Hazel Park Raceway Has Closed

[dtowncitylover]

Such a sad day. I enjoyed a couple of fun nights there watching the races and drinking cheap beer.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...sed/488940002/

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I'm sorry for those that will lose their jobs. But as someone who has seen more than one relative destroy their life betting on the ponies, and knowing how cruel the industry is to horses, I am a little delighted in this. I hope something great is developed there.

[Zacha341]

The whole infrastructure was worn and dated. I had the opportunity to see the grounds and facilities working their as a temp for a fundraising walk event a few years back.

[dtowncitylover]

I'm sorry for those that will lose their jobs. But as someone who has seen more than one relative destroy their life betting on the ponies, and knowing how cruel the industry is to horses, I am a little delighted in this. I hope something great is developed there.

Thank you for that reminder, this is true. I was there with people who were much more interested in the racing and betting than me. It was good for the beer and the people watching of the best of Hazel Park society.

I hope whatever is developed there is meaningful for a city that is quickly becoming the spill-over Ferndale/Royal Oak.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I'm sorry for those that will lose their jobs. But as someone who has seen more than one relative destroy their life betting on the ponies, and knowing how cruel the industry is to horses, I am a little delighted in this. I hope something great is developed there.

They'll probably put another strip mall there, SMH.

[douglasm]

Does this mean the last horse track [[except for county fairs) in Michigan is Northville Downs?

[Uncledave54]

Does this mean the last horse track [[except for county fairs) in Michigan is Northville Downs?

Yep....sad.

[MikeM]

Huh, like a lot of celebrities who you thought were already dead, I thought that place closed a decade ago.

[detroitsgwenivere]

If redeveloped, I wonder where the city is now going to host their annual fireworks. Those grounds are bursting at the seams with families every year.

[EastsideAl]

Like MikeM, I didn't realize the place was still open. The place looked old and worn and sad [[as did many of the patrons) years ago when I used to go there with my step-grandfather and my uncle to watch them waste money trying to work their "foolproof systems" for beating the odds.

[ct_alum]

Very early in my career I worked for a guy who was heavily into racing at Hazel Park. One day he came into the shop and told me to bet my paycheck on a particular horse as the "fix was in", and surprise, surprise, the horse won. Enough said about Hazel Park and horse racing in general.

[jcole]

I'm sorry for those that will lose their jobs. But as someone who has seen more than one relative destroy their life betting on the ponies, and knowing how cruel the industry is to horses, I am a little delighted in this. I hope something great is developed there.

You that closing the facility isn't going to change anything about the lives of those betting on the ponies; they'll just find something else to bet on, just like one bar closing won't "cure" an alcoholic

[CassTechGrad]

I used to go with some friends back in the 1960's. I don't know why I still have this old ticket from June, 1966, except that maybe it's a winner that I was going to cash-in and forgot. Is it too late??????

[Maof]

Terrible what went down yesterday for the employees. Especially this gentleman that has worked there since high school.


http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/loca...l-park-raceway

[mikeg19]

Very strange that as little as a few days ago the track was posting updates and promoting the upcoming race season.

[jcole]

Very strange that as little as a few days ago the track was posting updates and promoting the upcoming race season.

My guess is they got a lucrative offer and decided to close before the season started rather than having to open and finish the season. Screwed the employees but they're getting theirs

[Honky Tonk]

My guess is they got a lucrative offer and decided to close before the season started rather than having to open and finish the season. Screwed the employees but they're getting theirs

I can't help wondering if the racetrack buyout was casino backed. Eliminate the competition.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Could have been a factor... Stranger things have happening.

The big three casino's aren't banging it as they once were I'd imagine. Recall all those radio spots and tv commercials when they first hit?

[Zacha341]

Hah. I still have a couple of metal tokens from the dead-beat Detroit casinos before they went paper ticket cash out! Wonder if they are still usable too?

I used to go with some friends back in the 1960's. I don't know why I still have this old ticket from June, 1966, except that maybe it's a winner that I was going to cash-in and forgot. Is it too late??????

[jcole]

I can't help wondering if the racetrack buyout was casino backed. Eliminate the competition.

The owners have an offer, apparently from the same group that they sold a lot of their land to a few years ago. Tri-County built a massive warehouse that houses LG and Amazon and another company. Rumor has it that they will build another huge warehouse there with parking. So I doubt it's casino backed.

[Hypestyles]

so what will replace the race track grounds?

[jcole]

As I said above, rumor has it that they will be selling to the same group that they sold acreage to earlier, who will build another warehouse or use the land for parking, etc. The warehouse houses LG and Amazon shipping facility now.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...d-other-assets

so what will replace the race track grounds?

[Bham1982]

Warehouse space is extremely hot right now.

Warehouses actually now trade for much more per sf than office space, due to demand from online retail users like Amazon. In some parts of the country, like Northern NJ [[close to Manhattan) or parts of LA basin, warehouse properties trade for insane prices, because such intense consumer demand in dense areas.

[bust]

I'm sorry for those that will lose their jobs. But as someone who has seen more than one relative destroy their life betting on the ponies, and knowing how cruel the industry is to horses, I am a little delighted in this. I hope something great is developed there.

I went twice with a friend whose dad owned a horse. Once for a race. Before that for a "show" where horses paraded in a circle and were judged for their training and physical characteristics.

During the race, the horse was among the leaders and had a chance until the stretch, when suddenly it fell back, writhing in pain. It didn't finish. The strain of its effort had caused it to "burst a lung", which I learned that day is something thoroughbreds can be susceptible to as the result of breeding for speed. That was its last day. Cruel indeed.

I think it took third place in the horse show. The most memorable part, we kids thought it was hilarious: one of the horses was, er, particularly alert during the competition. Swinging like a pendulum almost scraping the dirt the entire time. We couldn't believe it: that one took the blue ribbon. What I learned that day: what "hung like a horse" means.

[Maof]

This may have added fuel to the fire too...

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...firm/84310684/