Magna Loses $87 Million and forms Partnership with CD

[1st time lasix]

Perhaps you are right. But Gulfsteam Park {including the backstretch facilities} and the surrounding training facilities are a dream come true for the horseman.....it is just horrible for the patron unless you happen to be one of \"the hundred\" that has dibs on the right spaces. This is the flagship track for the State of Florida! I personally think it is a terrible shame for the betting public and the fans who come to the venue to experience why people like the game so much. Certainly the lack of amenities and personal space for the people who put money through the windows on site is a design nightmare. Worse yet the management doesn\'t seem to care.  GP is merely a slot heaven and a track that has been reduced to a being a place for the simulcast players around the world. They will never get the Breeder\'s Cup there again if the board of directors reviews the capacity constraints. Think how much the community loses $$$ by not having that huge Fall weekend! Airline travel, hotels, employee salaries, track wages, local restaurants, rental cars, bars and souveniers.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Frank you\'re obviously a plant. Probably a Gulfstream shill plugging for an abject failure of a facility.

The only decent seats in the house are the Ten Palms window tables with a betting terminal. To my knowledge, (And I didn\'t check, because I seriously doubt I will ever return), those tables cannot be season pass reserved. If they can be season pass reserved, it will be very expensive since they are set up for at least six diners for the buffet. Even if they can be reserved, the window tables are few and far between and not nearly sufficient to accomodate more than a handful of bettors. Two weeks prior to the FOY they were sold out. If you can reserve one for a big card, you better reserve it early. If you can\'t get the table, don\'t even bother going, unless you arrive just as the gates open and can stake out a table trackside.

One day soon a horse will kill itself in the tragically small walking ring. Cement planters line the inner perimeter of the ridiculously tight and small \"path\" and a horse or jockey will soon have a crushed skull as a result of the poor design. Its so tragically tight, I could see a spectator killed or maimed there and when it happens expect an enormous lawsuit to follow. Frank Stronach deserves to be sued for the abomination he created. Let him hire attorneys.

If Frank Stronach were president he would be impeached for the insult that he created at Hallandale. To think fans of the game lost the accessibility that was for the nonsense that exists is akin to an assault upon those that love the sport.

I\'m not sure of the status of Hialeah, but to my mind now is the time for Brunetti to give it one last shot. In my opinion, Hialeah could now compete with that offense upon the bettors at Hallandale.

The horse gods are not pleased and there will be a reckoning for Mr. Stronach.

[fkach]

I would have guessed that GP had enough going for it to be included in the Saratoga, Del Mar, Keeneland category of vacation/racing spots that draw large crowds. So maybe the new facility \"is\" a disaster. In a more general sense though, I believe the industry needs to downsize to fit the demand for live racing.

[jma11473]

Hialeah is dead and isn\'t coming back (and who wants it with 30% takeout) but otherwise I agree.

[jma11473]

The industry is downsizing everywhere you look---what was the latest new track that was built with room for tens of thousands of people? Arlington after the fire? It\'s not a matter of downsizing because everyone is or has, but downsizing to 100 people kills any chances of having people show up for live racing. Which they don\'t care about, because they have slots. Which is the point.

[cubfan0316]

simucasting is where its gonna be. like japan.

[trackjohn]

Guys:

  All of the previously mentioned points are valid.  I\'ve been attending the races @ Gulfstream since 1989 as both a fan and owner (had access for years to a owners box on the finish line, right behind Paul Houning).  Unfortunately, those days are LONG GONE!

  The \'new and improved\' Gulfstream was built for one thing and one thing only...SLOT $ (and maybe, in someone\'s misguided fantasy, \'entertainment $\'s)

  Having less than 900 clubhouse seats is evidence of that.  There is practically no  chance of getting these seats (without either being a trainer or owner of a horse running that day), particularly on a weekend.  Even running a horse on the FOY or Fla. Derby days will not guarantee getting one of these seats.

  Either we (either as fans or horsemen) adapt, at least to this specific venue, or we are forced to stay home with HRTV/TVG and our telephone accounts.  

  Personally, as I live in NY, I hope that the \'knowledgable\' folks (and I use the term loosely) involved with the potential sale of the NYRA franchise realize and learn from the significant errors Magna made with the \'new\' Gulfstream