The casino opened in 2010 and features a 100,000-square-foot (9,300m2) gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines, including video poker, as well as electronic roulette and blackjack. Live entertainment[1] can be found at Calder Casino on a weekly basis as well as a popular ladies night.
A player's club,[2] VIP lounge, and dining options[3] such as The Buffet, Lucky's Restaurant and Center Bar can all be found at the location. It is a non-smoking casino, however the Backyard Casino, South Florida's newest[citation needed] and largest smoking friendly open-air casino, opened at Calder Casino on May 19, 2018. The Backyard Casino at Calder hosts 75 games.
Calder's horse racing operations were leased to the Stronach Group, operators of Gulfstream Park, in 2014. Since then, Calder's meet has been named Gulfstream Park West.[4] Calder Casino is a wholly owned property of Churchill Downs Incorporated and has kept its original name.
History
In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime horse racing in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the Florida Legislature approved a bill allowing for it. Prior to this time, a fall meet was held at Tropical Park Race Track in Miami and winter / spring meets at Hialeah Park, and Gulfstream Park in Broward County. In 1970, Stephen Calder received a permit for summertime racing but the meet was run at Tropical Park because construction was not complete at Calder. On May 6, 1971 Calder Race Course held its first day of racing. When William L. McKnight became the new owner of Tropical Park, he stated his intentions of closing the track and switching the dates to the Calder track, of which he was one of the principal investors.[5] Racing ceased at Tropical Park in 1972.
The 1980s brought about renovations and expansions and two purchases. The first purchase was by Bertram R. Firestone and the second was by Kawasaki Leasings, Inc. In 1992 the "Festival of the Sun" was introduced. By 1997, simulcasting was introduced (so bets could be placed at Calder on races from other tracks). The handle increased significantly; the track increased purses. In January 1999, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) purchased Calder Race Course for approximately $86 million. In the first years of the new century the track introduced the "Florida Million" and the "Summit of Speed".
Calder's Summit of Speed has produced several Breeders' Cup champions and Eclipse Award winners since its start in 2000. (The Eclipse award is the highest honor bestowed in American racing). In its short history, the Summit of Speed attracted some of the country's top sprinters, including Cajun Beat and Orientate who both went on to win Breeders' Cup Sprint championship races (Orientate 2002, Cajun Beat 2003). In 2005, Lost in the Fog won at Calder, although was later defeated in the Breeders' Cup. The Summit of Speed turned out to be the single biggest day in the history of Calder. In 2004, over $10.8 million was wagered on the event.
It was previously in the Lake Lucerne census-designated place.[6][7] In 2003, the unincorporated area where Calder is located became the City of Miami Gardens, the third-largest city in Miami-Dade County.[8]
On June 4, 2005, jockey Eddie Castro set the North American record for the most wins in a day at one track, winning 9 races at Calder.
The world record for the most spent on a Thoroughbred at sale took place at Calder in 2006 when a two-year-old horse sold for $16 million. The horse was later named The Green Monkey.
In late 2009, Calder changed its official name to Calder Casino & Race Course. The grand opening of the Calder Casino was celebrated in January 2010.
On August 24, 2013, jockey Antonio A. Gallardo set the record for the most stakes wins in a day and in a row, winning 4 consecutive stake races in the Juvenile Showcase.
After head-to-head racing between Calder and nearby Gulfstream Park in 2013 and 2014, CDI and the Stronach Group announced an agreement where the Stronach Group would manage Calder's racing operations, and CDI would operate the Calder Casino.[9] After the agreement, Gulfstream announced it would operate a two-month meet at Calder in the fall under the name Gulfstream Park West.[4] Under the changes, the track's code for official racing programs was changed from CRC to GPW.[4]
In April 2015, CDI demolished approximately 1,400 stalls in an area marked for non-racing commercial re-development. In July 2015, Gulfstream Park was informed that the Calder grandstand – owned by CDI – will not be open to the public for the 2015 Gulfstream Park West meet except for racing officials, and that the seven-story structure will be demolished once the meet has concluded.[9] Demolition was completed in October 2016 and The Stronach Group recommended everyone watch and wager at Gulfstream Park.
Physical attributes
The length of the main track is one-mile (1.6km) with 1/4 and 7/8 chutes. Surface is 12-inch sand and marl (clay) base with 4.5 inches of sand and marl cushion. The turf course is 7/8 mile with a 1/4-mile chute. The surface is Tifton #419 Bermuda grass. The stable area has stalls for 450 thoroughbreds plus receiving barn, feed rooms, tack rooms, detention barns, and living quarters.
TV personalites
Ron Nicolleti (1989–2008, 2014–2020)
Caton Bredar (1992–1994)
Todd Schrupp (1991–1998)
Bobby Neuman (1999–2014)
Meredith Gleaves (2008–2010)
Anthony Schweiker (2010–2011)
Pete Aiello (2014–2020)
Chris Griffin (2016–2017)
Acacia Clement (2016–2020)
Jason Blewitt (2017–2020)
Jason Beem (2018–2019)
Jockey colony
Gulfstream Park West's jockey colony is reflective of the diversity of Miami. With the Gulfstream West oval serving as a launching pad for jockeys coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, many jockeys have gained valuable riding experience before success at other racetracks across the country. Top jockeys who started their careers at Calder include Javier and Abel Castellano (Venezuela), Eibar Coa (Venezuela), Rene Douglas (Panama), Shaun Bridgmohan (Jamaica), Edgar Prado (Peru), Pedro Rodriguez (Cuba), Alex Solis (Panama), José Ferrer (Puerto Rico), Jorge Chavez (Peru), José A. Santos (Chile), Cornelio Velásquez (Panama), Manoel Cruz (Brazil), Jacinto Vásquez (Panama-retired) and Eddie Castro (Panama) among others. In addition, Stewart Elliott of Smarty Jones fame and Gary Boulanger (retired) are a few Canadians who led the ranks at Calder early in their careers.
On December 28, 1978, jockey Niconar "Nick" Navarro was killed by a direct lightning strike after completing the second race at Calder Race Course.[10] Navarro had ridden Noble Mischief, and was walking back to the jockey's qarters to rest in time for the fourth race when he was hit by the bolt.[11] According to Jon Roberts, in American Desperado:[12]
At Calder, I had a jockey named Nick Navarro who worked for me. He was one of the good guys. He wouldn't hold horses or charge them or run them on dope. He was very skilled, and when I ran my horses clean, I used Nick.
One day in 1977 [sic] he ran a race for me at Calder. I walked up to him after he finished. He put his hand up to wave, and there was a powerful explosion. A bolt of lightning came out of the sky and hit him.
Multiple news outlets report: the remaining eight races at the track that day were cancelled.[13][14]
Calder Race Course Hall of Fame
The Calder Hall of Fame was created in 1995 to honor those who have made history at Calder Race Course.
Gulfstream Park is a Thoroughbred horse race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States. It is among the most important venues for horse racing in the United States, and is open 365 days a year.
Tampa Bay Downs is an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility located in Westchase in Hillsborough County in the U.S. state of Florida, just outside Tampa. It opened in 1926 under the name Tampa Downs, and has also been known as Sunshine Park and Florida Downs and Turf Club.
Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering company among its portfolio of businesses.
The W. L. McKnight Stakes is an American Grade 3 Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Inaugurated in 1973 at Calder Race Course it remained there through 2013 when the track closed. In 2017 a race condition was changed from being open to horses age three and older to those who were four and older. A race on turf at a distance of a mile and one-half, due to safety concerns it was shifted from the turf course to the main dirt track in 1993, 2005, and 2013.
Rosemary Homeister Jr. is a retired American jockey in Thoroughbred racing.
La Prevoyante (1970–1974) was a Canadian-bred thoroughbred race horse elected to the Racing Halls of Fame in the United States and Canada.
The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The facility is served by the Miami Metrorail at the Hialeah Station at Palm Avenue and East 21st Street.
Eddie Castro is a Panamanian-born jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Javier Castellano is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
John J. Tammaro Jr. was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Eibar Coa Monteverde is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
The Memorial Day Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1971 through 2014 at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida. Held on Memorial Day, it was an ungraded stakes race that had earned Grade III status in 2002–2007 and 2009–2010. The race was open to horses age three and older and was last raced on dirt over a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles.
My Dear Girl was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes In Reality division is the fifth leg of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association (FTBOA) Florida Sire series. It has been run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs since inception. The race was named in honor of the Florida-bred champion stakes winner and sire In Reality who was often referred to as a "sire of sires." The In Reality Stakes has been run in two divisions on two separate occasions in 1983 and 1986.
The Frank Gomez Memorial Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to two-year-horses of either sex that was held annually at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida from 1972 through 2013.
The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Susan's Girl division is a thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park, in Hallandale Beach, Florida, for two-year-old fillies sired by FTBOA registered stallions at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt. It is part of the eleven-race Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association (FTBOA) Florida Sire series of which seven races are hosted by Gulfstream Park and four by Tampa Bay Downs.
The Florida Sire Stakes Desert Vixen division is a thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park, in Hallandale Beach, Florida, for two-year-old fillies by FTBOA registered stallions at a distance of six furlongs on dirt. It is part of the eleven-race Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association (FTBOA) Florida Sire series of which seven races are hosted by Gulfstream Park and four by Tampa Bay Downs.
The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes My Dear Girl division is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park, in Hallandale Beach, Florida for two-year-old fillies by FTBOA registered stallions at a distance of a mile and a sixteenth on dirt. It is part of the eleven-race Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association (FTBOA) Florida Sire series of which seven races are hosted by Gulfstream Park and four by Tampa Bay Downs.
Luis Saez is a Panamanian jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Saez rode Maximum Security to finish first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby but was subsequently disqualified due to interference. The two later won the world's richest race, the $20,000,000 Saudi Cup, in 2020. Saez won his first Breeders' Cup race in 2020 and first American Classic in 2021, both with champion Essential Quality.
Musical Romance was an American National Champion Thoroughbred racemare purchased for $22,000 who is best known for her 2011 win of the $1,000,000 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint hosted that year by Churchill Downs. Ridden by Juan Leyva, she was trained by Bill Kaplan, co-owner with the Pinnacle Racing Stable headed by managing partner Adam Lazarus.
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