last 3 weeks in April will be just going through the motions, as northern stables ship north and the calder trainers take over.

The same thing happens at Belmont park in NY after the July 4th weekend. Saratoga should be open the week after July 4th and a couple of more weeks, but only 5 days a week instead of 6. The addtional weeks and reduction of days per week would have a net effect of only a couple of total days to the Saratoga meet.

And thank you for stating it. I was referring to how the facility LOOKED. I went there only a handful of times in the 90's, but to me, it was a beautiful facility. And no offense, but you have to be bilingual pretty much anywhere in South FL. LOL

I always thought it was a beautiful place to watch racing. I love the Flamingos. I was there in the mid to late 90s too. But I really enjoyed it when I went there.

I got to Hialeah a few times...no doubt about the neighborhood now being a negative...the track itself was nice...you could get there by train...imho it was a better place to bet on and watch the races than Gulfstream is now.
not saying that the quality of the races were better than Gulfstream, but imho the facility itself was better.

I don't know one track that's in a *great* part of a city. Aqueduct, Pimlico, Churchill, etc. If it's in a city, it's probably not the best part of the city.


The Wild card has always been and will continue to be Brunetti. His 30% take closed the doors of the place. How can you figured a guy like that out? How much has he made from his 0% take the last 4 years? Then he was purportedly offered 220 million for the place and turned it down because he wanted to keep the integrity of the property (not turn it into condos, etc.)

There are big cities and then there are smaller cities like Saratoga Springs NY...Nothing wrong with the neighborhood that the track in Saratoga is in...

Yeah...My point was that Hialeah Park is in Miami, a big city...so the logic would follow that the neighborhood it resides in most likely would be suspect. And not likely to change. And while there are a lot of factors that affect the on track attendance at places like AQU, Pim, Churchill - tracks that reside in big cities...the neighborhood they are in is not usually near the top of the list.

Basically saying the Hialeah section of Miami has little, if any, bearing on whether Steve's Idea could fly. Waaay too many other factors involved than location.

Welcome to the forum here. I love your name! He's my hero, too. Did you know that Slew's seven furlong record still stands at Hialeah. :cool:

Just another track to loose money

I never had a problem in Hialeah.... I walked around the neighborhood at will... my chropractor was on the opposite side of the front entrance and my favority restaurant is across the street from the stable entrance... my car would go to the shop a few blocks away and I would walk back to the track. Calder is not in a very good neighborhood either... just ask about the head they found around the corner... even Gulfstream's neighborhood has problems... I live a few blocks away (3 blocks really) and have heard gunshots at night...

traffic is a pain in the butt everywhere... getting much worse around GP.
I would not want a BC at Calder... it's way too sterile!

Hialeah was soooo beautiful... I rode my pony up and down the tree lined bridle path thinking of all the great horses that walked the same path.. the paddock enclosures are covered in Ivy.. the turf course was one of the best in the country.... With the right people envolved Hialeah could easily return to its grandness! but the major problem is Brunnetti... he wants it his way or no way.... very sad!

and the entire drive in (about 2 blocks in length) is lined with gardinea bushes! just beautiful and extremely fragrant... oh and the huge cypress at the end of the drive.... the building has releifs of jocks helmets and whips, jock boots and horse heads all over! and you saw the staircase!!

I think some people are missing the point to Steve' idea. I don't think this is an issue as to whether or not you liked Hialeah, the neighborhood or the hotdogs on the 2nd floor of the grandstand. In my opinion, Steve's idea is about leveraging the potential that exists if, and only if, the industry works together. This is merely an opportunity to think outside the box, perhaps in a nontraditional way, which could potentially benefit the industry in a way that other ideas have never done before.

The "big picture" here might offer opportunities to the industry and sport, communitites, owners, trainers, and much more -- as opposed to this track being turned into condo's, office space, retail, etc. and having Brunetti do some sophisticated estate planning (which is without question a factor here). An idea like this creates potential synergies that do not exist when thinking myopically.

I think one needs to experience a paradigm shift in -- what might be considered -- traditional thinking.

Eric

Well said Eric.
But the prospect of Stronach, Churchill, Brunetti, politicians, and the Breeders Cup/NTRA people working together is a longshot. Word is that Brunetti never paid Magna for the lease when Hialeah ran the meet at Gulfstream a few years back.
Personally I loved training at Hialeah despite the dismal job that Brunetti did running the place. The takeout was a joke, the barns were falling down around the horses, etc. Supposedly there are issues with asbestos in the grandstand that have to be dealt with if there is any renovations to be done there.
At the end of last meet after a horse would get a check we would pull the $$$ out of the account asap because of worries that they would be no good.
If Brunetti wasn't part of the equation I would think that this idea may have a punchers chance of success. But I would not blame anyone for not wanting to deal with him.

I've experienced enough of a paradigm shift at Gulfsteam to last me a lifetime, thank you very much. While i realize the workers quarters, stables, track surface and palm meadows are great for all those involved. Sadly the customer has been taken out of the game. We all see things thru our own eyes, but this past weekend really ticked me and my racing buddy /owner of 50 years off big time. See , my weekend at Gulfstream thread.

I realize the whole idea is a pipe dream. With John Brunetti running the place, and the amount of dollars it would take to bring it back to its former glory, it's a huge longshot. Nothing wrong with dreaming though. I first came to know Hialeah Park after watching Seattle Slew win the Flamingo Stakes on TV in 1977. I was just a kid, but the place just looked magical. I rooted for Seattle Slew from then on, and watched the Flamingo Stakes every year after. Alydar won the 1978 renewal. Time for a Change defeated the 1/5 Devil's Bag in 1984. It was a major race with major players. Tracks have come and gone over the years, but this one was truly special.

Me and Grandma and Aunt had great times together at Hialeah :( Every time I think of it, I think of her. What a wonderful place.

One of the last times I ever had with my grandma. :( I still have the program somewhere I think ("The Devil's at Hialeah").

Movie
 

Didn't they film "Let It Ride" at Hialeah in the 70's?

Absolutely Chuck. Without question. It's a monster longshot. I think it's worth a shot having Brunetti out of the equation, if that's what it takes in fact. But, I agree with you.

Eric

I loved Hialeah. But I can't see it coming back, especially with slots defeated in Dade County. Maybe the owners were holding back from selling or developing the property hoping for slots to pass which didn't happen.

Also, the trend of fewer T-bred tracks seems pretty clear. One of the NoCal tracks is shaky as far as continuing as well as Hollywood Park. Aksarben, DRC, Birmingham, Sportsman's, Hialeah, Garden State, Atlantic City Washington Park have all closed in the last 15-20 years, many within the past 10. Probably a couple I missed.

I find it amazing a couple new harness slots tracks have opened up. But the racing is just an excuse for slot machines. There are tons of harness tracks in Ontario and a friend of mine runs horses there. But there are many nights when the purses exceed the pools which are laughably low. I don't think they can last very long that way.

Anyone know if the Citation statue is still in place?



I was a regular at Hialeah Park in the late 1970's.

Just a random memory was a guy I saw on more than one occasion on the backside of the grandstand.

After apparently losing his $$ for the day, he would hold out his hat and sing a rendition of "The Impossible Dream."

In true Broadway "belter" style. He could be heard from over a hundred feet away. And he was pretty good. I gave him a $2 contribution on at least one occasion.