Gulfstream Park has three courses, each with a unique racing surface: A 1+1⁄8-mile dirt track with a backstretch chute that allows for a one-turn mile, a synthetic Tapeta track measuring one mile and seventy yards, and a seven-furlong turf course.[3]
Gulfstream originally had a one-mile dirt track prior to a 2004 renovation, which enlarged the dirt oval by a furlong and widened the turf course from 80 to 170 feet.[4][5] A second renovation in 2021 replaced the outer portion of the turf course with a Tapeta surface.[3]
Buildings and grounds
Historic Aerial Photograph of Gulfstream Park in 1940
Gulfstream Park opened on February 1, 1939, conducting a four-day meeting.[6] Its initial meeting attracted a crowd of 18,000. In 1944, the track was reopened by James Donn Sr. for a 20-day meeting in December.[6]
In 1952, a clubhouse was erected and an addition was put on the grandstand. Gulfstream Park introduced turf racing in 1959. The clubhouse was enlarged in 1961, and the then-world's largest totalizator board was installed in the infield. In 1972, the track was awarded "middle dates" for a 40-day January through April meet. In 1982, the grandstand was again renovated and in 1984 a clubhouse renovation was completed. In 1986, the track added its Gulfdome, a domed dining terrace.
In 2004, Gulfstream Park began a $130 million renovation of the grandstand and clubhouse. Slot machines also were approved for the track. The renovation, first effective for the 2006 spring meeting, was criticized by racegoers and commentators, who felt that the new racino laid too much emphasis on the casino area, to the detriment of the racetrack's atmosphere.[7]
2010 marked the beginning of The Village at Gulfstream Park,[8] a 500,000-square-foot mixed use area, taking the place of a parking lot in front of the casino. The project was first discussed when Gulfstream planned the major renovation in 2004. The Village initially set fall 2007 and then fall 2008 opening dates. However, permit issues and the economy held back the project for many years. On February 4, 2010, the site officially opened to patrons heading to Gulfstream.
In September 2013 the park announced another expansion, with construction beginning in March 2014. A highlight would be a 110-ft, fire-breathing bronze statue of Pegasus slaying a dragon, at the time the world's largest equine and European dragon statues. Pegasus would also be the second largest statue in the US after the Statue of Liberty).[9] The statues were completed that year in December. The site also includes rock features, fountains and a stage.
Timeline
The Gulfstream Park Handicap was first run in 1946. The year 1952 saw the first running of the Florida Derby, the state's first stakes with a $100,000 purse. The 1955 Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Swaps set a then world-record of 1:39 3/5 for a mile and 70 yards while carrying 130 pounds in the Broward Handicap. Gen. Duke equaled the world record of 1:46 4/5 in defeating Bold Ruler in the Florida Derby in 1956. In 1980, Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero Jr. set a meeting record with 60 wins.
Jockey Julie Krone took the Jockey's Title in 1993 with 98 wins. In 1994, Holy Bull won the Florida Derby while, in 1995, Cigar won the Donn Handicap and Gulfstream Park Handicap on his way to a perfect season. Meanwhile, in 1995, Florida Derby winner Thunder Gulch would go on to win the Kentucky Derby (Monarchos would repeat Thunder Gulch's feat in 2001). Gulfstream again would host the Breeders' Cup in 1999.
Hal's Hope, winner of the 2000 Florida Derby, would return in 2002 to win the Gulfstream Park Handicap. The 2002 season introduced the first running of the popular Sunshine Millions, pitting Florida-breds against California-breds for purses totaling $3.6 million. In 2004, trainer Todd Pletcher started an unprecedented run of nine consecutive training titles. In 2006, Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey rode his last race aboard Silver Tree in the Sunshine Millions, and the great Barbaro would win the Florida Derby before making headlines with his victory in the Kentucky Derby.
In April, 2012, Javier Castellano, who collected his first Gulfstream title by riding a record 112 wins, scored his 3,000th career success aboard Virtuously on Feb. 24 and Todd Pletcher, who claimed an unprecedented ninth consecutive training title at Gulfstream with 72 trips to the winner's circle, recorded his 3,000 career victory when he saddled Spring Hill Farm for a winning performance on Feb. 11.[11][citation needed]
Sunshine Millions Day, 2006
Track ownership and management
In 1961, James Donn Jr. succeeded his father as president of Gulfstream Park. In 1990, the track was purchased by Bertram R. Firestone. In 1994, a half interest in the track was sold to Nigashi Nihon. [citation needed] In 1999, Gulfstream Park was purchased by Magna Entertainment Corporation, for $95 million.[12] In 2010, the ownership of the track was taken over by Magna parent MI Developments Inc. (MID). Since July 3, 2011, the track has been owned by The Stronach Group.
In June, 2011, Tim Ritvo was named President and General Manager of Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino. He was a prominent jockey and racing official at Suffolk Downs in the 1980s before establishing himself in the 1990s as a leading Florida trainer. Ritvo also had served as Vice President and Director of the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association.[13] In 2012, Stronach Group named Ritvo Chief Operating Officer of its Racing Division. [14] On March 2, 2020, Ritvo stepped down as COO of Stronach Group-operated tracks, which include the troubled Santa Anita racetrack in California. He left to “pursue other opportunities.”[15]
Gulfstream Park is owned and operated by 1/ST, the consumer facing brand of The Stronach Group.
Stakes Races
Gulfstream Park is home to the following graded stakes: (listed by grade and then year inaugurated) Grade I:
On Opening Day, December 1, 2012, of Gulfstream Park's 2012-2013 meet, the track is hosting the 14th running of racing's Claiming Crown.[16] The Claiming Crown has become the most important event for horse racing's claiming runners, and Gulfstream Park is raising the purses for each individual race in honor of this.
Entertainment
Tiffany, a 1980s teen pop star, performed at Gulfstream Park in 2003.
Gulfstream Park in recent years has been a concert venue, with performances taking place on the grounds outside the grandstand. Reserved seats to the concerts are sold in advance, and others paying normal track admission may watch the concert in standing room. Various singers and groups popular in earlier times perform at Gulfstream Park on their tours. The track was also host to the Miami Pop Festival from December 28–30, 1968, featuring over thirty performing bands and artists, including the Grateful Dead.
In 2022, 1/ST EXPERIENCE in partnership with Breakwater Hospitality Group opened the Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park.[17][18] The Carousel Club is a 14,000 square foot entertainment and hospitality hotspot featuring a carousel bar and is located trackside at Gulfstream Park.
Casino
The Gulfstream Park Casino was the first building to be constructed when Gulfstream Park first opened in 1939. It was the only building housing the main casino and scattered restaurants and bars. It was surrounded by an extra-large parking lot until 2010, when The Village at Gulfstream Park opened.
Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap as well as hosting the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2023. In 1984, Santa Anita was the site of equestrian events at the 1984 Olympics. Since 2011, the Stronach Group are the current owners.
Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the racetrack complex. Horse racing and training were shut down in December 2013 though the casino operations continued until a new state of the art casino building, the new Hollywood Park Casino, opened in October 2016.
Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London. The racetrack is nicknamed "Old Hilltop" after a small rise in the infield that became a favorite gathering place for thoroughbred trainers and race enthusiasts. It is currently owned by the Stronach Group.
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closing of the Bay Meadows racetrack on May 11, 2008, it became the only major Thoroughbred racetrack in Northern California. It is currently owned by The Stronach Group.
Calder Casino is a casino located in Miami Gardens, Florida. It includes slots, electronic table games, and bingo.
Tampa Bay Downs is an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility located in Westchase in Hillsborough County in the U.S. state of Florida, just outside Tampa. It opened in 1926 under the name Tampa Downs, and has also been known as Sunshine Park and Florida Downs and Turf Club.
Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is 1+1⁄8 miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades until returning to the "Laurel Park" designation in 1994.
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the Arkansas Derby.
The Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race, by invitation for four-year-olds and older over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the turf track, held annually in late January or early February at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida. The event currently carries a purse of $1,000,000.
The Gulfstream Park Sprint Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older at a distance of six furlongs on the dirt run annually in early mid-February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The event currently offers a purse of $150,000.
The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Another listing for it was added in 1988. The Hialeah Park Race Track is served by the Miami Metrorail at the Hialeah Station at Palm Avenue and East 21st Street.
Belterra Park, formerly known as River Downs, is a racino located in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, just outside the southeast limits of Cincinnati. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Boyd Gaming.
Behrens was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Out of the mare Hot Novel, he was sired by the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Pleasant Colony.
The Colonel Liam Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late February or early March on the turf course at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida over a distance of 1 1/16 miles. A listed event open to three-year-old horses and currently offers a purse of $200,000.
Einstein was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United States.
This is a listing of the horses that finished in either first, second, or third place and the number of starters in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, an American Grade 1 race for horses four years old and older at 1-1/8 miles on the turf held at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Mucho Macho Man is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was foaled in Florida and named after the Village People song "Macho Man". His breeders were Carole and John Rio of Florida, who owned his dam. His foalhood nickname was "Lazarus" because he appeared lifeless at birth, but spontaneously revived. He grew to be a very large horse, standing over 17 hands high. Throughout most of his racing career, Mucho Macho Man was primarily owned by Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing of Suwanee, Georgia. They purchased a majority interest in him after his first race in 2010, and in 2012 became his sole owners. In February 2014, Frank Stronach purchased an undisclosed share in the horse on behalf of his Adena Springs Farms, owner of Mucho Macho Man's sire, Macho Uno.
Itsmyluckyday is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Itsmyluckyday is a multiple graded stakes winner who finished second in the 2013 Preakness Stakes to Oxbow and won the Woodward Stakes in 2014.
The Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race whose first running was on January 28, 2017 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. It is run over the dirt at the distance of 1+1⁄8 miles and is open to horses four years old and up. The Grade I rating was assumed from the Donn Handicap.
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