No thoroughbred horse racing in Michigan in 2011: Pinnacle gives up it license

I've been there just once or twice, but thought it was a cool place with potential to be a really neat facility. The economy and a litany of other woes [[whoa!) have hampered it.

Pinnacle Race Course gives up 2011 horse-racing license

By Bill Shea
Financially struggling Pinnacle Race Course has voluntarily surrendered to the state its 2011 license for live thoroughbred horse racing and its simulcast permit, the track’s co-owner said this morning. “We’re working on getting this straightened out,” said Lisa Campbell, who co-owns the Huron Township track with her husband, former Ann Arbor banker Jerry Campbell. “It was getting us deeper in debt. We’ve lost a lot of money, but we do not intend to walk away from this venture.”
The Michigan Gaming Control Board accepted Pinnacle’s license and permit surrender Wednesday.
Campbell said they intend to file an application by the Sept. 30 deadline for 2012 live and simulcast racing permits. She also said they’ve invested about $35 million in Pinnacle, which opened in 2008 and is the state’s lone thoroughbred track.
Pinnacle closed in November, ending its simulcast wagering and food service because not enough revenue was generated to cover costs. Plans were to reopen in January, and then July, but the decision was made recently to give up on 2011 and reorganize for 2012.
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They gambled that they would be able to get slots along with the horse racing and lost. Only a gambler would have thought this was a wise investment after watching most of Michigan's tracks shut down.

Same in Florida. It is only poker, blackjack, and other games of chance that are keeping the horse tracks, dog tracks, and jai alai fontons going. Not enough people want to wager on live action anymore.

Frank Stronach, billionaire founder of Magna, the Canadian auto parts giant, recently received about a billion dollars in cash and stock as severance for giving up control of the company. He was proposing to build that new track near the airport. An article in the Toronto Star today stated he wants to spend a lot of his retirement rebuilding the horse racing industry in North America. Canadian tracks have all been allowed to install slots. Otherwise, I agree it's a dying breed [[pun intended).