CDI: Dunn Forced Out at Calder?
 

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=44502

Dunn held things together at CRC a long while as the slots bills failed. Now they;re passed and he's leaving?

“We are transitioning Calder into a destination with horse racing and casino-style gaming, and have a need for management skills and leadership experience in both industries," CDI executive vice president Steve Sexton said in a statement.

In an April 8 interview with The Blood-Horse, Dunn talked about Calder’s plans for its 2008 meet but did not indicate he was preparing to leave CDI. Dunn said priorities at Calder this year include CDI’s ongoing studies on “where and how to put in slot machines” at Calder.

That's a shame.

Yet another "horse" guy getting forced out/fired to make room for a casino first-horse racing second person.

The spiral down the slots/casino gaming drain continues....

well before you know it just about all race tracks will have casino people
running them instead of horse people. these schools which offer horse management track will also have to change. to teach the management
of both the race track and casino. my two cents worth.

This is indicative -- of most -- of the trend we are seeing and it's pathetic. Yes, we as a sport and industry need "alternative revenue sources", but we don't need to be a small, trivial afterthought to some other form of wagering, entertainment, etc. VLT's can be a positive factor and they can be a suitable, viable and substantial "alternative revenue source" -- and they have been. We've seen it.

This type of trend, here, this is exactly what we don't need. Let's be cautiously enthusiastic, but not naive, that Calder doesn't go in the direction of Finger Lakes or what Gulfstream had initially become.

Eric

And to think... Calder was a "racing first" plant all these years (and a very underrated one at that).

Boy had I been duped.

CDI is rivaling Magna Entertainment in upper level personel changes.

I've never met Dunn and only been to Calder a couple of times, but it seems like the place operated about as well as could be expected given that CD had not invested a dime into it in years. I certainly don't want to see racinos ignore racing fans in favor of slot players, but most of my racetrack experiences are not very positive in terms of being fan-friendly. In contrast, I have wonderful experiences in Las Vegas and California casinos. Perhaps bringing in management experienced in running casinos will lead to better customer service for slot, poker and horse players.

Calder a casino gaming destination? I'll believe it when it happens. 15 miles from everywhere, too close to Hard Rock.

Calder slots will do so bad people will think Stronach is Benny Binion.

You are 100% correct.

Calder is sitting in a sweet spot if marketed properly. Close to the turnpike, not too far from I-95, near Dolphin Stadium and sufficiently far from the Hard Rock and the Dade County pari-mutuels. If they fail, it won't be because of location. One only needs to see the racino stats from around the country that were posted on Equidaily last week to know that tracks in less desirable locations than Calder fared much better than Gulfstream, which may have the least effective marketing ever in the industry. When I was there in the winter, I noticed GP purchased bus bench advertising outside of the dog track. Lovely idea, except that bums were sleeping on the GP logo so that it couldn't be seen.

with the Hard Rock getting Black Jack and other table games in the next month or so there is no chance that CRC and GP will do well with their slots. Pompano is doing great because its a totally different crowd and far enough away from the Hard Rock.