MINOR MEETING BRUNETTI
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Internet entrepreneur Halsey Minor is scheduled to meet with Hialeah Park owner John Brunetti this morning at 11 a.m. to discuss Minor’s interest in acquiring and renovating Hialeah Park, the grande dame of American racing that has been dormant since running its last race May 22, 2001. The meeting will take place at an office at the track.
Minor, who also had a morning meeting with Hialeah city officials, will meet later in the day with the architectural firm that would assist in the rebuilding of the track, along with local preservationists, government officials and activists at a reception at the R.J. Heisenbottle Architects offices in Coral Gables.
Among those at the reception will be architect Richard Heisenbottle, Kathleen Slesnick Kauffman, historic preservation chief of Miami-Dade County; local historian Arva Moore Parks of the Dade Heritage Trust; preservationist Becky Matkov; city and county officials; and members of the Save Hialeah Park group led by Alex Fuentes and Janet Diaz
"I’ve had an extraordinary amount of support from people who want to see this succeed and have pro bono help with architectural, legal and zoning issues," Halsey told the Paulick Report Wednesday morning. "I wish every business was like this."
Minor, the founder of CNET and a Virginia Thoroughbred owner and breeder, recently expressed interest in acquiring Hialeah Park from Brunetti, who purchased the track in 1977 but subsequently lost the choice mid-winter dates to Gulfstream Park and closed the track after the Florida legislature deregulated racing dates and Hialeah was forced to go head to head with Calder or Gulfstream Park. The track has since lost its pari-mutuel license and its barn area has been demolished. Plans have been discussed occasionally to develop the site for a new baseball stadium, office park, or use it as a local park.
Minor and Brunetti have had one conversation about the sale of Hialeah prior to today’s meeting.
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