Tom Pedulla canvasses opinion amid recent suggestions that racing’s days might be numbered at Florida’s premier venue
When a statue of the mythical winged horse Pegasus battling a fire-breathing dragon was erected to lord over Gulfstream Park in 2014, racegoers were not quite sure what to make of it.
Owner Frank Stronach, who commissioned the work, called it “an homage to the spirit of the horse.” Consisting of 330 tons of steel and 132 tons of bronze and towering 110-feet above ground – only the Statue of Liberty is taller in the United States – it appeared to be an homage to what a billionaire can do when he apparently has $30 million or so to spare.
Whatever onlookers thought of Pegasus and his nemesis, there was something reassuring about the imposing work. It spoke of Stronach’s desire to create something lasting. That statue was not going anywhere – and neither was racing in South Florida.
Or so it seemed.
Frank’s daughter, Belinda, took over his racing assets in 2020 following a prolonged legal battle. And now many horsemen worry that Gulfstream Park, long a winter refuge for many northeast horsemen, will follow Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, Arlington Park near Chicago, and numerous smaller tracks that have closed. As sturdy as it appears, Pegasus may indeed come tumbling down.
Enormous land value
Horsemen’s worst fears were raised during a January 15 closed-door meeting with Keith Brackpool, an adviser to 1/ST Racing and Gaming, Gulfstream Park’s parent company. During the contentious session, Brackpool emphasized the enormous value of the land the racing facility occupies and development opportunities available.
He offered a commitment to racing for the next three years in exchange for support of decoupling legislation. Florida House Bill 105 would allow the adjoining casino to continue operations without being required to conduct live racing. Currently, the casino must commit some of its revenue to purses to help support the sagging industry.
Legislation to decouple that passed in 2021 paved the way for Caesars Entertainment to close nearby Pompano Park the following year. Harness racing had been conducted for nearly six decades there.
Brackpool’s letter to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association only increased fears of breeders, owners and trainers. Brackpool wrote: “We hope Gulfstream Park can continue as a home for horse racing in South Florida. In due course, it will be determined whether Gulfstream Park remains the appropriate location or if we should consider alternative sites within the state of Florida for a new facility.”
Aidan Butler, president of 1/ST, also suggested that alternatives may be explored during a podcast with racing broadcaster Nick Luck.
“As much as we are a racing and gaming company, we have to consider every aspect of what we do. The (Stronach) family has to look at, ‘How does the property perform as a whole?’ So the truth of the matter is, no one from our side pointed to, ‘We’re going to close.’
Other options
“But, more important, the statement was made that, even if we’re going to have a conversation about that, we’re all going to work together to see where the future should be and could be. And just FYI, there are a lot of options of other places to do racing.”
Palm Meadows Training Center, owned by 1/ST, has ample barn space but no stands to accommodate fans. Hialeah Park does not have any barns. Obviously, such obstacles could be overcome if the will exists to do so.
The industry lost racing in the northern part of California when 1/ST closed Golden Gate Fields last June. It might have been telling when Butler lumped Gulfstream and Santa Anita together in saying, “They are both in hot, densely populated, hugely valuable areas.” Belinda Stronach, in an NBC interview aired ahead of the $3m Pegasus World Cup on Saturday [Jan 25], noted several times her belief that horses are better suited to a venue that is not urban.
In another move away from racing, 1/ST reached an agreement with Maryland officials to surrender ownership of Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes, to a non-profit organization operated by the state. Laurel Park will host the Preakness in 2026 to allow a massive renovation of dilapidated Pimlico, then faces permanent closure by the end of that year to allow for redevelopment.
It is a playbook that has horsemen worried at Gulfstream. Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., 74, a mainstay at the Florida venue for decades, is resigned to a bad end. “It’s too valuable not to be closed down and redeveloped,” he said. “There is not going to be any racing here in South Florida.”
Noting the sport’s too-gray demographics, Plesa is equally pessimistic about the big picture beyond Gulfstream.
Big decline
“Sports gambling has taken over the betting dollar,” he said. “I perceive racing on a big decline. I don’t see anybody or anything that’s going to reverse it.”
On the other hand, Saffie Joseph, a rising star among trainers who landed the Pegasus with White Abarrio, is an unwavering optimist. “I’m confident the 1/ST group is going to do right by us.” he said.
“I think things were said that shouldn’t have been said. I just need more clarity on it. We’ll come up with a plan that’s good for both parties and the future of racing.”
However, he was much less certain that the future will be at Gulfstream. “I don’t know where it’s going to be – it could be anywhere,” he said. “But there will be a future for racing in South Florida.”
Eric Hamelback, chief executive officer of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, warns proposed legislation could have far-reaching, dire consequences.
Domino effect
Hamelback said in a statement released on Jan. 28: “What happens in Florida won’t likely stay in Florida. If HB 105 passes, it will embolden similar efforts in other states where live racing is coupled with gaming. Decoupling could create a domino effect, undermining the fragile ecosystems that support horse racing nationwide.”
He pointed to Arkansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Indiana, among others, as possible at-risk states. “If decoupling becomes the norm, states could face similar challenges, risking the closure of tracks, the loss of jobs and further separation of our sport’s cultural and agricultural significance,” he said.
The absence of a commissioner, and the fragmented nature of an industry in which the major entities tend to be self-serving, works against racing in its fight for survival in key regions.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who annually prepares his Kentucky Derby prospects in South Florida, pointed to that as a critical shortcoming.
“One thing I heard as a possible solution would be for the industry to step in and buy a racetrack in Florida,” Pletcher noted. “My question to that is, ‘Who is the industry? Who is the entity to do that?’ Unfortunately, I think the answer to that is, ‘No one knows.’”
Dale Romans, recently elected president of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, shares Hamelback’s concern about ramifications beyond the uncertain future in South Florida.
“The viability of racetracks is probably one of your most vulnerable places. Racetracks need to be able to make money and I understand it,” he said during an interview at his barn at Gulfstream Park, his winter home for more than three decades. “This track probably doesn’t generate the revenue the land is worthy of.”
Romans thinks it is imperative to find a South Florida solution, wherever that might be. “It could be the first of a big domino to fall if we lose this whole region,” he warned.
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