Stronach: Gulfstream Park’s location ‘is not great for horses’

While insisting her company still is in the South Florida racing business for the long haul, 1/ST chairperson and CEO Belinda Stronach suggested Gulfstream Park’s years were numbered because its location is not good for horses anymore.

“The fact is that Gulfstream Park is now in a very dense, urban setting, and that’s not great for horses, ultimately,” Stronach told Britney Eurton in an NBC Sports interview Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Butler: 1/ST has not said it is leaving South Florida.

The Stronach Group, which does business under the trademark 1/ST, brought the future of the 86-year-old racetrack into question this month with its endorsement of a bill that would decouple its racing and slot-machine licenses. Stronach executives said last week that if the bill were to pass, racing would be guaranteed at Gulfstream until 2028. If not, no such promise could be offered.

The management of the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association reluctantly signed on to support the bill that is in the Florida legislature. A wave of dissent from owners and trainers who met with 1/ST executives last week has led the FTHA to “reassess” its position since, Daily Racing Form reported Saturday.

In separate interviews, Stronach and 1/ST president Aidan Butler have tried to reassure horsemen and the betting public that it still plans to continue racing in South Florida.

“I would like to continue discussions with the horsemen and horsewomen and the trainers and those that are involved to look to the future and say where do we want to be in five years or more?” Stronach said on NBC shortly before the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. “What kind of situation can we collectively come up with together that would be in the best interest of racing in Florida and create something that is sustainable?”

Butler was more blunt Wednesday.

“The truth of the matter is no one ever from our side pointed to we’re going to close,” he said on the Nick Luck Daily podcast. “But more importantly, the statement was made that if we’re even going to have a conversation about that, we’re all going to work together to see where the future should be and could be, and just FYI, there are a lot of options of other places to be able to do racing.”

In her interview Saturday, Stronach stopped short of naming an alternative setting for racing near Miami. However, Butler and Stephen Screnci, president of racing and business development for 1/ST, both have mentioned Palm Meadows. The 1/ST-owned training center that has dirt and turf tracks is 50 miles north in Boynton Beach, Fla.

“We’re not looking to leave Florida by any means,” Screnci told Horse Racing Nation this month. “We’re going to sort out our options, and Palm Meadows would be one of them maybe. We took a good look at Palm Meadows (last year). I did a little bit of work on that when we were having difficulty maintaining our turf course.”

Hialeah, the century-old racecourse owned by John Brunetti, reportedly was “mooted” as an alternative, according to Dan Ross’s Thoroughbred Daily News report Friday. The track 13 miles southwest of Gulfstream Park has been limited in recent years to wintertime quarter-horse races and no longer has permanent stables. In spite of its iconic status, it would not meet Stronach’s desire to get racing out of the cityscape.

“We don’t need to be in a dense, urban setting that really isn’t the best for horses,” she told NBC. “Ultimately, what is good for the industry? What is good for the trainers, and where do we want to be, and how do we want that to look? Talking about the viability, looking forward five or 10 years, we need a long-term plan.”

The FTHA, whose cachet as a horsemen’s collective has been brought into question by the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said in a statement to DRF’s Matt Hegarty that it was caught off guard by the three-year window presented by 1/ST advisor Keith Brackpool at a Jan. 15 meeting.

“When representatives of Gulfstream Park approached the FTHA last summer, they proposed how to best save racing in South Florida as part of an overall plan,” the FTHA statement said. “Closing Gulfstream in 2025 or at the end of 2028 was never mentioned or suggested, nor is that consistent with saving racing in South Florida.”

Stronach emphasized her family’s “long history in racing” as a way of assuring stakeholders 1/ST will not abandon Florida.

Answering horsemen who have been questioning the company’s commitment to South Florida racing since the decoupling bill was introduced Jan. 6, Stronach told NBC, “I don’t think they should be. ... I view this as a really healthy discussion and a great opportunity to work together to look at the future of racing.”

Florida house bill 105 covering Thoroughbred permit holders was referred Jan. 15 to the commerce committee, specifically the subcommittee for industries and professional activities. If passed, the decoupling that would remove the minimum of 40 race days a year for Gulfstream to operate its casino would take effect July 1.