[OldDeckHand]

I saw my first horse race there in 1964 or 65 with my Grandfather and Great Grandfather, quite a memory. I had recently read that it had fallen into a state of extreme disrepear, and that they had torn down the stables. I'm surprised that they're able to race there again. They must have some other paddock arrangements.

It's also surprising that with all the gentrification of the Miami are in the late 80s and 90s, Hialeah somehow fell through the cracks. I wonder if it had anything to do with the proximity of Gulfstream Park.

[ml/nj]

Hialeah somehow fell through the cracks. I wonder if it had anything to do with the proximity of Gulfstream Park.

The official story is that it is not close enough! They say Hialeah is in a bad neighborhood and people don't want to go there. I view this as complete BS. I never cared what the neighborhood looked like once I was inside those hedges. (And really the neighborhood wasn't all that bad, at least the last time I was there maybe 20 years ago now.)

The real story is that the Hialeah folks lost political battles to their Gulfstream competitors which forced them to lose their traditional high season racing dates and basically run their races after the elite stables had already returned north with their stock.

ML/NJ