Gulfstream Opens
Gulfstream opened on Wednesday to mixed reviews. Horsemen raved about the new facility (still under construction), while patrons lamented the absence of the grandstand and the minimum $10 seat price. “This is beautiful, and it’s going to get a lot more beautiful,” said trainer Bobbie Barbara. “The site and the physical plant are gorgeous. No doubt there are things to be done, but I am extremely impressed.” Less impressed was the patron who told the Blood-Horse that the new Gulfstream “is structured for a casino, not a racetrack.” Or this one, who paid for a couple of seats: “I can’t say I’m surprised they charged so much, but I was hoping for something cheaper. Would I pay this again? Maybe not.”
There won’t be much grandstand seating (cheap or otherwise) even when Gulfstream is complete. Only about 1,000 seats will be available to watch races live when the new facility is fully opened and half of those are reserved for horsemen, luxury suite owners, and the media: Everyone else will have to watch the races on TV, just as they might at another track or an OTB hundreds of miles away. Gulfstream president Scott Savin calls the setup “the new paradigm”; I call it joyless. Live racing should be live, and going to the racetrack should mean spending some time outdoors, in the fresh air, seeing thoroughbreds up close.
Related: Bill Finley misses the old Gulfstream. “Having been given a tour of the unfinished parts of the facility on Tuesday and having spent opening day at the track Wednesday, I came away longing for the old Gulfstream Park. That was a real racetrack, and a very nice one. This is a building, and a building where horse racing is merely an adjunct product.”
1/14/06 Update: Citing customer complaints, Gulfstream has dropped the $10 admission charge to the first floor clubhouse, at least until the end of January.
