In preparation for the upcoming
Gulfstream Park
Fall Turf Festival, the facilities at Gulfstream Park West, formerly Calder Race
Course, have undergone extensive renovations.
Overseen by Gulfstream Park consultant Bill Badgett, the project has been in
the works since Gulfstream took over management of the Miami Gardens property
earlier this summer. Under an agreement with Churchill Downs, Inc., that was
agreed to in July to end head-to-head racing in South Florida, Gulfstream is
leasing the racetrack, including 15 barns on the track’s backside.
Those barns have been completely cleaned and refurbished with fresh paint,
wider shedrows lined with new footing, and newly installed electrical outlets.
The stalls in each barn have also been equipped with new eyehooks for buckets
and stall guards as well as custom-fitted mats designed to provide comfortable,
sure footing for the horses. The turf course at Gulfstream Park West has also
been renovated, having been weeded, fertilized, and given additional soil. Click
here for
video of all the upgrades.
“We went through each stall and through the barn area. We had to replace
about 230 of the feed tub holders, and we went around and put in about 350
eyehooks so people could have some place to hang their water buckets,” Badgett
said. “We put virtually 1,000 pounds of clay at each end of the barn for the
stalls. We wanted to go the extra mile to make everybody happy, and when they
shipped their horses in from other racetracks, everybody would be very
comfortable.”
The renovations have delighted the trainers on site, who say that the
improved conditions not only boost morale in the barn but also allow them to do
their jobs more efficiently. The group of supporters includes trainer Bill
White, who won 15 training titles at Calder and has spent almost 30 years
training in South Florida.
“The backside now has a freshness about it that was lacking previously,”
White said. “I came here in 1986, so I’ve spent now more than half my life on
the backside here at Calder. I was glad about Gulfstream taking over. I’m very
excited and I think a lot of other people are excited to have some new blood in
here — Gulfstream — putting some money in, some fresh ideas, and trying to get
this thing turned around.”
Fellow trainer Marcus Vitali, who saddled Lochte to win the Gulfstream Park
Turf Handicap during last year’s Championship Meet, echoed those sentiments.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve been coming back and forth between Gulfstream
and Calder for the last six years, and I’ve never seen Calder in this condition.
It’s amazing what they’ve done to the backside. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Phil Combest, a longtime trainer and the president of the Florida Horsemen’s
Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA), similarly expressed his pleasure
about how the renovations benefit the horses.
“The horses really need to be able to lay down and relax in their stall, and
it was impossible before,” he said. “They were such a mess, and now, with the
re-claying and the painting and everything, the horses are happier, the barns
have got a better breezeway through there, and I think the help are going to be
terrifically surprised when they move into their dormitory rooms.”
The Gulfstream Park Fall Turf Festival is slated to begin on October 8 and
will run through November 30. The 40-day boutique meet will feature 23 stakes
worth a total of $1.775 million. Highlights include the $600,000 Sunshine
Millions Preview Day, featuring eight $75,000 stakes races for Florida-breds, on
November 8 as well as the $100,000 Tropical Turf Handicap and $100,000 My
Charmer, both on November 22.
“When the quality of racing improves, there’s owners out there that are
watching,” White said. “Everybody now, whether it be through Internet,
television, or whatever, they have access to know what’s going on. When these
owners see that the racing in South Florida is now improving, it’s going to now
create the opportunity for new horses and new owners to send their horses here,
and being a trainer, that’s good for me.”
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com