Hialeah article - Baltimore Sun

[slotdirt]

I'm unsure if this has been posted, but it's from today's paper and is a pretty interesting read on the fate of Hialeah Park.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/h...orts-headlines

[Cajungator26]

This is interesting considering the disagreements we had on the other Hialeah thread concerning the area surrounding Hialeah:

De Francis said: "Unfortunately, the area of South Florida deteriorated around Hialeah. In the face of that, Mr. Brunetti was not willing to make the capital investment in Hialeah as we did in Gulfstream and Churchill did at Calder.

"I used to go to Hialeah," said Michael Williams, 57, a South Florida resident who now goes to Gulfstream. "I lived a couple blocks from there in the 1970s. It was the best, most beautiful place in the world to go. There were thousands of people there. But then the neighborhood changed and it became hard to live there. ... But even after I moved, I kept going down. I'd take the train. On the last day it was open I was there. I don't think there were more than 1,000 people."

[Danzig]

it's a shame that things were allowed to end up as they are now--plenty of people to point fingers at.
would love to see the place re-open--but i don't think it's going to happen.

[sumitas]

how are condos going to help anything there except Brunelli's pockets ? if the neighborhood is so bad why build condos ? makes no friggin sense. this is another example of a "developer" trying to bulldoze a historic site for personal gain.

the site needs to be sold to a group that will restore the place to it's former grandeur as a horse racing venue. period.

it's frightening how any "developer" can get his hands on a historical property and then umm, destroy it for personal gain. historical properties really belong to the country, the good ole USA.

[Merlinsky]

Yeah everytime I think about that loser I just get steamed. One of those guys on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour had a special called "You Can't Fix Stupid" and I have to say, looks like some people are stuck with it. Who would've thought Hialeah would ever get like this? The only thing they ought to be thinking about is returning it to its former glory. To the hypothetical person who could fix it: take a picture of the place in its heyday, tape it to your medicine cabinet mirror so you see it every day, and write words like "majestic" and "beautiful" in the margin. Stare at that when you get up in the morning and repeat the affirmation until it sinks in and you actually care enough to do right by her.

We talk about promoting the people more or having horses stay around longer...we miss the biggest and longest lasting "faces" of all. Hialeah, Santa Anita, Saratoga,etc. Shouldn't the places that could touch generations actually be treated that way? Sure there are the B-string,etc. but the big ones...we have to safeguard some tradition somewhere for God's sake. Everytime I try and fail to get the scenario in place to see a Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup race with some friends, we get another reminder that its not about the fan/venue connection. We realize it's easier to see the race on television and forget about it for a time until we forget and try again. Wrigley Field, Camden Yards, Yankee Stadium. Even when people on the teams change or owners change you'll have fans willing to sit for hours and make some memories. World famous golf courses, tennis courses...and Hialeah gets treated like this. It's the Sport of Kings d*mmit. Treat her like a lady.

[SlewsMyHero]

If by some miracle, they manage to get their license back, they've got a lot of work to do. Have a look.

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v...7644&encType=1

[Storm Cadet]

What a great looking facility...must have been great in its day...look at the paddock area...hey where's the bar that Trotter went to between the races in Let It Ride?

[Zaf]

Forget Hialeah, its over. lets lobby to get this place re-opened:

http://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=22700

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Storm Cadet

What a great looking facility...

It sure was...

[MISTERGEE]

a couple things mentioned in article make me want to ask gulfstream if slots really helped them any? i will always remember hialeah as the track where hank goldberg got beat up by the mayor. but really by where i saw seattle slew run when i was a child with my dad.

[Sightseek]

I didn't know where else to put this, but here is documentary on Narragansett Park in Rhode Island where Triple Crown winners once raced to glory and now a Building 19 stands. Kinda sad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbta3xH0k8A

[Storm Cadet]

Great Video of Naragansett...The question is..will we be seeing one of these about Aqueduct Race Track in the near future?

[Benny Leger]

Visited Hialeah on a yearly basis with my father in the early 70's. It's where I got interested in the game during our vacations in the winter. Without a doubt the most beautiful track I've had the pleasure to visit.

[ELA]

I would love to see it happen, but it might need a miracle.

The economics are just to strong to overcome -- that is one very valuable piece of real estate.

Eric

[Zippy Chippy]

Originally Posted by ELA

The economics are just to strong to overcome -- that is one very valuable piece of real estate.

There is something strange about this. All the stories about Hialeah mention how the surrounding area went downhill, but then they say that the property is extremely valuable. I find it odd that land in such an "undesirable" neighborhood can still be so "valuable."

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Zippy Chippy

There is something strange about this. All the stories about Hialeah mention how the surrounding area went downhill, but then they say that the property is extremely valuable. I find it odd that land in such an "undesirable" neighborhood can still be so "valuable."

Welcome to Florida.

[ELA]

Originally Posted by Zippy Chippy

There is something strange about this. All the stories about Hialeah mention how the surrounding area went downhill, but then they say that the property is extremely valuable. I find it odd that land in such an "undesirable" neighborhood can still be so "valuable."

Not strange really -- that's the real estate business, LOL.

Eric

[Echo Farm]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

I didn't know where else to put this, but here is documentary on Narragansett Park in Rhode Island where Triple Crown winners once raced to glory and now a Building 19 stands. Kinda sad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbta3xH0k8A

I guess I'll add this since the thread has turned a slightly different direction.

This is a link to a fairly new site about Narragannsett Park:
http://www.intothesunstudio.com/narragansettpark/

And one about Ak-Sar-Ben:
http://www.ak-sar-ben.com

I have a bunch of the old cardboard mounted win photos, some from tracks long gone. someday, I'll get them scanned and uplaaded to the web.......

a lot of history, and full grandstands in them.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Echo Farm

I guess I'll add this since the thread has turned a slightly different direction.

This is a link to a fairly new site about Narragannsett Park:
http://www.intothesunstudio.com/narragansettpark/

And one about Ak-Sar-Ben:
http://www.ak-sar-ben.com

I have a bunch of the old cardboard mounted win photos, some from tracks long gone. someday, I'll get them scanned and uplaaded to the web.......

a lot of history, and full grandstands in them.

Thanks!