Calder Casino is a casino located in Miami Gardens, Florida. It includes slots, electronic table games, and bingo.
The casino opened in 2010 and features a gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines, including video
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, as well as electronic
roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
and
blackjack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
. Live entertainment can be found at Calder Casino on a weekly basis as well as a popular ladies night.
A player's club, VIP lounge, and dining options such as The Buffet, Lucky's Restaurant and Center Bar can all be found at the location. It is a non-smoking casino, however the Backyard Casino, South Florida's newest and largest smoking friendly open-air casino, opened at Calder Casino on May 19, 2018. The Backyard Casino at Calder hosts 75 games.
Calder's horse racing operations were leased to the
Stronach Group
Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core.Gulfstream Park, in 2014. Since then, Calder's meet has been named Gulfstream Park West. Calder Casino is a wholly owned property of Churchill Downs Incorporated and has kept its original name.
History
In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the
Florida Legislature
The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...
approved a bill allowing for it. Prior to this time, a fall meet was held at
Tropical Park Race Track
Tropical Park Race Track was a horse racing facility built on at the current intersection of Bird Road and the Palmetto Expressway in Southwest Dade Miami part of metropolitan Miami, Florida and what is now Olympia Heights. The race track was ...
Hialeah Park
The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida, Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenu ...
, and Gulfstream Park in Broward County. In 1970, Stephen Calder received a permit for summertime racing but the meet was run at Tropical Park because construction was not complete at Calder. On May 6, 1971 Calder Race Course held its first day of racing. When William L. McKnight became the new owner of Tropical Park, he stated his intentions of closing the track and switching the dates to the Calder track, of which he was one of the principal investors. Racing ceased at Tropical Park in 1972.
The 1980s brought about renovations and expansions and two purchases. The first purchase was by
Bertram R. Firestone
Bertram Robert Firestone (August 18, 1931 – July 12, 2021) and Diana Johnson Firestone (born January 26, 1932) of Newstead Farm in Upperville, Virginia were major owner/breeders of Thoroughbred equestrian and flat racing horses. They were voted t ...
and the second was by Kawasaki Leasings, Inc. In 1992 the "Festival of the Sun" was introduced. By 1997, simulcasting was introduced (so bets could be placed at Calder on races from other tracks). The handle increased significantly; the track increased purses. In January 1999, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) purchased Calder Race Course for approximately $86 million. In the first years of the new century the track introduced the "Florida Million" and the "Summit of Speed".
Calder's Summit of Speed has produced several Breeders' Cup champions and Eclipse Award winners since its start in 2000. (The Eclipse award is the highest honor bestowed in American racing). In its short history, the Summit of Speed attracted some of the country's top sprinters, including
Cajun Beat
Cajun Beat (March 26, 2000 – January 18, 2020) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2003 Breeders' Cup Sprint at 25–1. Owned by Padua Stables
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' ...
and Orientate who both went on to win Breeders' Cup Sprint championship races (Orientate 2002, Cajun Beat 2003). In 2005,
Lost in the Fog
Lost in the Fog (February 4, 2002 – September 17, 2006) was an American thoroughbred race horse. He won his first 10 starts (including two Breeders' Cup stakes), 11 of his 14 lifetime starts across the country, and career earnings of $978,099. ...
won at Calder, although was later defeated in the Breeders' Cup. The Summit of Speed turned out to be the single biggest day in the history of Calder. In 2004, over $10.8 million was wagered on the event.
It was previously in the Lake Lucerne census-designated place. – Page 1 an 2 – Compare this map to the address of the casino. In 2003, the unincorporated area where Calder is located became the City of Miami Gardens, the third-largest city in Miami-Dade County.
On June 4, 2005, jockey Eddie Castro set the North American record for the most wins in a day at one track, winning 9 races at Calder.
The world record for the most spent on a Thoroughbred at sale took place at Calder in 2006 when a two-year-old horse sold for $16 million. The horse was later named
The Green Monkey
The Green Monkey (February 4, 2004 – May 2018) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. A descendant of both Northern Dancer and Secretariat, The Green Monkey was sold in 2006 as a two-year-old colt for the highest price ever paid at auction f ...
.
In late 2009, Calder changed its official name to Calder Casino & Race Course. The grand opening of the Calder Casino was celebrated in January 2010.
On August 24, 2013, jockey Antonio A. Gallardo set the record for the most stakes wins in a day and in a row, winning 4 consecutive stake races in the Juvenile Showcase.
After head-to-head racing between Calder and nearby Gulfstream Park in 2013 and 2014, CDI and the Stronach Group announced an agreement where the Stronach Group would manage Calder's racing operations, and CDI would operate the Calder Casino. After the agreement, Gulfstream announced it would operate a two-month meet at Calder in the fall under the name Gulfstream Park West. Under the changes, the track's code for official racing programs was changed from CRC to GPW.
In April 2015, CDI demolished approximately 1,400 stalls in an area marked for non-racing commercial re-development. In July 2015, Gulfstream Park was informed that the Calder grandstand – owned by CDI – will not be open to the public for the 2015 Gulfstream Park West meet except for racing officials, and that the seven-story structure will be demolished once the meet has concluded. Demolition was completed in October 2016 and The Stronach Group recommended everyone watch and wager at Gulfstream Park.
Physical attributes
The length of the main track is one-mile (1.6 km) with 1/4 and 7/8 chutes. Surface is 12-inch sand and marl (clay) base with 4.5 inches of sand and marl cushion. The turf course is 7/8 mile with a 1/4-mile chute. The surface is Tifton #419 Bermuda grass. The stable area has stalls for 450 thoroughbreds plus receiving barn, feed rooms, tack rooms, detention barns, and living quarters.
TV personalites
* Ron Nicolleti (1989–2008, 2014–2020)
* Caton Bredar (1992–1994)
* Todd Schrupp (1991–1998)
* Bobby Neuman (1999–2014)
* Meredith Gleaves (2008–2010)
* Anthony Schweiker (2010–2011)
* Pete Aiello (2014–2020)
* Chris Griffin (2016–2017)
* Acacia Clement (2016–2020)
* Jason Blewitt (2017–2020)
* Jason Beem (2018–2019)
Jockey colony
Gulfstream Park West's jockey colony is reflective of the diversity of Miami. With the Gulfstream West oval serving as a launching pad for jockeys coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, many jockeys have gained valuable riding experience before success at other racetracks across the country. Top jockeys who started their careers at Calder include Javier and Abel Castellano (Venezuela),
Eibar Coa
Eibar Coa Monteverde (born February 15, in Venezuela) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Coa was born and raised in Venezuela
A five-time Judo Champion in his teens, He attended jockey school from 1989 to 1991 then began his pr ...
Shaun Bridgmohan
Shaun Xavier Bridgmohan (born June 24, 1979 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
At age thirteen, Bridgmohan's family emigrated to the United States, settling in South Florida where he developed an interes ...
(Jamaica), Edgar Prado (Peru), Pedro Rodriguez (Cuba),
Alex Solis
Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964) is a jockey based in the United States. He lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He got his big break and his first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preaknes ...
(Panama), José Ferrer (Puerto Rico), Jorge Chavez (Peru),
José A. Santos
José Adeón Santos León (born April 26, 1961, in Concepción, Chile) is a retired Chilean thoroughbred jockey who has been honored by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in the United States.
Career
Jose Santos first raced horses ...
(Chile),
Cornelio Velásquez
Cornelio H. Velásquez (born September 28, 1968, in Panama City, Panama) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He was introduced to horse racing at age fifteen by trainer Carlos Salazar Guardia in his native Panama and enrolled in th ...
(Panama), Manoel Cruz (Brazil), Jacinto Vásquez (Panama-retired) and Eddie Castro (Panama) among others. In addition,
Stewart Elliott
Stewart Elliott (born March 1, 1965) is an American thoroughbred jockey.
Elliott was born, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in horse racing; his father was a jockey for many years, his mother rode show horses and was a riding instructor ...
Gary Boulanger
Gary Dale Boulanger (born November 19, 1967) is a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and trainer who competed in his native Canada and the United States.
Born in Drayton Valley, Alberta, Canada, Boulanger began his career in 1987 at Tampa Bay Downs ...
(retired) are a few Canadians who led the ranks at Calder early in their careers.
Winners of the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program honoring Champions in numerous horse racing categories. This article lists the annual winn ...
that hailed from Gulfstream West when they won – Rosemary Homeister (1992), Phil Teator (1997), Shaun Bridgemohan (1998) and Eddie Castro (2003). Jockeys whose careers started at Calder and went on to
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor for jockeys first awarded in 1971. Part of the Eclipse Awards program, it is awarded annually.
In 1995, Russell Baze was honored with the Eclipse Special Award ...
Mike E. Smith
Michael Earl Smith (born August 10, 1965) is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. Thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003, and has won the ...
(1993), José A. Santos (1988).
On December 28, 1978, jockey Niconar "Nick" Navarro was killed by a direct lightning strike after completing the second race at Calder Race Course. According to Jon Roberts, in ''
American Desperado
''American Desperado'' is a 2011 book written by journalist Evan Wright and drug smuggler Jon Roberts, a subject of the 2006 documentary '' Cocaine Cowboys''.
Synopsis
''American Desperado'' is the reminiscences of Jon Roberts (born John ...
'':
:At Calder, I had a jockey named Nick Navarro who worked for me. He was one of the good guys. He wouldn't hold horses or charge them or run them on dope. He was very skilled, and when I ran my horses clean, I used Nick.
:One day in 1977 iche ran a race for me at Calder. I walked up to him after he finished. He put his hand up to wave, and there was a powerful explosion. A bolt of lightning came out of the sky and hit him.
Multiple news outlets report: the remaining eight races at the track that day were cancelled.
Calder Race Course Hall of Fame
The Calder Hall of Fame was created in 1995 to honor those who have made history at Calder Race Course.
Inductees include:
* Princess Rooney (1995)
* Spend A Buck (1995)
* Frank Gomez (1995)
* Stanley Hough (1995)
*
Gene St. Leon
Gene St. Leon (born c. 1955 in Hutchinson, Kansas) is a retired Eclipse Award, Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
In 1971 he was among the recipients of the newly created Eclipse Award program when he was voted that year's Ecli ...
(1995)
*
Fred W. Hooper
Fred William Hooper (October 6, 1897 – August 4, 2000) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. He was a member of The Jockey Club, an honorary director of the Breeders' Cup, and one of the founders of the Thoroughbred Owners ...
Mike Gonzalez
Michael Vela Gonzalez (born May 23, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Mil ...
(2001)
*
Alex Solis
Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964) is a jockey based in the United States. He lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He got his big break and his first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preaknes ...
Martin D. Wolfson
Martin "Marty" D. Wolfson (born August 3, 1951) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He embarked on a professional training career in the early 1970s.
Early life
He is the son of Louis Wolfson, owner of Florida's Harbor View Farm who ...
(2003)
*
Eibar Coa
Eibar Coa Monteverde (born February 15, in Venezuela) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Coa was born and raised in Venezuela
A five-time Judo Champion in his teens, He attended jockey school from 1989 to 1991 then began his pr ...
Edward Plesa Jr.
Edward "Eddie" Plesa Jr. (born April 25, 1949, in Seattle, Washington) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and owner. The son of jockey and trainer Edward Plesa Sr., he is married to Laurie and has three children including Luke, Kyle, and Kelsey ...