Halsey Minor, a technology entrepreneur who grew up in Virginia horse country near Charlottesville, said he believes the horse racing industry has been its own worst enemy and he has an idea about how to fix it.
Minor wants nothing to do with slot machines, shopping malls, movie theaters or anything else that doesn't relate directly to the horse and its entourage - trainer, owner and jockey.
And Minor thinks horse racing should feel the same way.
"I have been appalled at the lack of fan support and the industry's failure to bring fans back into live racing," he said. "Many believe if you watch racing on the Internet or TV, that's good enough because people are betting. ... I want people to want to come to the racetrack for the racing."
The son of a Baltimore native, Minor, 43, has been looking for a way into the business without getting mired in the industry's institutions. And the multimillionaire said he believes he has found it in historic and decaying Hialeah Park in suburban Miami, a track that opened as an industry showplace in 1925 but has not held a race since May 22, 2001.
Minor wants to restore it and put his personal ideas to the test. Minor and Hialeah owner John Brunetti have agreed to meet in the next week to discuss a possible sale. Estimates for restoring the track range from $25 million to $30 million, and just how much Minor would have to pay to acquire the property is unclear. A year ago, in a formal appraisal, the property was valued at more than $40 million.
He will not have slots or shopping malls. He will have shorter intervals between races, and he will have a track design that will put people closer to the horses.
"I want to direct 100 percent of the focus on the horses, on live racing," he said. "Human beings are capable of cheering, caring and falling in love with the horse, as witnessed by the Triple Crown. But no one has given fans a chance to show they care."
Last year, Minor spent $15.3 million to buy the historic Carter's Grove Plantation outside Williamsburg with the intent of building it into a breeding farm for his future stallions. He owns two broodmares, one foul, two yearlings and three horses who are racing, including the filly Dream Rush and 3-year-old Fierce Wind, who was on the Kentucky Derby trail last spring until a bleeding incident in the Florida Derby sidelined him.
