Hialeah Park's new permit requires racing within a year
The quarter-horse racing permit granted to Hialeah Park this week -- a permit that revived hopes the historic landmark could return to racing -- came with a catch: a one-year deadline for such races to start.
State Rep. Esteban Bovo, a Hialeah Republican who is also a former Hialeah Park employee, says the year deadline is doable. Track owner John Brunetti, meanwhile, has yet to comment publicly since word of the facility's new racing permit surfaced.
No one disputes that the cost of completely restoring Hialeah Park would be at least in the tens of millions of dollars. Hialeah hasn't hosted a race since 2001, and its condition has deteriorated during those years of hibernation, with a string of hurricanes several years ago adding further damage.
The good news for Hialeah is that the massive renovations it needs won't have to be completed in a year. Hialeah can likely meet state requirements for racing with a temporary tent-like facility for patrons. Hallandale Beach's Gulfstream did something similar during its extensive overhaul several years ago.
(Via Miami Herald)
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