GULFSTREAM PARK: A TIMELINE
1939 Gulfstream opened Wednesday, Feb. 1, and ran for four days. Opening-day attendance was 18,000 and the handle was $224,287. Total handle for four-day meet was $441,561.
1940-‘43 Closed
1944 James Donn Sr., owner of Exotic Gardens and one of the creditors left unpaid when Gulfstream closed, stepped in to take over the reins and Gulfstream ran a 20-day race meeting with an average attendance of 4,534 and an average handle of $281,902.
1945 Gulfstream ran its first regular meeting of 40 days. Average attendance was 10,699; average handle, $714,801.
1948 Rampart, a 6-year-old mare, became the first of her sex to win the Gulfstream Park Handicap, defeating Armed, the previous year’s winner and reigning Horse of the Year.
1949 Coaltown set a track record of 1:59 4/5 in winning the Gulfstream Park Handicap.
1952 Clubhouse erected; new addition to Grandstand. Florida Derby, won by Sky Ship, was run for the first time at Gulfstream Park.
1953 Florida Derby became first stakes in Florida with a $100,000 value.
1956 Swaps set a then-world record of 1:39 3/5 for a mile and 70 yards while carrying 130 pounds in the Broward Handicap.
1957 Gen. Duke equaled the world record of 1:46 4/5 in defeating Bold Ruler in the Florida Derby. Gen. Duke’s stablemate Bardstown becomes the first winner of the Gulfstream Park Handicap to successfully carry 130 pounds.
1958 The West Coast-based barnstormer Round Table became the second horse in the history of the Gulfstream Park Handicap to win under 130 pounds. He prepped for that race with a track-record performance of 1:41 3/5 for 1 1/16 miles.
1959 Gulfstream opened its world-acclaimed turf course.
1961 James Donn Jr. became president of Gulfstream. The then-largest tote board in the world was erected in the infield.
1972 Gulfstream awarded choice “middle” dates (Jan. 17-March 2) for the first time. The richest purse schedule in Florida history ($3.4 million) was offered and the Florida Derby once again became the state’s richest race when its value was raised to $125,000-added.
1978 Doug Donn, following the death of his father, James Donn Jr., was elected Gulfstream Park president.
1979 Gulfstream set a record for handle at a meeting with $94,568,590 for 44 days. A one-day handle record of $3,641,157 was set Florida Derby Day. New mutuel machines were installed allowing patrons to bet and cash any amount at the same window.
1980 Angel Cordero Jr. set a meeting record with 60 winners.
1981 State record handle set with $103,531,722 bet for 50-day meeting. Single-day mark of $4,090,109 established on Florida Derby Day.
1983 Record $104,049,307 bet at 50-day meeting. Single-day mark upped to $4,568,618.
1985 50-day meeting handle record set with $114,940,056. Florida Derby Day handle was a record $5,008,579.
One Super 6 ticket returns $289,793.60. Takeout on multiple horse wagers cut from 22 to 20%.
1986 Handle for 50-day meeting again set record with $114,995,640
1989 For the first time, Gulfstream staged the $10 million Breeders’ Cup as part of its “Ultimate Weekend of Racing” Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3-5. Almost all state records for attendance and handle were broken.
1990 Bertram and Diana Firestone, then-owners of Calder Race Course, purchased Gulfstream. The 90-day meeting produced a record $167,552,397 handle. The Florida Legislature passed the Inter-Track Wagering (ITW) bill. Bill Shoemaker rode Beau Genius, the last winner of his brilliant riding career, to victory in the Hallandale Handicap.
1991 The Donn Handicap was selected the inaugural race in the American Championship Racing Series. The meeting handle set a record $179,532,495. Gulfstream Park Racing Association Inc., owner of Gulfstream Park, was acquired from Catoctin International Racing Corp. by Gulfstream Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Orient Corp. The acquisition was completed on Dec. 27.
1992 Gulfstream hosted its second Breeders’ Cup program, again staging a three-day “mini” meet. The total handle of $79,790,369 for the 10-race program was a North American record for a single day’s betting.
1993 The handle for the 68-day meeting was $248,661,887, largest in Florida history. Wagering from simulcasting boosted that total to $387,019,482. Julie Krone was the leading jockey with 96 wins.
1994 Gulfstream enjoyed the most successful meeting in Florida history. For the 62 days, the total from all sources (commingled and non-commingled) was $560,962,021. Holy Bull won the Florida Derby and would go on to be named Horse of the Year.
1995 Cigar was the story at the 63-day meeting, winning the Donn and Gulfstream Park handicaps en route to an undefeated season and Horse of the Year honors. Thunder Gulch captured the Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth Stakes and later took two-thirds of the Triple Crown, locking up the Eclipse Award as top 3-year-old male. Jockey Jerry Bailey won seven races on March 11 (Florida Derby Day) erasing the mark of six set by Charlie Burr in 1953. A record total handle of $622,039,493 was wagered.
1996 Cigar continued his winning streak (it would reach 16) with a smashing score in the Donn Handicap, his season debut. Unbridled’s Song turned in a tour de force to win the Florida Derby and Jerry Bailey notched a second consecutive title by winning five races on the meet’s final day to edge Shane Sellers, 97-96. Bill Mott captured his fourth consecutive training title and Frank Passero Jr., second in the standings, set a North American record by sending out 14 consecutive winners, shattering the old mark of nine.
1997 The introduction of full-card simulcasting helped set records in average daily handle, total commingled handle, on-track handle, ITW handle and ISW handle.
1998 Increases in on-track attendance and handle continued Gulfstream’s upward swing, with the on-track wagering total of $133,517,034 establishing a record. Fans were treated to performances by five Eclipse champions – Skip Away, Favorite Trick, Buck’s Boy, Escena and Banshee Breeze – during the 63-day meet. Jerry Bailey regained his spot as Gulfstream’s leading rider, and Bill Mott notched his sixth consecutive trainer’s title.
1999 Opening-day attendance was a record 31,831, and by the end of the meet, wagering from all sources topped the $700 million mark. Jorge Chavez (91 wins) and Frank Passero Jr. (29 wins) topped the jockey and trainer standings, respectively. In September, Gulfstream was sold to Magna Entertainment Corp. (nee MI Entertainment Corp.), and on Nov. 5-7 played host to its third Breeders’ Cup meet. Total wagering on the Nov. 6 program exceeded $100 million, then an all-time North American record.
2000 For the seventh straight year, Gulfstream set a record for total handle (all sources) with more than $714 million wagered. Local favorite Hal’s Hope captured the Florida Derby. Jockey Jorge Chavez (77 wins) and trainer Bill Mott (30 wins) took titles in their respective categories.
2001 Monarchos put in a dominating performance in the Florida Derby, then became the 19th Florida Derby performer to capture the Kentucky Derby. Jerry Bailey won 13 stakes during the 63-day meeting to best his own record by one.
2002 The 90-day meet featured a plethora of superlative performances, among them Hal’s Hope’s triumph in the Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 30. The win made Hal’s Hope, who captured the 2000 Florida Derby, the only horse in Gulfstream history to win both events. Bill Mott saddled 32 winners and won his ninth Gulfstream training title in 10 years, while Edgar Prado topped the Gulfstream standings for the first time, winning with 82 mounts.
2003 Gulfstream established a Florida record for pari-mutuel handle for a single meet with a total of $825.3 million wagered during its 89-day season, a meet which saw the introduction of the Sunshine Millions and records set by owner Michael Gill and trainer Mark Shuman. The Sunshine Millions, contested on Jan. 25, pitted Florida-breds vs. California-breds for $3.6 million in purses at Gulfstream and Santa Anita. The inaugural was covered nationally by NBC. Gill’s horses won 88 races and Shuman saddled 87 of those winners. Eibar Coa won his first Gulfstream jockey championship with 91 winners. Palm Meadows, MEC’s state-of-the-art training center in Boynton Beach, opened shortly before the season began.
2004 Within days of the conclusion of the meeting, Gulfstream Park began work on a massive renovation project that dramatically altered the look of the facility, ushering in a new era of racing and entertainment. The old grandstand and clubhouse were leveled in July; the main track was enlarged from a mile to a mile and an eighth, and the turf course was widened from 80 to 170 feet. Before the massive renovation was begun, the 2004 meeting would be best remembered for the startling upset of Friends Lake ($76.80) in the $1 million Florida Derby and the successful seasonal debuts of future Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Speightstown, future Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, and past Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. Highlights from the second annual Sunshine Millions were the odds-on victories of Silent Sighs and Shake You Down in the Oaks and Sprint; Secret Request’s $150.40 tally in the Distaff and Proud Man’s Turf victory in course-record time.
2005 Temporary structures were used during the 2005 meet as work progressed on the state-of-the-art clubhouse. The new turf course played to rave reviews for horsemen and fans alike. There were 234 turf races during the meet, a 136% increase from the year before, and there were two world records set: Mr. Light set a world mark of 1:31.41 for the mile on turf and Procreate went five furlongs in :53.79. The third annual Sunshine Millions provided the national coming-out party for one of the most exciting horses of recent years, the California-based, Florida-bred Lost in the Fog, who romped in the Ocala Stud Dash, and also hosted one of the year’s biggest upsets when another California-based horse, Musique Toujours, paid $142.20 to win in the $1 million Classic. On March 8 Broward County voters passed a referendum to rewrite the state constitution to allow slots. Gulfstream’s other million-dollar race, the Florida Derby, was a slump buster for trainer Nick Zito, who finished 1,2 with High Fly and Noble Causeway after losing with his first 16 Florida Derby starters. Zito would be inducted into Racing’s Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., later in the year. Edgar Prado (62 victories) and Todd Pletcher (36) led the respective jockey and trainer standings.
2006 Hurricanes from the previous summer and autumn delayed construction of the clubhouse but the meet opened on time. Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey rode into retirement off a second-place finish in the Sunshine Millions Turf, a $500,000 race upset by 48-1 Miesque’s Approval. The nation’s favorite horses, past and present, raced at Gulfstream: 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide tried three times but couldn’t win, but Barbaro was a winner both times – in the Holy Bull Stakes and $1 million Florida Derby – he ran here en route to his victory in the Kentucky Derby. By meet’s end every room in the building except Pearls had been opened. Ten Palms, a 1,200-seat restaurant on the second floor, proved a huge hit with fans and the Tickets sports bar was one of the most popular spots in South Florida during Miami Heat playoff games. During the off-season, enhancements were made to Pearls to allow for the arrival of slot machines in October. Outside, renovations were being made in answer to requests from horsemen and fans alike regarding an outdoor saddling area, more seating and more pari-mutuel machines. John Velazquez withstood a late rally from Cornelio Velasquez to win his second riders’ title in three years with 86 victories while Todd Pletcher won his fourth straight trainers’ title with 60 wins, 28 more than second-place Bill Mott.