https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/solving-the-south-florida-racing-crisis-is-palm-meadows-the-answer/
I understand why people grow old and grumpy!
really sad stuff. I was hoping horseracing would outlive me, not the other way around. Decoupling cannot be anything but a disaster for the future of horseracing. Hope somebody proves me wrong.
This will hit me hard. People talking about PB Downs as an alternative seems bonkers. Hialeah, maybe.
1) Get it declared a historical site.
2) Get friendlies at the state/local level to support it like a stadium (Marlins ParK!)
3) Get a rich lover of racing (Repole?) to run it as a not-for-profit
4) Run the casino year-round, but the racing as a boutique winter meet
Has to be someone with a real passion for the sport, including the fans. Put all profits back into purses. CAWs only get rebates if the bets clear 2 minutes before post. Let fans buy engraved walking ring tiles for $1k - all monies going to aftercare. Etc.
Make it a destination for racing fans, and something different to do for tourists after getting bored of a week at the beach.
With all due respect, that sounds to rationale. You have to stick your head up your a$$ and think like a Stronach executive, and get a Tik-Tok \"influencer\" to make a video about losing money at the races.
Remember the racing dates fights Gulfstream had with Hialea and Calder, only to want to close up shop 20 years later after running those two out of the racing business.
Without a boycott , or a buyer, the writing is on the wall and it makes me sick.
I am in Real Estate down here. The value of that land is massive. Developers have been pouring significant amounts of capital in down here since the post George Floyd riots and crime waves broke out in many many major cities. And when a lot of those same state Governors put the State in Lock Down during the pandemic. A good friend of mine sold a 286 unit rental near Stuart that he paid $43M for $73M 3.5 years later. He had a 6 month waiting list for renters. We sold .8 of an acre of land in Downtown Fort Lauderdale for the highest in the history of the County. And flipped another on Federal and Broward we paid $7.75M for $21M in less than a year. Stronach is sitting on a Gold Mine. Just not as Race Track.
Now years ago Hallandale told him the property would never be zoned for anything other than a race track. So he was stuck. But these Commissioners turn over and new people see permit fees, more property taxes and well more of everything $$$. So there may be people ready to play ball.
One final caveat is the Rooney Family controls the Gaming Licenses in Palm Beach County where Palm Meadows is. They own the Dog Track and bought the Jai Lai and closed it. Everything there goes through them. If the name Rooney sounds familiar its the same Family that owns the Steelers. Legend has it the Old Man did Book on the Clubhouse turn at Old Hialeah Park and made enough to start a Football Team. The American Dream indeed....
Hialeah Park? Get real. The area is a complete dump and whatever still exists is a bigger dump. It would take a massive amount of capital to upgrade what is there. No investor would go for this.
Sorry if the news is gloom but working something out at Palm Meadows is the best solution. Stronach can cash out and leave a Casino Restaurant behind. Move operations up north. But he needs the License. And once again Politics takes over. Like the Old Man did at Hialeah maybe he lets them in for Cut!!
Without giving away any names he was/is a Lobbyist for the Family. Stronach originally paid $100,000,000 for the land. He has torn the Clubhouse down, rebuilt and I dont have any idea what kind of Land Carry he still might have 25 years later (he bought in 1999). Even at fractional profitability he could have paid some of this down in 25 years.
He could sell 5-7 acres of that land for $100,000,000. And he owns 90 acres. So you do the math and ask yourself what you would do if you were them.
The property is worth $1.5B.
Work with them and Racing can find a new home and they have the money to do it. They or I\'m sure the Buyer/Buyers needs that Zoning (he wouldn\'t develop it). They need that Pari Mutual or Gaming License. That\'s your leverage....
Is Hialeah a national landmark , or some other national designation , and if so , do they need to keep the property at a certain condition? Always wondered about that.
Seems a lot of people are feeling nostalgic when it comes to Hialeah, I know i do when I think about all the Chicago tracks that have been tore down or closed.
Speaking of buyers, why someone does not petition the Dubai ruler to buy it, he has to much money and buying that land is like a rounding error for him.
The area there is the Hood. Sorry and I know some really wonderful and beautiful people who live there. The Parking Lot would be an armed robbery waiting to happen after a good day.
The place is a Flamingo or Bird Sanctuary. The plant was falling apart as it was nearing its closing days. With the miniscule margins there are in Racing nobody is going to throw $80M-$100M of capital into a nice facility in the Ghetto. Not even Elvis. The Economics and ROI doesn\'t work out. Now going out to West Delray where Palm Meadows sits and the area is largely undeveloped and the area could be nice and shiny kinda like Arlington Park area was. Now you\'re talking....
Mike Repole, Seth Klarmin know enough of the Hedge Fund, Real Estate Private Equity types who have loads of Capital to deploy in the right places. But you need a bigger Plan than just a Race Track. And Stronach could be levered into leaving behind a Casino Sports Book with some Restaurants in Hallandale and kicking in Capital perhaps in the new Development with zero Control.
You don\'t need a Sheik. You just need the Zoning, Permits, Gaming License and a Palm Meadows and then some more Land. And now its Gulfstream Park all over again for another 40 years....
In Chicago you also need a bag filled with cash for the alderman & the governor to get something like that done.
From your explanation, I just realized that Hawthorne Race Course is going to close for the same reasons you stated about Hialeah.
Sad that this is happening. Ocala is supposed to be horse country with some nice farms. Tampa Bays owners are getting old. This will kill horse racing, except for Kentucky, Oaklawn & NYRA.
This uncertainty about racings future is the worst thing that can happen. Who would breed a Florida bred today, or an Illinois bred, or California.
This will further reduce the foal crop to just a few thousand, and Repole/Maktoum/Klaraman will be racing for bragging rights.
Sport of Billionaires anyone?
A few notes on this thread.
The Hawthorne is filing for bankruptcy or will be bought out is a Strong Rumor among some horsemen at Fairmount Park. Not too many think Hawthorne continues much longer in these parts which would probably be worse for Fairmount than if it sticks around. Supposedly the OTB\'s are being pursued as I type???
Stronach has 245 acres from the articles I\'ve read. So, if this is worth $1.5 Billion dollars give or take . . . who is chucking up that kind of money? The Dolphins with ideas on Casino, Hotel, Stadium?? 1ST/Stronach floated comments that investors aren\'t interested in being partners with the horsemen and splitting the revenue. Those comments make me wonder if they have a potential long term buyer but the Dolphins the only ones in my mind even close to being able to get involved but that\'s beyond conjecture. Otherwise, it has to be subdivided with the valuable land still being where the casino license stays and others buying smaller parcels? All I can say is that Golden Gate closing, Laurel/Pimlico situation, and now this \"news\" confirms SHE (not he) has no interest in continuing in the racing business.
One comment on X stated this would be like removing one of the MLB or NFL franchises from their respective league. Unfortunately, I think those leagues would survive losing a team; this is a major domino going down as pointed out above that likely leads to a gambling game with the same following as Badminton outside the state lines of Kentucky, New York, and Arkansas.
No one will come save the day for horse racing at Gulfstream Park. See Bay Meadows, Hollywood, Arlington, and Golden Gate as your evidence of that likely fact. It is hard to fathom or believe Gulfstream gone. But TGAB told me one Travers Day afternoon this result was coming, and I didn\'t believe him then, but I do now.
Dreams of Hialeah or moving to a place up north seem beyond unlikely to me although many X dreamers have their Million Dollar Ideas with Nickels in their Pocketbooks.
Dale Romans was on HRRN on Saturday morning. I hate to mis-quote but in essence he said Frank S. had told him once that he wanted the Magna tracks to be put into a Not For Profit and that the tracks continuing on would be his legacy. \"Like Father, Like Daughter\" not true in this instance.
Last, I wonder if the information that Stronach has on handle as it relates to CRW, Retail customers and retail dollars and the dwindling Sucker Handle as Paulick wrote recently is contributing to their Bail Soon Approach to Racing. All that remains is to see how she escapes Santa Anita Park with the Historical Zoning supposedly in place there.
____________
Nice info Silver. Fountain of Youth not too far off and hope to see you this year to discuss Pope\'s Pupils at UK? Southwest this weekend and maybe I\'ll see shanahan for a few minutes at OP? Two great cards with Pegasus and Southwest although Gulfstream must have fired the morning line maker as neither Fri or Sat have a m/l yet while OP had theirs up early on yesterday.
The 245 acres would include Palm Meadows acreage. Gulfstream sits on 90 acres.
There isn\'t one single Developer who would come in and take the whole 90 acres for $1.5B. The Construction Loans would be at least $3.0B. Probably far more!! No Lender would take on that Risk. Now if it was sold off 4 ot 5 acres at a time. Totally different. As long you can get the Building Permits they would be flocking to that location.
The State would need to step in. Not with money, because they never will, but arm twisting or even legislation for the Gambling Licenses and the other Permits. To help support a very large Breeding and Horse industry that is important to the State. The Hard Rock in Hollywood Fla was acquired by Seminole Indian for $1.1B from MGM in 2007....and since then they have pumped another $1.5B into it in expansion and Capital Improvements. Whats the Draw? Gambling and Entertainment. Stronach had the right idea...he just didn\'t have the Capital and he was 20 years early. Just like Edison so JP Morgan took him out.
A standalone development for horse racing in Delray will not cut it. A complete complex like Billionaire Joe Lewis did in Lake Nona near Orlando can happen. Anybody talking about ramping up Hialeah again has NO FRICKING CLUE and land plays or real estate. The 3 year decoupling was you got 3 years to figure it out. And that\'s about how long it take
I will be there this Saturday and Holy Bull Day. And FOY Day. Hit me up
It\'s kinda of hoodie, sure, but not hoodie enough to keep people from going to the functioning casino.
It wouldn\'t be a profit center for racing, so the model would have to be different.
Appreciate the feedback. And the conversation. Bear with me or my perceived tone....its all good.
I drove by Calder Casino after a recent Dolphins game and was surprised to see that it was a Casino. That it still existed. There might have been 40 or 50 cars in the lot. Some one told me Brunetti (the Son) had sold some of the Hialeah Property for commercial development. So the physical plant isn\'t the same size it once was. And whatever is there could be infested with God knows what. I don\'t mean the Parking Lot Casino building.
No Lender or PE Group is going to invest a $100,000,000 to upgrade a plant (construction costs are thru the roof down here now) in a business that is experiencing declining revenues, has 3%-5% profit margins and the land play is slum land. People on those Slots might be pumping $5K a day in quarters per machine. You may as well go build a Beach Resort Hotel in Haiti and see how that works out.
As far as Stronachs property here is how it works. You buy a 5-6 acre block for $75M-$80M. You get permits to build TWO 30-32 story Towers (the building has to go UP) adjacent to each other with Construction Costs around $300M. There would be 8 floors of parking attached in the back. Your Soft Costs and Sales Commissions run about $75M and each Building has 150 units (5 per floor). You sell the 300 Units for an average of $2,000,000 per and gross $600,000,000. That would net as much as $100M or more. Lenders and Institutional Investors are all over this.
Outfits like Blackrock, State Street and Prudential have a combined nearly $20 TRILLION (that is Trillion with a T) of Institutional Money under Mgmt. It is not as easy as one think thinks to find places to invest that much money. The State of Florida needs to step in with some type of support. And somebody has to come up with a bigger development plan. An entire community that has to include a new Race Track Casino with Sports Book and everything.
The buzzards are circling Gulfstream. Developers smell profits. Somebody with vision needs to step up. Stronach was right he just ran out of Capital. But he always had the Land Play as a Safety Net.....
Interesting thread. A few comments.
I\'ve been to Gulfstream a few times over the past two years. In a word, awful. A zombie shopping mall and a \"racino\" with electronic games and slots. I walked out onto the track, they have speakers facing INTO the crowd playing music. I like peace at the track, not a radio blasting in my face? The song? I walk in and blasting in my face is \"Iron Man\" by Black Sabbath. I couldn\'t make it up if I tried. Now I\'m good with Black Sabbath but not what I\'m looking for at this particular time? And I mean LOUD. So clearly the people running the place have no idea what they\'re doing. At all.
I stayed at the Holiday Inn that overlooked Calder back in the day? Nothing good is ever going to happen there. Hialeah is beautiful, what a waste. So you\'re left with Gulfstream Mall. Yuck.
As for the land bonanza, I\'m no expert but I don\'t get it. As landscape goes it\'s absolutely nowhere, and who\'s dying to spend lots of money to live in a condo THERE? Really? The only way I\'d be interested in a condo there is if they keep the track, and even then I\'d need a soundproof spacesuit to go there and enjoy a day.
HP
Look when Stronach tore down we the old building and put the Casino building up he missed the mark. We talked about how good \"it used to be there\" and we had an outdoor box on the Finish Line. But Stronach was the guy who got the Slot Bill thru legislation. It failed and he tried again. He had Entertainment and Comedy Clubs built into Gulfstream bit it wasn\'t big enough for somebody good and define good. A friend said Night Ranger \"Sister Christian\" is $300,000 at the Hard Rock. Whats Springsteen or Rod Stewart?
I heard Belinda Stonach was interviewed and perhaps said the Track has a place just not in the middle of a City. We\'ll moving to Palm Meadows might temporarily have some fresh Everglades air but it\'s going to take a full 500 acre Development. Multi Family Rentsl. Residential. Retail. Commercial. Industrial. Hotels. Golf Course. And a Race Track Casino Sports Book. But it\'s still not a Layup.
You need Investors with 10 year deep pockets. This is about money people. And go to some Big Hedge Fund or Institutional Investor \"Investment Committee\" and try and sell them on horses having a good place to gaze and get fresh warm air and your ass is laughed out of the room and told to never come back. But if its a $1,000,000,000 initial build out with expansion legs after that. The best investor and most motivated would be Stronach. There is something called a 1031 Exchange in Real Estate and if you roll over a Profit into a \"Like Kind Asset\" It\'s TAX FREE.
Somewhere in the middle of this Rooney and his Dog Track would need to compensated if not taken out. Because a Casino like would destroy his place. But don\'t feel sorry for them. They have owned that property for years with a Rent Paying Tenant (the Dog business) and the value of his Land has gone up and the Dog Tracks are dead if not for Full Card Simulcasting and SLots. And for Simulcasting they can thank Ken Dunn at Calder and Slots Thank Frank. And they are good people but are obstacles and haven\'t done anything but sit on their Land and business as it slowly dies.....
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2025-02-02/santa-anita-horse-racing-survival?s=09
That about covers it.
Cognitive dissonanceâ€" I read that article with TVG on in the background, where they mentioned that Into Mischief’s stud fee is now 250k. You would think that those making a living in commercial breeding would realize that if tracks keep shutting down, so will demand for their product, and get in the game.
TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That about covers it.
>
> Cognitive dissonanceâ€" I read that article with
> TVG on in the background, where they mentioned
> that Into Mischief’s stud fee is now 250k. You
> would think that those making a living in
> commercial breeding would realize that if tracks
> keep shutting down, so will demand for their
> product, and get in the game.
Cognitive dissonance? Do you mean like contending that horseracing doesn\'t belong in urban settings while the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont and at least half of the Breeders Cups are all conducted in -- an urban setting.
I don\'t recall the urban settings scaring away Euros or Japanese -- although maybe Tyler Gafflione felt emboldened to mug the Japanese horse in last year\'s derby due to the -- urban setting? I wonder what the Hong Kong Jockey Club thinks about this?
Would be nice if we didn\'t also have to contend with \"friendly\" fire like this on top of all the other issues.
It is an industry as a whole issue, from the breeders, to the tracks, trainers, the Jockey Club, the players,fans and gamblers, the data industry, the owners, grooms, feed companies, farriers, farmers and agriculture, and even John Deere. Talk about a trickle down industry, horse racing and breeding and the gaming affect so much and so many that it is hard to fathom why so many in the industry are not running around with their hair on fire and shouting that the sky is falling, because it is.
As for the breeders, Golden Pal almost covered 300 mares his first season.
If he covers close to another 300 mares in his second year, he will have covered almost as many mares Northern Dancer covered in his whole career.
See the problem.
Foal crop down, entire states losing horse racing, can\'t buy a racing form at Churchill properties, the takeout rate is too dam high, can\'t watch Churchill affiliated track race replays on DRF, Equibase data costs are ridiculous, tracks owning CAW\'s and giving themselves a takeout reduction to themselves, the abuse of PED\'s, the lack of transparency in sales and information provided to the player, why would any one in their right mind get involved in this sport.
You have to truly love the game to be playing right now, and be willing to literally donate your money via wagering to try and keep it going. Who does that?
No one has a loud voice in this fractured sport, and if they did, no one would listen.
And the it\'s an old man\'s sport, or the fan base is dying off, or it\'s a niche sport are all straw man arguments. The sport does well in other parts of the world.
They all had the same problems the industry has here , the only difference is they addressed them while we bury our heads in the sand , and the industry will be eaten like a carcass by vultures until nothing is left.
The tracks that are “doing well†are the ones that are being subsidized, one way or another. Gulfstream and Santa Anita are not, to this point. What she said was ridiculousâ€" but it’s true they’re losing money. The commercial breeders are making a fortune, especially the stud farms. Something has to change.
In Kentucky they write races for horses that RNA\'d or sold for less than 50k.
When they should be writing races for horses that are home bred and the sire stands for 5k.
They are literally pricing the small breeder/owner out of the game like they are doing to the player.
I have a really good friend that has 2 broodmares, three racing, and a baby on the farm. He is retired and on a pension and social security. Every penny he makes from purses returns to the industry plus I would think another 40-50k a year of his own money. He has been an owner for 40 years. He loses his money willingly because of his love for the sport. And there are many like him who don\'t mind losing that type of money, 50 percent or more of their income to participate. You need the small fish as much as you need the big fish. The small fish have to thrive in any eco system. Without plankton, there are no whales.
Handle is what needs to improve. They need to create more churn. Reduce the wagering options maybe. Do you need a double, pick 3/4/5/6 all a wagering option in the same race.
Santa Anita went to a 3 dollar pick 3. Why? Make it a dollar minimum.
Get rid of the .10 cent plays where you can play every combination and win by attrition.
Data should be free. Why don\'t more people follow your lead and give the data away to anyone like you do? You can redboard any race you want here, can\'t do that anywhere else.
Think about if you are someone like me , who likes to use Drf,Brisnet and TG figures to handicap, and an Equineline or Bris produce record for pedigree research, pay for workout videos, or workout reports , just to be able to wager with an edge, especially when the remaining pool of players are just as sharp or way sharper , to be able to compete pari-mutuely. Sometimes during the triple crown, my data expenses are as much or more than I wager for the three events. That\'s monies that would be wagered, and churned.
Not saying that figure makers and providers should be doing it for free.
The tracks should be supplying the data to the player.
All the major auction houses supply past performance from every figure maker from TG, Thoromanager, Equibase, Drf,Rags, pedigree and analysis all for free for the buyers at those sales, but the player, which without there would be no racing , have to bear the brunt of the price of data.
Every other sport supplies copious amounts of data to it\'s fans and for free.
Just for an example, my handle, would double right now if all that data was free, and being a weekend warrior mostly would put my handle into 6 figures.
Imagine if handle would double. Do you still need slot subsidies? You attract more flies with honey than vinegar, and most of everything in the industry is tainted with vinegar.
Which is really sad. While HISA may be costly, something needed to be done, and when you refuse to do something about problems, someone will fill that void and do something about those problems, and it\'s usually a government agency.
And the urban bull$h!t Bellinda was spewing was unfreakin believable. Any ever see a birds eye view of Happy Valley? Having stadiums and racetracks near or in urban areas is exactly where they need to be, that\'s where the people are.
She thinks we are stupid. Why would she say something like that otherwise?
Roman Wrote:
->
> No one has a loud voice in this fractured sport,
> and if they did, no one would listen.
> And the it\'s an old man\'s sport, or the fan base
> is dying off, or it\'s a niche sport are all straw
> man arguments. The sport does well in other parts
> of the world.
> They all had the same problems the industry has
> here , the only difference is they addressed them
> while we bury our heads in the sand , and the
> industry will be eaten like a carcass by vultures
> until nothing is left.
The one place horse racing is doing well is Hong Kong, or so I always hear. And the only tiny differences between racing there and here is that there the government controls all the racetracks and the breeding of horses. So nearly the same. Oh, and there are no competing forms of gambling like sports betting or casinos. So gee, it\'s almost identical to the situation here.
Racing IS a niche\' sport and it IS being swallowed up by much more appealing forms of gambling. The solution is to make wagering more appealing, but when racetracks can\'t survive on the current takeout, hard to see big takeout cuts coming. There was a time to change the landscape of the industry but it was 30 years ago when simulcasting became widespread and racing missed that shot. Instead they took a tiny percentage of their own simulcast revenue and eventually strangled their own business.
France, UK, Ireland, Dubai, Australia, Japan all have a great product and are not subsidized by other forms of gaming. The Hong Kong model is an outlier, although their model is efficient.
And is Hong Kong run by the government or by a racing club/ non profit ?
Though they mostly run geldings, that are owned by club members, their model works. And there is some things that they do extremely well in Hong Kong that can be implemented here.
For example, they do not run claiming races. They have races for all the lower level horses and are very competitive races , and they still use weight to make it an even playing field for the players & owners.
Baseball could be considered a niche sport.
Respectfully disagree, and maybe the bias I have towards horse racing, wanting it to thrive and survive for my own selfish reasons, like thinking it is not only the best sport but also the best form of gaming, is clouding my judgement.
Racing to me is only second to my family\'s health and welfare. It is by far the only thing that I can do , playing the races or going to the track, where all my problems in life are put on hold, and able to decompress and enjoy the sport.
Their would be a void in my life if racing were to cease, and I am only a fan and gambler. I have a day time job. I feel bad for those that live off the industry, as they will have to find another career, that their lively hood is at stake.
Talk about an \"all hands on deck moment\". It is going to take everyone to right this ship and time is running out.
So, it has just come out that she is marketing her horseracing businesses. I would call that very strange behavior -- announcing that her business is bad for horses\' health and then announcing that her toxic sludge is for sale. I guess she doesn\'t have to worry about being sued for failing to disclose risks, but this would seem to fly in the face of salesmanship 101. BTW, not only did she talk down her book, she also talked down everybody else\'s book. I wonder if there is a legal case that she slandered churchill downs and Belmont. That Hallandale real estate is such a deep pocket, maybe some money can be made getting her to compensate urban racetracks for all the damage she has done to them. Would be funny/poetic/karma to see some of that Hallandale real estate bonanza end up going to Belmont and Churchill in a nice fat legal settlement.
Per Ron Flatter of Horse Racing Nation, \"The Florida House subcommittee has begun its hearing on the bill that if passed, would decouple Gulfstream Park racing and slots.\" This was approx. 3 hours ago.
Then he states \"An amendment has been added to HB 105 that decouples racing from card rooms. Thus, Tampa Bay Downs would be affected, too.\"
It would be interesting to know exactly who requested this amendment to the legislative folks. Handicap your own guesses and reasons for now I guess until more info comes out.
In other news, Mike Willman, a former Santa Anita Park Executive has sued the Stronach Group folks for Retaliation, Wrongful Termination, Etc. Paulick Report has an article up about 2 hours ago if interested in more details.
Wild Times for Gulfstream and Santa Anita. But good news, Maryland racing has been SAVED!
> It would be interesting to know exactly who
> requested this amendment to the legislative folks.
> Handicap your own guesses and reasons for now I
> guess until more info comes out.
Cui Bono is usually the answer here. I am guessing her initials are BS (how appropriate), but somebody closer to the situation wouuld know better cui bono,
The HB 105 sponsor is Adam Anderson of the Florida House of Representatives 57th District. Interestingly, this includes Oldsmar. The amendment was provided by Brad Yaeger whose 56th District is immediately north of the 57th District.
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/282550/florida-house-subcommittee-advances-decoupling-bill
Interesting Richie..after living down here for the past 3 years this doesn\'t surprise me .. clearly a move to appease the builders around Oldsmar... Is one of the few locations where there is a decent amount of under developed...
John
I read that story and I\'m impressed they squeezed $32M in Tax Incentives out of the State. But first let me say I chatted up with Johnny M last Saturday at GP and what good dude and smart handicapper. Ther weather was perfect. I didn\'t win. No one cares there right....
I hope there is a continued collective industry voice. And yes TGJB is correct it would help if the Breeders kicked in with the Lobby. Called in a few Policital Markers. These ideas that Mike Repole is goingg to step in a save the day is crazy. He is a good and passionate guy but Billion Dollar Real Estate deals need $50B-$100B type investors. It\'s a 10 year play and your Capital is locked up. I mean he could be in for a small piece and be an Advosor since he knows the Sport
There so many good and nice people around racing I would sure hate ti lose that locally and it all become a made for TV experience. But this is about Dollars and Cents. And until you or Firm have Personally Guaranteed a $100,000,000 - $200,000,000 Construction Loan then you will understand. Stronach may have been a jerk or Pr##k but he put up his money and everyone fought him. The Dogs, Harness, Jai Lai. Cruise Ships. YAH Cruise Ships. They didn\'t want Casinos elsewhere. Churchill Threw a fit when Full Card Simulcasting came in down here. So now they are left with a Billion Dollar Asset or two. They gave the Sport a 3 year Window to figure out a Plan. Get to work if you want to save it.....
Worth Noting From the Article Below.
HB 105 was amended to let Tampa Bay Downs maintain its card club without live racing, although Tampa Bay issued a statement stressing its commitment to horse racing and saying it did not initiate the bill amendment.
https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/thoroughbred-racing-initiative-launched-to-fight-decoupling/
Interesting. I didn\'t really drill down on the Players specifics but getting a Lobby in there by someone like Thayer can only help. He was in the Kentucky Legislatire for a while. He understands the Industry and you need a Plan.
If Stronach Group wants to de lever and take chips off the table do you blame them? Jena Antanucci is leading a horseman group from this area. I offered to help though I\'m not sure what I could do. There are a lot of good people in the game. For once maybe they realize they are in the fight for their life and and work together.
I remember Bowie