Frankie and Johnnie’s Arctic Adventure

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Reading Ray Paulick’s open letter to John Brunetti in which he urges him to let go of Hialeah for the sake of the game, made me nostalgic for the good old days when the Eskimos used to put their infirm elders on an ice floe and watch as they floated away to certain death, it was a harsh necessity in an environment where there were limited resources and hostile predators everywhere but there must be sacrifice for the sake of the community and for the sake of the game, it’s time to take guys like Brunetti and Stronach firmly by the hand and lead them out to the ice floe.

For Brunetti, like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, it’s time he stops deluding himself that the glory days are returning with him in a starring role and bury that dead chimp that was his vision for Hialeah.

Stronach has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into his business model at Gulfstream trying to make a bad idea work, only managing to destroy stockholder equity, embarrass himself and alienate his core customers, all at the same time.

Time will tell if Minor is a visionary or a fool but his vision for Hialeah seems much less foolish to me after what I have seen happen at Gulfstream. Minor faces a slew of challenges, among them convincing the Florida legislature that what racing in Florida needs is fewer dates and a return to the concept of a boutique meet at Hialeah similar to Saratoga or Del Mar. Racing in the state is at a nadir, it is obvious to me that things have gone beyond the point of diminishing returns. A return to focusing on quality over quantity will lift both the racing and breeding industries.

South Florida is mired in what appears to be a prolonged and deep recession that Gulfstream may not survive. The timing and conditions are right for a resurrected Hialeah to open just as the economy begins to expand and if it does I’ll be there waiting in line to get in, hurry up already!

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Filed under Frank Stronach, John Brunetti