Be Very Afraid New York race fans (969 Views)
Posted by:
slakboy (IP Logged)
Date: May 17, 2004 12:35PM
From Cindy Adams (of all places): Stronach wants to turn "old and run down" Belmont into a mall.
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/cindy.htm
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Smarty Jones wasn't the only winning smarty at the Preakness. In the clubhouse I sat with Frank Stronach, founder/chairman of Magna Entertainment, America's leading track owner. His turf includes Pimlico. Said Stronach:
"New York should be the center of racing. Not Kentucky or anyplace else. New York. To make that happen I am prepared to invest a billion dollars."
I right away ordered seconds on the Maryland crab cakes.
"I have 15 tracks - Gulfstream, Pimlico, Santa Anita. Your Belmont is old and run down, built back when people had no choice about what to put up. I want to create a whole new facility. A major entertainment destination center for the entire family. Track for the father, mall for the mother, games for the kids, adjacent Vegas-style hotel with big name concerts. And I'll build up the back end. Stables. Dorms. Housing. Training center for the people."
Stronach's from Austria. "Same town as Schwarzenegger." But, trust me, he speaks better. He's also handsomer. He lives in Canada. His beautiful daughter Belinda came within a blonde hair of becoming prime minister, and creates media copy throughout North America. In '62 he bought his first horse. He now employs 80,000 people. Smarty Jones should only keep running this good.
"With all my tracks I could have a constant program going. Everything linked together. New York, with the greatest population, should be its center. The government has to make up its mind. A new licensing process is coming due in two years. They should just put it out for tender."
The man's right. Then, maybe, we might even have New York steak and New York cheesecake on the lunch menu at Pimlico.