Gulfstream Park & Palm Meadows Opens For Stabling

A contingent of 13 horses from the stable of trainer Eddie Plesa was on the first two vans to enter Gulfstream Park Monday morning when the stable gate opened for the 2008 meeting.

The 89-day stand begins Jan. 3 and concludes April 20.

Racing Secretary Bill Couch expects plenty of traffic through those gates as anticipation builds toward opening day.

“The fact that we received 3,600 stall applications for 2,452 stalls at Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows speaks volumes to the expectations horsemen have for the meeting,” said Mr. Couch. “All of us are looking forward to an exciting and memorable winter.”

He and Racing Manager Bernie Hettel are in their first season running Gulfstream Park’s racing department.

“Bill and I spent the summer issuing invitations to eastern and midwestern trainers, some familiar to South Florida racing fans and some not-so familiar,” Mr. Hettel said. “What they have in common is a high-quality of horsemanship and a desire to compete and participate in making this a super meeting.”

In addition to those of Plesa, expected to be on the grounds by the close of business Monday are horses representing Hall of Famer trainer Jimmy Croll as well as Bob Barbara, Bob DiBona, Gary Lee, Colin Maragh, Paul Parisi, Mike Petro, Peter Walder and Wesley Ward. Their arrival will raise Gulfstream’s equine population to 155 by lights-out Monday.

Meanwhile, the horse population at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park’s satellite training facility 50 miles to the north in Boynton Beach, was 137 as of Monday. Magna Entertainment Corp. owns Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows.

By Sunday, horses from Delaware, New England, New Jersey, New York and Ohio will be on Gulfstream Park grounds, swelling the population to nearly 300.

There are 1,026 stalls at Gulfstream Park and 1,426 at Palm Meadows. Mr. Couch said all stalls will be filled by Dec. 10.

The usual post-Thanksgiving Weekend rush will bring in horses trained by Hall of Fame horsemen Allen Jerkens, D. Wayne Lukas, Shug McGaughey, Bill Mott, Jonathan Sheppard and Nick Zito as well as Steve Asmussen, Todd Pletcher and Barclay Tagg.

All will have designs on such major contests as the $1.55 million Sunshine Millions races Jan. 26; the $500,000 Donn Handicap Feb. 2, the $350,000 Fountain of Youth Feb. 24 and the $1 million Florida Derby March 29. Early-bird nominations to the Florida Derby close Nov. 21.

Gulfstream Park, which opened in 1939, is located on approximately 250 acres of land in the cities of Hallandale and Aventura, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida. World famous for its thoroughbred race meet each winter, highlighted by the $1 million Florida Derby, Gulfstream Park is also now home to hundreds of Las Vegas-style slot machines, a luxurious poker room and restaurants. In the near future, Gulfstream Park will become home to a one-of-a-kind retail-residential center, to be known as The Village at Gulfstream Park. For more information, contact Mike Mullaney, phone: 954-457-6451, Mike.Mullaney@gulfstreampark.com 

Source: www.horseraceinsider.com

No mention of M.Matz. He has been a regular winter resident and contender. Today he shipped Nicanor, full brother of ill-fated Barbaro to Palm Meadows.