Gulfstream West Meet Smashes All Expectations

By Bill Finley

When Gulfstream Park took over the management of the racing operation at Calder from Churchill Downs, it was hard to imagine it could have much of an impact. They had only 40 days of racing at the cross-town track and Calder’s problems seemed almost beyond repair. The morale there was terrible, the facility was run down, the racing was lousy and a head-to-head dates war with Gulfstream had taken a major toll on the Miami Gardens track. 

But when Calder, rebranded as Gulfstream Park West, ended its 40-day run Sunday, a stunning turnaround had occurred. With record handles, big fields, a creative wagering menu and a corporate philosophy of taking care of the fans and horsemen, Gulfstream had done the impossible. It took over and it made Calder/Gulfstream Park West matter again.

“Our brand helps and everybody realizes that we are, first and foremost, a racing company,” said Gulfstream Chief Operating Officer Tim Ritvo. 

That may be both the simplest and most accurate reason why Gulfstream Park West did so well. Gulfstream is run by the Stronach Group, which prioritizes racing and its executives work hard to create the best racing product possible. Attaching the Gulfstream name to Calder sent a message to horseplayers and horsemen that this would not be a matter of business as usual. Calder is run by Churchill Downs, a company many have accused of caring more about the casino business than the racing business. Churchill still operates the slots at Calder. 

Gulfstream helped spruce up the facility, and went out of its way to give horsemen and fans first-class treatment. Its racing department, led by P.J. Campo and arguably the best in the country, created cards that were filled with big, competitive fields. It made great use of the grass course. It brought the popular Rainbow Six bet across town and on closing day, with a mandatory payout, the pot for that bet swelled to $818,667. The days of going through the motions at Calder were gone. 

Coming up with Calder-versus-Gulfstream West handle numbers is difficult. For one, comparing Calder 2013 to Gulfstream West 2014 is unfair because last year Calder was running head-to-head against Gulfstream. Churchill does not release handle numbers at its tracks and they are not easy to come by. But for the most part, Gulfstream West’s handle is about three times what it was last year when racing as Calder. 

In addition, the numbers for Gulfstream West often blew away the combined numbers from last year when both tracks were running at once. With a 10-race card, Gulfstream West handled $5.3 million Saturday. Last year, the two tracks ran 19 races between them and the combined handle was $4.4 million. 

The Summit of Speed program was typically the most heavily wagered card of the year at Calder. The last time it was run without competition from Gulfstream was 2012 when it handled $4,513,885 for 12 races. On four occasions at the Gulfstream West meet that number was topped, and each of those cards included only 10 races. Last Saturday, Gulfstream West handled $5,374,522, its high for the year. No one can remember the last time Calder handled $5.3 million. 

During much of the meet, Gulfstream West was the third highest-handling track in the country, trailing only New York and Southern California but leading Churchill Downs. 

In fairness to Calder, Gulfstream had advantages over its old competitor, namely with the amount of horses from which it had to draw. When Calder traditionally went it alone in the summer, its backstretch was the only stabling in South Florida. Gulfstream can now house horses at its own track, at Palm Meadows and at Calder. 

“We’re doing on average about three times in handle than what they were doing with pretty much the same product,” Ritvo said. “Keeping Gulfstream open year-round and keeping some trainers down here, guys that normally might have left here in the summer, has helped. Also having Gulfstream tied to the Calder product has helped. I think it encouraged guys like Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown to come down earlier.” 

Things can only get better. What was once a chaotic situation in Florida that was hurting everyone has settled into a workable circuit run by a company that is proving that horse racing is not a lost cause. The racing situation in South Florida has never been more stable or healthy. 

Gulfstream was forced to race six days a week this year at Gulfstream West, but that can be amended next year with a more sensible schedule. There have to be 40 days of racing at Calder/Gulfstream West for Churchill to maintain its casino license, but Ritvo said they may go with two Calder meets next year, one just prior to the championship meet at Gulfstream and one just after. Each meet would be 20 days. And having a gap between the summer and championship meets at Gulfstream should re-energize horseplayers once Gulfstream re-opens Saturday. They got off to a bad start for their prime meet last year and many believe that’s because there was no excitement building up to what was no longer a true opening day. 

“Go back two years ago when we had the Claiming Crown to open up it was an unbelievably successful opener,” Ritvo said. “Last year, with the schedule, it took a little bit of an edge out of it, with racing at Gulfstream every single weekend. This year we’ll have a two-month freshening, we’ve freshened up the building a little bit and have been able to revitalize the turf course. To open up with the Claiming Crown we think we’ll see the difference. Plus you have to factor in the fact we’re not running against another track eight miles away. I think you’ll see incredible field sizes through the entire championship meet. We’re talking somewhere between 9.8 to 10 starters per race, which would be incredible.” 

Ritvo will tell you running Gulfstream is easy. You have great weather, good purses, great racing and an influx of top stables anxious to get out of the Northeast and Midwest in the winter. Gulfstream Park West is another story. Calder is different. It has always been a summer track in steamy Florida dominated by local stables and overrun with unbettable races for cheap two-year-olds. It wasn’t like that at all over the last 40 racing days. The team at Gulfstream believes in racing. And it shows.