Certainly Beats Shoveling Snow
January 12th, 2011By Jude T. Feld
While my first trip to Florida didn’t produce a trophy for Battle of Hastings due to a very rough trip, it wasn’t a total bust either. I have come to love the “new” Gulfstream Park. With five inches of snow in Kentucky, I really didn’t get too upset when my plane home was canceled and I had to stay an extra day. There has been a revolving door of upper management at GP for the last few years, so each visit brings something a little different. Here are my notes on this initial excursion:
Gulfstream Park continues to impress.
There is a lot of energy there. People are having fun. The racing is good. The food is delicious. The mall is a great diversion. The casino is packed. Obviously, “the Stronach vision†works here.
A message to Frank:
Just when you’ve got a good thing going, you stir the pot with this racing date bullshit. Remember, “The hogs get slaughtered.â€
Good news for horsemen!
The gals that staff the paymasters office and the licensing bureau are pleasant, efficient and a joy to work with. At so many tracks these positions are occupied by cranky people who act like they are doing you a favor to allow your participation in the sport. These ladies were welcoming and helpful – a racing rarity.
Great news for players!
Popular Florida handicapper Ron Nicoletti is back on television with his selections and has top-notch paddock reporter Jessica Pacheco at his side. Local fans are loving it and simulcast players should be happy too.
The Bobby Frankel Memorial “He’s a fucking moron.†Award of the month
Goes to the guy in charge of the bars at Gulfstream Park who removed Appleton’s Rum from the offerings. For a place frequented by more Jamaicans than a Bob Marley birthday party, he’s really missed the boat. All you get now is those “three little birds,†Bacardi, Captain Morgan and Malibu. Does he think he’s running a sorority house? It’s a racetrack Mon!
Florida beaches are really nice.
There is plenty of cheap parking. All the lifeguard stations are manned and there is plenty of room to spread out in Hollywood. The shore may not be as pristine as Del Mar, but there are no worries about the dreaded “beach putz†kicking sand on your stuff or parking his ass to block your ocean view.
Hermes makes a $525 beach towel.
Really? Half a yard for something you are going to get full of sand and suntan oil? If I was gonna spring for that, I would want the multitude of twisted tufts of terrycloth to support the ever so curvy frame of Scarlett Johansson, whilst I laid out my soft and fluffy Fieldcrest bath sheet secured at Target for the everyday low price of $19.99.
Upper Deck Sports Bar is a super place to hang.
Great staff…excellent food…and almost any game you wanna watch. And…you can even have a cigar out on the deck and never miss a play. Fantastic! (Don’t miss the locally caught, smoked amberjack fish dip!)
Bring back the Appletons!
