The Ile Camera
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
And they're off! Track opens today
By Scott Salowich, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: July 18, 2008
The new Pinnacle Race Course in New Boston won't open its gates to horse racing fans until this afternoon, but the early reviews are already in.
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"It's a miracle," said longtime Detroit area horseman James Jackson. "They pulled the rug out from under all of us when they closed (the Detroit Race Course), so coming back home to a place like this is a lifetime dream for me.
"The barns are excellent, the track is going to be one of the best in the country and I think they should be in line to host the Breeders' Cup here someday."
Jackson, who trains horses with his wife, Laura, has been in the business for 40 years and is a familiar name to the railbirds who once frequented the old Ladbroke Detroit Race Course in Livonia.
Since it closed in 1998, he has stabled horses at tracks like Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Kentucky, but he's based in Fowlerville and always hoped that thoroughbred racing would return to southeast Michigan.
Plans and proposals to bring it back have come and gone over the years, but when Jerry and Lisa Campbell announced that they would be ready to race this summer, Jackson sprung into action.
"When I heard they were going to put up a track, I went to Thistledown to get ready and now, here we are," he said.
As of Monday, Jackson had 39 horses in the stalls at Pinnacle, which is a sizable percentage of the approximately 250 that began arriving on the grounds just the day before.
"Sunday was a great day around here," said Jeff Pfeifer, the project manager for contractor Roncelli Inc. "We've been working 24-7 for the past few months and just to see the horses arrive on the site was quite a milestone.
"I'd never been to a track in my life until we started building this one, but now being here with the horses and the people around them is like a payoff for all the work we've done."
In the roughly 100 days since the groundbreaking ceremony at the site, two county drains had to be re-routed and the land had to be elevated some 14 feet — all before a single nail was driven.
There now is a temporary grandstand for fans, an elevated box for stewards and judges at the finish line, enough stalls to accommodate 600 horses and a clubhouse with full bar and restaurant facilities, along with over 100 televisions that will deliver live racing from across the country 12 hours a day, 364 days a year.
Several rows of desks have also been set up in the clubhouse, each with its own personal monitor that comes equipped with a "swipe" bar for credit cards that will allow players to place bets from their seats; although there also will be tellers on hand for those who prefer to make their plays face-to-face.
Just four days before the opener, dust was flying, the parking lots still hadn't been paved, the starting gates were propped up next to some trailers down the street and the finishing touches were still being put on the track itself, which was designed by Joe King, internationally acclaimed as one of the best in the business.
Pfeifer said all those things would be in place by post time, 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Pinnacle will host 63 race days this year with construction continuing as Phase 1 of the building plan is completed and Phase 2 begins.
When everything is finished, Pinnacle will feature a three-story, 60,000-square-foot clubhouse that includes private suites and boxes, a 4,000-seat grandstand, a 12,000-square-foot corporate pavilion, an 8,000-square-foot covered patio, 30 barns, quarters for grooms and jockeys and 1,200 horse stalls.
Jackson's notion of hosting the Breeders' Cup in New Boston someday might be a bit beyond the pale, but the finished product will be impressive.
"We'll have the best horse racing venue Michigan has ever seen," said Pinnacle Vice President of Sales and Marketing Russ Gregory. "We're never going to be a Churchill Downs or Arlington Park (Illinois), but the facility will be top-notch and the track itself will be world-class."
Gregory also noted that things only will get better if political issues such as allowing horse tracks to install slot machines and the legalization of off-track betting are resolved.
"We've hitched our wagon to everybody else who is working behind the scenes to get the industry out of the 18th century and into the 21st century in Michigan," Gregory added.
"Alternative revenue is a big option for us and it will largely determine whether we are wildly successful here, or just marginally successful."
In the meantime, admission is free and fans have less than 3,000 minutes to post for Friday's first race.
Good luck and, as always, check all tickets before leaving the window.
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