Archive for the ‘gulfstream park’ CategoryLENTESCORE! BARBARO’S BROTHER BREAKS TURF MAIDEN AT GULFSTREAMWednesday, January 20th, 2010For all you Barbaro fans, we wanted to give you the opportunity to cheer on the next full brother of Barbaro after he broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park today. Under the guidance of John Velazquez, Lentenor won by an impressive 3 1/2 lengths. Click here for the Blood-Horse story Then come back to the Paulick Report and tell us what you think GULFSTREAM PARK: HALF-BAKED IN THE FLORIDA SUNTuesday, January 12th, 2010By Ray Paulick
How cold was it at Gulfstream Park in South Florida last weekend? So cold that local legend Hash Weinstein thought of wearing socks for the first time in his life. So cold the volleyballs at Frank’s beach all were sadly deflated. It was so cold racing fans couldn’t have cared less whether or not there were enough outdoor seats for them at the track that was once a winter paradise. This was my first trip to Gulfstream Park since Magna Entertainment chairman Frank Stronach turned it into a multi-purpose facility: one with slot machines, an aquarium, upscale restaurants and a mostly empty shopping mall, the Village at Gulfstream Park, scheduled for a “grand opening” next month. There’s currently a Crate and Barrel and The Container Store at the mall, so it’s a good place to come if you need boxes. Some Gulfstream Park employees are talking about the positive effect the Village will have on racing “if” it fills up and is successful—not when. It’s a tough economic market, and MEC doesn’t have the greatest track record in the retail world—much less the pari-mutuel one.
The walking ring is centrally located for future mall shoppers (“Hey, Mom, look…pony rides!) and even for racing fans, but anyone who wants to see the horses being saddled is out of luck. The saddling enclosure appears to be in an undisclosed location somewhere under the grandstand and out of sight. I asked someone at Gulfstream where the horsemen generally hang out and was told “they mostly don’t come here.” Someone else said “Tampa Bay Downs.” There are those few rows of seats in front of the glass-enclosed dining room where a couple hundred folks will sit on a warm day and enjoy the races without spending $32 on a buffet lunch or $16 on a cup of Lo Mein noodles from Christine Lee’s (where you can see pictures of celebrities like Lucille Ball, Mel Brooks and Frank Stronach!), but they were empty on this 45-degree Sunday. There were more shivering mutuel clerks than fans outside braving the cold.
I searched the casino for a betting machine and finally found one—ONE!—off in the corner, literally hidden behind a curtain like the X-rated porn in a video store. The simulcast room was fine, with rows and rows of TV-equipped cubicles, but I don’t I haven’t read any official pari-mutuel handle figures since opening day, when they were down significantly from last year, but a very good source said the daily average has dropped nearly one-third from 2009. The combination of bad weather and unfriendly facilities hurts, but the biggest factor is the plunge in off-track bets due to an impasse involving the Mid-Atlantic racetrack cooperative and TrackNet Media, which negotiates simulcast contracts for MEC, Churchill Downs tracks and Oaklawn Park. The new Gulfstream Park, complete with its Village mall, is not fully baked yet. The jury is still out as to whether the whole thing was a half-baked idea to begin with. Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report
LIVE BLOGGING DUBAI AND FLORIDA DERBYSaturday, March 28th, 2009With Ray traveling abroad this weekend, we are happy to have The Saratogian’s Brendan O’Meara filling Paulick’s shoes for the Dubai and Florida Derby preps. If you would like to read more from Brendan, please visit his blog here. BRENDAN O’MEARA’S LIVE BLOG
10:00…I’ve been fortunate enough to have been invited by Mr. Paulick to be a guest blogger for the Paulick Report for the Group 1 races in Dubai and the Florida Derby. For those who do not know, I cover horse racing for The Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. My column appears every Thursday and I blog routinely at The Carryover. I am honored to have been invited to this platform to bring my brand of horse racing commentary to another audience. It is my hope that you will find this, at the very least, moderately entertaining. And maybe, with a little luck, simply entertaining.
10:19 … Friends, horseman, countryman, lend me your ears. A little Shakespeare to wake you up. 10:23 … Today’s handicapping experiment revolves around Thorograph’s sheets. Jerry Brown and Co. put up the sheets for the entire Dubai card, so naturally being on a shoe string budget by virtue of being a writer, I jumped on them. Mind you, I’m familiar with them, but cannot pretend to be any good with them. 10:30 … Now comes the first Group 1, the Golden Shaheen, run at six furlongs. This race, run at Nad al Sheba, is the equivalent to the 50 yard dash. This is the lone 0 turn race that I can think of. It’s just a straight shot down the middle and the favorite is Indian Blessing at 3-5 breaking from the far outside. She is one fine piece of tail.
10:43 … Love that camera angle along the rail at Dubai. It’s the only angle that gives you an idea of just how fast these horses are moving. 10:57 … Looks like Indian Blessing is not Batman. A tribute to the sheets … I had the three horses just not in the right order. So it goes. She had a clear shot at it but was simply beat by Big City Man. Take a bow, tip your cap, IB got beat. Diabolical took third meaning that Frankie Dettori has finished first, second and third in his first three races. Now there’s a tri you can sink your bank into. 11:12 … In looking at the G1 Duty Free, we’ve got 16 horses, led by favorite Archipenko at 5-2. There’s a whole lotta loot to win here. We’ve got Kip Deville, trained by the Teddy bear-snuggly Richard Dutrow, Jr. and owned by IEAH. It’ll be interesting to see who can come out of the traffic turning for home. No doubt this will be a jockey race. 11:17 … Have you seen the photos of the Dubai skyline? There’s a building that is going up that looks like a needle, a flagship building of an oil-laden Emerald City. Would Sheik Mohammed then be considered the Wizard of Oz? Quite possibly. Man, I wish he was wearing his top hat. He looked like Mr. Peanut only way, way cooler.
11:26 … In reaction to the comments as to why there is so much time between races, I think this is so that we can think about our horrible, horrible decisions in not just betting but in life. Shoot … 26 minutes to think about why I’m eating garden salsa Sun Chips at 11:30 in the morning.
11:30 … I don’t know if any of you can hear the music they are playing at Dubai. It’s a lot like the Gladiator theme, Sheik Mohammed not only the Wizard of Oz, but a mighty Caesar. It makes you feel unbeatable. "Are you not entertained!?!" 11:37 … But the Sheiks can do as they please as they have set up mosquitoes around the desert that stick their proboscises into the dirt and suck the blood out of the earth. This, of course, being oil. This oil being the dead plant and animal matter of yester-era. And has anyone said thank you to the dead plant and animal matter? I somehow doubt it. But because of those mosquitoes, we have Nad al Sheeba and will soon have the multi-billion Meydan facility. To inaugerate the new World Cup, the purse will be bumped to $10 million. 11:49 … Meydan is word that has multiple definitions. It means where people congregate and go to the races. This is unnerving. Isn’t this what happens in 1984? Where words get whittled down to mean multiple things so that, in the end, there will only be one word to express every feeling or emotion? Do you see what’s happening here? 11:55 … What? 11:57 … Awesome. Now we get to wait another hour and relive that terrible, terrible race. 12:01 … On the OTB channel, I just saw the infield of Aqueduct. Just when I thought that place could not get any uglier, it comes in on the heels of Nad al Sheba. The turf in Dubai looks like fresh hydroseeding while the turf at the Big A looks like a field after a wheat harvest … even corn. 12:10 … In looking at Gladiatorus’ sheet, he definitely had the numbers to run the way he did. Oddly enough I had him circled as a horse that could show up here (sarcastic slow clap … we’re all rrrealll impressed). Doesn’t lone speed kill? What I don’t like about the sheets is that you don’t get fractions. I guess Mr. Brown wants you to buy his race shapes which ball park the way the race should play out with a little sideways bar graph for the opening quarter mile. 12:16 … Thanks, Barbara for clarification on the oil and GDP. That’s a spicy meatball. 12:20 … 5% of my GDP gets me a candy bar at the vending machine … regular, not king size. 12:23 … So we’re 15 minutes to the Sheema Classic. Fifteen horses. Hot dog. For those who care … and you do … I’ve got my $1 exacta box on Russian Sage (SAF), Youmzain (IRE), and Doctor Dino (FR). That is the kiss of death (not actual death) for these horses and I sincerely apologize for walking to the window confident on their behalf. 12:34 … If I can’t hit this race, it’s time to find a new hobby. Oh, I don’t know. Dirty limericks? 12:39 … OTB channel won’t show the Sheema. I guess Eric Donovan and Andy Serling are more important. Nothing against their trips and traps, but this is Dubai people! Get your head out of your @$$. 12:44 … Whoa. Just saw the replay. Spanish Moon? Purple Moon? 12:46 … So dirty limericks it is. "There once was a man named Enis." Oh I can’t tell that one. 12:47 … We’re getting down to it now. The big dance, headlined by the overwhelming winner of the Pennsylvania Derby, Anak Nakal. Wait, no. Headlined by the rousing winner of the Belmont Stakes, Casino Drive. Wait, he scratched the morning of the Belmont. Headlined by Asiatic Boy and Well Armed who wee Curlin’s wedding party last year. That’s more like it. 12:50 … In my opinion, Curlin’s most powerful and impressive race was his Dubai World Cup a year ago. I honestly get chills watching Robby Albarado give Curlin some slack and then watch Curlin take it all up. His stride never looked longer than it did then. Sure he went on to do some nice things the rest of the year to win the Woodward, Stephen Foster and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but was there ever a race on his resume more dominant — given the field — than this one? 12:57 … Sorry about that. Curlin gets me all misty. Maybe I should lift some weights and eat a rare steak. Couple problems here. No weights and I’m a vegetarian. I’ll do some pushups and have some carrots and hummus. 1:01 … Interesting conversation I just had with Good Ol’ Pete, my handicapping buddy. First he asked: 1:05 … About Albertus Maximus, I heard that trainer Kiaran McLaughlin likes him, but doesn’t like him, like him. He said he wasn’t nearly as good as Invasor, who won this race in 2007. Then again, McLaughlin comes from the Pletcher School of Cardboard and could really high on him, but is playing it off. 1:10 … Good Ol’ Pete once said, "There’s no way that Smarty Jones will win the Kentucky Derby. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life." 1:14 … This truly is a world race. There are horses from Ireland, USA, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa all in line the machine for this. Rarely can we say that a winner is world champion, except every four years … or if you buy into that our baseball, basketball, football and hockey teams are "World Champs." 1:23 … Five minutes to post, it’s the final countdown! Doo do doooo do! Do do do do doooo! Do do do doooo, do do do do do do dooooo! (synthesizer sounds). 1:32 … They’re not showing this thing live. So, angry. 1:37 … Saw the replay … still angry. 1:43 … Well, lasix free racing is done for today. My confidence ever shattered, I hope this was, as previously advertised, moderately entertaining. If you want more, I’ll be back at 4:00 to jam about the Florida Derby. Will Dunkirk win and cement a spot in Kentucky? Will Quality Road move forward ala Barbaro or Big Brown? Will Ken McPeek get Theregoesjojo to the wire first? All this and more, right here! 1:46 … The proverbial maid is coming through, vacuuming the potato chips off the floor here at the Paulick Report. I’ve gotten grease all over the remote and raided the fridge, but Mr. Paulick is a gracious host and I fully expect there to be refreshments for me come Gulfstream. If not, maybe I’ll put my feet up on the coffee table the next time. 4:45 … FLORIDA DERBY TIME. In the words of Pink Floyd, "Is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me." 4:47 … It will be, to a point, redundant because I’m sure many of you know the narrative surrounding this year’s renewal of the Grade I Florida Derby. 1. Is Dunkirk really DUNKIRK? 2. Will Quality Road move forward? 3. How good is Theregoesjojo? They are the likely trifecta, but what will be the order? 4:49 … Trainer Todd Pletcher has ensured that there will be a swift pace for his $3.7 million horse. This from a horse who is certainly not a deep, deep closer. See Shake the Bank and Better Talk Now. 4:56 … It’s almost time for the most under-appreciated voice at ESPN, Joe Tessitore, the most underrated completely bald man in sports in Randy Moss, and the most underrated bald man hanging onto his hair in Jerry Bailey. 5:01 … Europe scratched. No rabbit for Dunkirk. Interesting. 5:03 … Oh, there she is. The wind in her air. What a woman. 5:07 … Is there anybody better than Randy Moss on TV? Is there anybody better than Jay Privman in print? No. No. 5:10 … Watch out for Big Drama. 5:14 … Hot dog, we have a wiener! Course record for Big Drama, covering seven furlongs in 1:20.88. Inquiry!!!! Hold all tickets. 5:18 … If Robby Albarado were on Big Drama, Gomez will somehow win this race. I still think Mambo in Seattle won the Travers. I should probably get over that. Big wins for WinStar. Well Armed in Dubai, Colonel John in Travers. 5:20 … Oh, no! big drama at Gulfstream. This One’s For Phil gets put up. Can’t really blame them. Gomez gets ‘em again. 5:23 … I just found the hot tub here at the Paulick Report. I can’t even get my paper to send me to the Kentucky Derby and there’s a hot tub here? Good thing I brought my bathing suit. 5:26 … No money down on this race. I blew my bank roll on the Dubai card and am frustrated. I’m down $46. Looks like its cheerios and almond milk for a week. 5:29 … So, Alysheba died. Best race call was Tom Durkin’s ‘86 Breeders’ Cup Classic between Alysheba and Ferdinand. "The two Derby winners, HIT the wire together!" 5:36 … This is Quality Road’s race. Call it a feeling. More than a feeling, more like. 5:40 … Dunkirk now 4-5. Johnny V. here and not in Dubai. What does that say? Maybe he didn’t want to fly 20 hours across the world. Anyway folks, I’m gonna watch a horse race. I suggest you do it as well. I’m going to turn on the jets to this thing. 5:46 … 1:47.7! That’s some fast dirt. "If the track was going to be this fast I would have gone to Aqueduct," Todd Pletcher said. 5:50 … Any question as to why Pletcher scratched Europe with the way speed played today at Gulfstream? Food for thought. 5:51 … So Quality Road is onto the Derby in five weeks for Jimmy Jerkens. He showed a lot of grit and class, staring down Dunkirk before drawing away. 5:55 … All right folks, this is goodbye. I’m going to towel off and turn in my key. Ray, I’ll leave it under the rock. LIENS FILED ON HORSES AT PALM MEADOWSWednesday, March 25th, 2009By Ray Paulick
One of the creditors in the Magna Entertainment bankruptcy, citing a Florida statute that deals specifically with suppliers of feed and bedding products to facilities where racehorses, polo ponies and racing greyhounds are stabled, has filed liens on hundreds of horses located at Magna’s Palm Meadows training center in Florida. Wood Mulch Products of Orlando, Fla., which supplies wood-chip bedding for Palm Meadows, had two checks from a Magna affiliate returned for non-sufficient funds, according to Brad Davis of the law firm of Davis & Kennedy, who is working on behalf of the creditor. Magna, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 5, allegedly owes Wood Mulch Products more than $250,000. “There is a statute here in Florida, which I’m sure the bankruptcy lawyers will challenge, that provides that any vendor of feed and bedding materials to racehorses or polo horses or dogs that race is entitled to a lien on any animal that was present on the premises where the goods were delivered,” said Davis. The statute, 713.66, can be viewed here. It states that liens can be applied to the owner, or the agent, bailee, lessee, or custodian of the owner of horses stabled where the supplies were delivered.“I don’t think (the statute) has been challenged,” said Davis. “There are a few cases related to it.” Davis said the liens would be valid even if the horses now stabled at Palm Meadows leave the state of Florida. A lien gives a claimant the right to retain the lawful possession of the property of another until a legal duty such as payment for services or products is made. Palm Meadows in Palm Beach County, about 45 miles north of Gulfstream Park, was built by Magna Entertainment at a cost of about $90 million. The facility is open from Nov. 1-May 1, with a $12 per day charge for each of the 1,440 stalls. Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report Support the Paulick Report. Click here to make a donation today.Sign up for our Email flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray PaulickVisit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world.MAGNA: HOW DID WE GET HERE?Thursday, March 5th, 2009By Ray Paulick What a long, strange trip it’s been. Hard to believe, but it’s been just over 10 years since Frank Stronach dove head-first into racetrack ownership with his December 1998 purchase of Santa Anita Park. Or perhaps I should say he did so with his company’s purchase of Santa Anita, since the 76-year-old Canadian auto parts magnate and Eclipse Award-winning owner and breeder has been careful not to spend too much of his own money on any of the racetrack ventures. The strong-willed Stronach was hailed by many, including this writer, as a savior when he first rode into Southern California and purchased Santa Anita for $126 million. The historic racetrack was then owned by Meditrust, a real estate investment trust that had little to no interest in horse racing, and there were concerns about the sport’s future at the “Great Race Place.” Stronach had big plans: a new stable area; a gated community to replace the infield parking lot; a grand entrance hall of sorts where horses of all breeds would be in the spotlight and robust women in lederhosen would serve an endless supply of cold beer. “I have no plans to move the mountains,” he joked, in a reference to the San Gabriel Mountains that serve as one of American horse racing’s most beautiful backdrops amidst concerns that he was going to change Santa Anita too much. One of his biggest early supporters was the late Bob Lewis, a major horse owner and industry leader who had been going to the races at Santa Anita for decades. At a meeting Stronach conducted with horsemen who were worried that Santa Anita’s traditions would be thrown out the window, Lewis stood up and said:“Frank, you and I have had our arguments on the track, but as an owner I want to thank you for your magnanimous willingness to go ahead with your plans for Santa Anita. You’re going to be a breath of fresh air for this place.” Stronach invested in some capital improvements, adding the new Frontrunners restaurant atop the grandstand and making Santa Anita’s track apron more appealing for railbirds. But big plans for a new stable area and other improvements were put on hold while he turned attention to his growing appetite for additional acquisitions. He purchased Gulfstream Park in July 1999 for $95 million from a Japanese company that, like Meditrust, wasn’t interested in horse racing. Optimism abounded that racing in South Florida would improve. He also acquired land in Palm Beach County north of Gulfstream and built a state-of-the-art training center. Then came deals to buy Golden Gate Fields along with the racing license for Bay Meadows in Northern California (though not the land on which the track was located); Thistledown in Ohio and Remington Park in Oklahoma; Portland Meadows in Oregon; Lone Star Park in Texas; and Laurel and Pimlico in Maryland. He also built Magna Racino, a racetrack/casino in his native Austria (since closed), and purchased plots of land for the possible development of a new track in Northern California and another in north central Florida. He started a racing cable network, HRTV, and an account-wagering company, Xpressbet. Once, when he disagreed with something I wrote in Bloodhorse magazine, he threatened to buy that publication – and he was serious. There were rumors Stronach was set to purchase Suffolk Downs near Boston, Emerald Downs near Seattle, Monmouth Park in New Jersey, even Fairmount Park in Southern Illinois, among other tracks. In some ways, he looked like a kid in a candy store, and racetrack owners everywhere who were looking to unload their properties were hoping to catch his eye. By now, Stronach’s racetrack interests were part of Magna Entertainment (MECA), a publicly traded spinoff of his Magna International (MGA) auto parts company that was formed in March 2000. A few years later, another Magna International spinoff, MI Developments (MIM), the real estate branch of the parent company, became the majority shareholder of Magna Entertainment after large shareholders in the auto parts concern protested that too much of their money was being invested in racetracks. Stronach controlled the majority of the voting shares in all of the companies because of how they stock was structured into different classes. That allowed him to handpick board members and run the companies the way he saw fit. R.D. Hubbard, a very savvy businessman and racetrack owner who has had more than a few boardrowom battles of his own, told me very early on that only a fool would make a serious investment in a company that sells a majority of its stock in non-voting shares. There was a constantly revolving door of top managers at Magna Entertainment and at many of the company’s racetracks that made it nearly impossible to ascertain who was in charge. (Click here for a partial roster of former Magna executives.) Some good people were brought in, but were never given the chance to manage without Stronach’s hands-on supervision. Other hires were head scratchers, including the appointment of former jockey Chris McCarron as general manager of Santa Anita. Stronach even called me once to see if I was interested in running one of his racetracks, something in which I had no experience or interest. I politely declined. Interestingly, this is not how Stronach ran Magna International or his hugely successful breeding and racing operation, Adena Springs, where management was stable for years. Stronach himself seemed to be afflicted with attention deficit disorder, lurching from one idea or project to another. All the while Magna Entertainment was accumulating massive debt that now totals $600 million and losing hundreds of millions of dollars. “We’re turning the corner,” he would say to increasingly skeptical analysts during conference calls to review financial results. Sometimes his focus bordered on the bizarre; witness his dive-off-the-deep-end launch of Frank’s Energy Drink, which now appears to be about as successful as his racetracks. Or his latest missive on how there should be changes in determining winners of Eclipse Awards, something Stronach wrote just days before Magna defaulted on the first of several debt obligations coming due this month. In the early years, he seemed to love the limelight that came with owning racetracks. At a public forum at Gulfstream Park in 2001 that he used as a platform to publicize his views on the industry, Stronach said with glee, “I can’t wait to tear this place down.” Sure enough he did, rebuilding what many thought was a perfectly good grandstand and spending hundreds of millions to create a racetrack (and now casino) that is widely detested. He made similar promises to tear down and rebuild Pimlico, which would have been applauded, but those plans never got off the drawing board. Of course, Magna’s history in Maryland has been tainted by their recent folly in failing to file an adequate slot machine application for Laurel, after voters approved a statewide referendum last November. The company is now the laughingstock of the Free State. Stronach also used his prominent position as owner of the nation’s largest racing company to air his differences with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders’ Cup, calling for democratic elections to the organizations’ boards of directors (while overlooking the fact that his own companies weren’t democratic because of the different classes of voting and non-voting stock). His ideas did have merit, and he deserves credit for helping bring greater transparency to some racing organizations. Stronach once told me that he would “create his own Breeders’ Cup” because of differences he had with that organization. A couple of years later, he made good on that promise, creating the Sunshine Millions, an annual event at Gulfstream and Santa Anita that matches Florida-breds vs. California-breds. The late Bob Lewis, his onetime supporter, began to publicly criticize Stronach’s comments about the NTRA and other industry initiatives. “Frank got mad and stopped talking to me after that,” Lewis told me. Then, with his broad, trademark smile, Lewis added, “So, naturally, whenever he’s at Santa Anita I go out of my way to reach out my hand and say hello to him.” Clearly, Stronach can no longer be having fun as a racetrack owner. Though sources complain that he has surrounded himself with “yes” men at the corporate level — executives like Dennis Mills, CEO of MI Developments — he cannot help but hear the criticism that has come his way from racing fans, horsemen, state regulators, and shareholders in his various companies. Magna Entertainment is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, and institutional shareholders in MI Developments are threatening legal action if they feel that company’s board of directors breaches its fiduciary responsibility by extending additional credit to Magna Entertainment. Though some of its tracks are performing moderately well in this desperate economy, it’s too little too late, and the debt load is more than the company can absorb. It’s sad, really, when I think back to the energy (sans Frank’s Energy Drink) and commitment Stronach brought to this endeavor 10 years ago. He had ideas – some good and many bad – that he felt could help reinvigorate racing. I have no doubt that his intentions were always to make Thoroughbred racing more appealing and successful. But his appetite for domination of the industry and his “my way or the highway” management style were a recipe for disaster. Several former Magna executives told me they tried to talk Stronach out of many bad decisions, but he seldom paid attention to them. “You’ve got to listen, right?” Stronach said during a horsemen’s meeting at Santa Anita in April 1999. Unfortunately, he failed to take his own advice over most of the last decade. Now he’s paying the price, but so is the rest of the Thoroughbred industry. No one can be certain where those bad decisions will take us. Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report Sign up for our Email flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. QUALITY ROAD TAKES FOUNTAIN OF YOUTHSaturday, February 28th, 2009By Ray Paulick Quality Road covered the one-turn mile in 1:35.01 on a fast track after fractions of :23.83, :45.55, 1:09.40 and 1:22.03. Theregoesjojo finished well to get second, with Beethoven another four lengths back in third and 7-2 favorite Capt. Candyman Can fourth in the field of 10 3-year-old colts and geldings. This Ones for Phil faded to fifth after setting the pace to the top of the stretch, and he was followed by Bee Cee Cee, Notonthesamepage, Jack Spratt, Taqarub and Break Water Edison. Quality Road carried just 114 pounds under the conditions of the race, eight pounds fewer than Capt. Candyman Can, Beethoven and Break Water Edison, the 122-pound high weights. Quality Road broke his maiden at Aqueduct Nov. 29 in his first career start, a 6 1/2-furlong event, going wire to wire to win by 2 3/4 lengths. He came back at Gulfstream Park when favored at 3-10 in a Jan. 10 allowance race but had to settle for second behind Theregoesjojo, beaten 2 3/4 lengths. Alan Garcia rode the colt in his first two starts. “He rushed up after breaking slow and that might have taken something out of him,” Jerkens said of the allowance race. “Plus a lot of my horses didn’t do too well when they first got down here.” Stabled at Palm Meadows, Quality Road had been training sensationally, highlighted by a :58 2/5 five-furlong breeze on Feb. 23, the best of 48 workouts at the distance that morning. Jerkens said the size of Quality Road is one reason he has been raced so lightly. "He’s at least 17 hands and didn’t get to me until late July,” said Jerkens. “I didn’t even take him to Saratoga with me, but since then there’s been no problems.” Quality Road, who was racing on the anti-bleeding medication furosemide for the first time in the Fountain of Youth, paid $13 for the win. The colt was entered as part of the Lane’s End consignment at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale, but was bought back by his consignor for $110,000. Jerkens said immediately after the race that it was too soon to say whether or not Quality Road would be pointed for the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 28. “I was glad to see him break sharp and then settle in," said Jerkens. "He came out of his last race with a little cough, but has trained great since then. We’ve thought a lot of him from his first start. He’s got the pedigree to go on, but a one-turn mile is still basically a sprint and a lot different than going two turns. We’ll talk it over before making a decision on what’s next. I’m a New York guy so the Wood (Memorial on Apr. 4 at Aqueduct) might be one option. On the other hand, he’s trained great over the track down here (Palm Meadows) and weather isn’t likely to interrupt his schedule, so the Florida Derby is naturally a possibility. We missed the first deadline (for Triple Crown) nominations, but we’ll put it up in March. It will just cost a little more.” Ken McPeek, trainer of Theregoesjojo, was not discouraged by the effort of his Brahms colt. “We are really happy," McPeek said. "We didn’t lay it all down for this race. He wasn’t 100% cranked and we’re excited about going forward from here. I thought he ran a great race and lost to a very good horse. And believe me, the horse that won is one very impressive horse.” Equibase chart. Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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I’ve been to worse facilities than Gulfstream Park (and there really are some things to like about it), but never to a place that seemed so much in denial about being a racetrack. It was difficult to tell, for example, when pulling into the parking lot, exactly where the racetrack and grandstand (what there is of it) are located. Signs at the walk-in entrance failed to tell patrons where to go to see live racing, though there was plenty of help in finding Christine Lee’s or the Ten Palms restaurants, the slots parlors or even the Silks Simulcast Center.
The slots parlor had that familiar ringy-ding-ding background noise that serves as a siren call to folks who like to throw coins into a “Wheel of Fortune” machine. There is a beautiful fish tank in the middle of one of the casino rooms, too, reminding you that you’re in a tropical paradise. They even had a few television monitors showing the racing action just outside the room, along with simulcasts and an NFL playoff game, but when I asked someone where I could go to make a horse racing bet I got an empty shrug. 
think I’d want to be in here on a nice warm day. Not nearly big enough. I’ll try Frank’s beach or the Jameson playground—both of which looked like deserted beaches on this day. At least you can see part of the racetrack from there.