GP West Meet Resumes Wednesday

Gulfstream Park West Meet Resumes Wednesday

The Gulfstream Park West meet will resume on Wednesday with eight races and first post of 1:15 p.m.

Five of those races are scheduled for turf, and horsemen and fans are hopeful for a return to that surface in the meet being held at Calder Casino.

Following late morning rain, meet sponsor Gulfstream Park this past Saturday and Sunday moved all scheduled-for-turf races to the dirt track that was listed as sloppy and was sealed.

The Weather Channel forecast through Wednesday afternoon is for a 20 percent or less chance of rain in and around Miami Gardens where Calder is located.

On Wednesday there will be a new pool in the Rainbow 6, on races three through  eight.

That will follow two straight race days, Saturday and Sunday, when there was just one ticket with the winners of all six Rainbow 6 races.

In Wednesday's first race there will be a carryover of $1,564.78 on the Super  HI-5 which requires picking the first five finishers in correct order. It is a $1 minimum bet with no consolation payoffs.

The Wednesday card is the first day of a regular five-day Wednesday-to-Sunday live racing cycle for the GP West meet. First post is 1:15 p.m. each day unless otherwise noted.

*Gulfstream has not decided whether it will reschedule three GP West race dates that it cancelled because of Hurricane Matthew.

The GP West meet opened on Saturday Oct. 10, after being scheduled to open Wednesday Oct. 7.

On Tuesday Oct. 6 Gulfstream cancelled the first three GP West race dates after Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for the entire state.

Under Florida law, a Florida pari-mutuel that cancels a race card can be subject to a fine or license suspension unless, the law states, “such failure was the direct result of fire, strike, war, or other disaster or event beyond the ability of the permitholder to control.”

A hurricane certainly fits the bill as an “event beyond control,” thus meaning that Gulfstream will not be required to reschedule the race dates.

The GP West meet will end Nov. 27. It was originally scheduled for 40 days. 

That is the minimum number of race dates needed for Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), Calder’s parent, to retain the license for the casino at Calder.

However, the Florida DPMW is often flexible on Gulfstream-Calder issues.  Thus there is a strong chance that GP West will be allowed to run 37 days.

The Gulfstream Park championship meet will begin Dec. 3.
 -- Jim Freer