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View Full Version : Pimlico to be rebuilt...


Bubbles
08-06-2002, 03:27 PM
Hey...

Is it just me or is Stronach (sp.?) trying to tick everybody off? First he shows off his wealth by buying most of Laurel and Pimlico. I can live with that. BUT now he wants to tear down and rebuild Pimlico from scratch after next year's Preakness. AND not only will Pimlico not be ready for next year's run for the black-eyed susans, but he will schedule most of the traditional Pimlico stakes races, including the Preakness, at his own LAUREL PARK!Can you say Bud Selig, boys and girls? I thought you could...

BillW
08-06-2002, 04:38 PM
Hey, Bubbles,

Check out Andy Beyers article in the Wash. post today addressing this. Pretty good read.

Bill

syyamo
08-06-2002, 05:34 PM
I'll believe it when I see it.

He wants to rebuild the grandstand at Gulfstream and has put that on hold. I seem to remember grandious plans for Santa Anita which have not come to pass. He's making noise about building a track in Ocala - purchasing and clearing a lot of land. Plus he's constructing the training center around Palm Beach. Don't forget the TV network that was supposed to kick off this summer.

All this and Magna stock took a dump this week. Were's all this cash coming from?

Interesting thing about the Pimlico proposal is the desire to build an automotive parts plant on part of the property to employ the less fortunate denizens of Baltimore. Wonder how much public money will be involved?

justin
08-06-2002, 06:47 PM
I'll believe it when I see it. Should it happen, hats off to him. I'm no fan of Stronach, but Pimlico is a dump. Maybe he's banking on slots being allowed at the tracks in the near future? If that's what he's thinking, that's a pretty risky assumption.

-Justin

justin
08-06-2002, 06:53 PM
Here's the article from the Baltimore Sun if anyone is interested.

http://www.sunspot.net/sports/horseracing/bal-te.md.pimlico06aug06.story?coll=bal%2Dhome%2Dheadl ines

Bubbles
08-06-2002, 06:56 PM
Hey...

If I can recall correctly, slot machines were supposed to be put into all NYRA tracks at the beginning of the year. Naturally, when I went up to the Spa for the first time this year, I expected tons of shady characters. Ho-hum. Still waiting...

AND while I do agree that Pimlico is a dump, why hold the races at Laurel Park? That's the point that I was trying to get across. Why not Aqueduct or a Cal. track?

justin
08-06-2002, 07:05 PM
I highly doubt anyone calling the shots in Maryland is going to let the Preakness be run outside of Maryland. Way too much money involved. Besides, what's wrong with Laurel? It's only about 500 times better than Pimlico. Granted, that's still not saying much, but it's surely suitable for a temporary shifting of the Preakness.

-Justin

Bubbles
08-06-2002, 07:12 PM
Hey...

Good points made there, but I have one objection, and this goes back to the first post in this thread. Moving the Preakness from Frank Stronach's Pimlico to Frank Stronach's Laurel is a lot like Bud Selig moving the midsummer classic to his daughter's Miller Park. It's unfair to tons of tracks that are just as good as Laurel (Not saying that Laurel is bad.).

justin
08-06-2002, 07:22 PM
I certainly won't disagree that there are plenty of tracks that would be better suited to having the Preakness than Laurel, but I don't think your analogy holds. The Preakness doesn't change sites every year like the All-Star Game. Going by Stronach's track record, this is probably just wasted typing anyway ;)

-Justin

PaceAdvantage
08-06-2002, 08:54 PM
When the slot machines (and they won't really be slot machines in the Vegas/AC sense of the word) come to NYRA, Saratoga doesn't get them....which is fine because they don't need them....

LoganDimes
08-07-2002, 03:44 PM
The Dump is in the worst condition of any major racetrack in the country. The infrastructure is awful, the design primitive, the sightlines ugly.

I'd have to side with Beyer on this one, a few minor improvements in the short-term would beat unreachable longterm goals.

However, I think a better plan would be to raze the worst parts of Pimlico, and turn the track into a 1-month festival track while improving the simulcasting operations for the rest of the year.

cj
08-07-2002, 04:33 PM
I hope the job they do rebuilding Pimlico is as good as the one Magna did at Santa Anita and Gulfstream...what a joke. Have they even started building the training center that will supposedly bring GP field size back and make it a premier meeting again?

CJ

syyamo
08-07-2002, 08:35 PM
CJ,

They claim to have started building the training center.

Link to article about Magna's renewed interest in entering NY

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=10826