An open letter to Frank Stronach
The beautiful space you created includes two world class simulcast facilities, as nice as one can find anywhere. Bright monitors, and plenty of them, reasonably good racetrack fare, priced on the high end for sure but not so outrageous that you’d expect the check-out person to be wearing a mask.
Same goes for the enclosed trackside restaurant that seats less than a thousand. Good dining fare with friendly, competent service and reasonable high-end prices, in all, a pleasant dining-room experience. Huge high-definition screens, especially the monster in the infield, yields great closed circuit pictures. But it is in the positives like the restaurant and infield monitor that things start to go awry.
The infield screen obscures the mid-backstretch view of the horses and the raised turf course makes it impossible to watch horses match strides on the far turn of the dirt track, reminiscent of Hollywood Park and not one of that track’s best features, either. But the newbies will never know what they missed, and more fans watch races on monitors than they do live through binoculars, another nuance gone.
A smaller grandstand was a wise choice but there is a shortage of trackside seats for viewing live races, an over-hang to keep fans dry on a rainy day, and outdoor private boxes for those who want and can afford them. Exclusivity is one thing, overcrowding another, even if the image an empty racetrack is one of a racing life’s little sorrows.
There were 8,800 in attendance Sunshine Millions Day but the facility had the crowded feel of a Florida Derby day. Thank goodness for Florida Derby’s new place on the racing calendar. There likely isn’t any real danger of attracting a huge crowd for that race like in the old days.
The cost of going racing at Gulfstream Park is higher than at any other. You can try to sell American race fans on the notion it’s still much cheaper than attending the premier race meets of Europe, and that’s true. You eliminated admission and general parking charges but it costs $10 or $20 for a simulcast seat indoors that escalates on special days. Some work carrels sold for $40 on Donn day. That’s too steep for an elitist like me, even had the builders remembered to include power outlets for computers.
Frank, the problems exclusive to Gulfstream Park will work themselves out in time if you listen to your people. If you had, perhaps the execution of those ideas would have been better, perhaps not. I loved the paddock with its unique surround-seating that gave the walking ring a sales-ring atmosphere. But it remains a tad too narrow for horse and horsemen alike.
Smart people I know think the walking ring is an accident waiting to happen. I could not defend the other position. The enclosed saddling area inside the building have stalls that also are too narrow. As a horseman with a reputation for loving animals you should have known this. Maybe these were the visions that simply missed their mark or were good ideas with poor execution. But there is no excuse for failing the basics.
There was no audio in the dining room on any of the days I attended. I never received timely shoe information on the wet Donn day program. I know the information was available on those state of the art table-top wagering monitors, but only if it’s within reach. The hurricane glass with intervening supports made viewing live races through the glass extremely difficult if not impossible.
I got all the information I wanted about the Magna Five but I never knew the post-time odds or minutes-to-post for Santa Anita’s Sunshine Millions races, not even one of those look-ins the NCAA Tournament has made so infamous. Why bother to hold the event, for the television coverage?
You responded almost immediately to complaints regarding admission charges to the simulcast areas. You eliminated them, said you would listen to complaints, and that customers should bear with you as Gulfstream remains a work in progress. All that’s fair, Frank, but do yourself a favor. If a reasonably intelligent person makes a worthwhile suggestion, listen to it. Encourage your staff to criticize ideas constructively Thus far, you’ve made it impossible for those who would speak truth to power.
Yours for racing’s future.
Sincerely,
John Pricci
© 2012 NBC Sports.com Reprints ![]()
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