Gulfstream Trip Report

Finally had enough of 7.5K claimers running next to 7.5 foot tall snow berms in 7.5 degrees. The antidote to cold weather and cheap racing is a trip to 75 degree Gulfstream Park. The weather was much warmer, the horses much classier and there is no snow. However Gulfstream is not a regular track; it is cut from an entirely new cloth. It really is cut from many clothes. It is like a dozen market research analysts got together and combined the best of Las Vegas, the highlights of sunbelt shopping malls with a modern horse racing venue. What we have is a venue that tries to be all things to all people. Sometimes it works other times it is has a confused identity.

From Power Cap

From Power Cap

This has been mentioned umpteen times in other reviews of Gulstream but I will have to say it again. The grandstand is tiny. Like Gary Coleman tiny. There are only three rows of seats. Other areas of the track are also sized down. It seems the designers studied venues like Belmont "big empty" Park and judged that reduced on-track attendance calls for a new venue. Gulfstream is like a big house with many small rooms. The grandstand is smaller along with the stretch area and the simulcast areas. All of this partitioning makes the place seems crowded and vibrant; even on Friday the rail was shoulder to shoulder when the on-track crowd was small.

From Power Cap

The walking ring is clearly meant to be the focal point for the entire facility. It is a beautiful space surrounding a fountain that was clearly inspired by the Bellagio casino Las Vegas. The walking ring is first thing most people will see when they enter the racetrack area. This is not a typical racetrack and Gulfstream throws a curveball here. The saddling paddock is inside the building in a long tunnel away from the crowd. For the first ten minutes of the paddock time the horses are away from the crowd. Someone out there somewhere must hate this but it seemed reasonable. Once the field is saddled they make their appearance to the crowd.

From Power Cap

'

One nice thing about the walking ring is that it is surrounded by a balcony on the second and third floors affording a great view of the horses. However seating is limited. Adjacent to the walking ring is the "Gulfstream Village" mall. Included are upscale typical American mall stores and restaurants. About a third of the stores are still vacant. However I enjoyed dinner at the "Yard House" restaurant on Friday night and it was very crowded even at 11Pm.

From Power Cap

The Mig interviews John Velasquez after winning the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf.

From Power Cap

There is still room for improvement on the race track end. The SAM machines are low end AMTOTE machines which are not intuitive like the United Tote machines in New York. The AMTOTE machine lack information like horse names, jockeys and trainers. The worst part is that these AMTOTE machines do not list scratched horses in multi-race wagers. So if you select a scratched horses in the 4th leg of your pick 6 the tote machine simply rejects your wager without any advice on which horses were scratched in which race. To make matters worse many machines were placed in the sun which rendered them completely useless due to glare. Seems like a manager needs to make sweep of this area and correct glare issues and replace the antiquated AMTOTE machines with something modern and user friendly. Most of these machines are used by seniors -even I struggled- they need something simple and intuitive like the machines NYRA uses. Please put together a seating task force and get more seats in this place.

From Power Cap

While the views from the walking were great -this is a reason why I took so many picks of the walking ring- there really was not any way for me to watch the races live. The view from the stretch rail was terrible; once again there was nowhere to sit. It seems like most players at Gulfstream opt for one of two Las Vegas racebook style simulcast rooms. While these simulcast rooms were as nice as any room in Las Vegas -they had hundreds of TVs- the point of going to Gulfstream is to be outside in the sun and not cooped up in a room.

From Power Cap

One of two simulcast rooms where every race anywhere in the world is available for wagering.

From Power Cap

Bellagio inspired fountain in the walking ring comes alive after the races are over with lights and a varied water spray routine.

From Power Cap

Another shot of the walking ring from the ground floor.

From Power Cap

The set where Jessica Pacheco and Ron Niccoletti film the paddock show between races. Perhaps the two best paddock analysts in the game.

From Power Cap

Huge toteboard provides information but blocks the view of the horses on the backstretch.

From Power Cap

The rail along the homestretch is packed with fans on Friday but once again nowhere to sit.

From Power Cap

From Power Cap

Horses break from the gate in the sunshine millions classic.

From Power Cap

Horses thunder down the lane during the closing stages of the Sunshine Millions Classic won by 25-1 longshot Tackleberry.

From Power Cap

It looks like Kent Desormeaux rented a banner plane and had it fly above Gulfstream with this message "Honored to ride- Kent." Is there an innuendo around the track that Kent has too big an ego to care about riding anything less than a graded race? Why would he have to rent an airplane to tell everyone at the track that he is honored to ride? Seems like renting an airplane to tell people you are a humble hard worker is counter-intuitive and an expression of your inflated self worth.

From Power Cap

In the end Gulfstream is a venue that tries hard to be many things to many people. Perhaps too many market research analysts hand their hands in on the recipe and failed to give Gulfstream a clear identity as the venue is more like a hodgepodge of track/mall/casino than village. Still, there are enduring good points. The weather is great, the facility is clean, modern and the food is outstanding; especially for a racetrack. Considering the positives Gulfstream is worth a visit and a fine refuge from the 7.5 foot snow berms and 7.5 claimers.