At the Calder Race Course in Miami Dade it is possible to watch and wager on Latin American races from Argentina and Chile as well as from around the US but for nearly forty years Calder has been presenting thoroughbred racing. At the beginning of 1999 the one-mile dirt track and 7-furlong turf course and accompanying facilities were bought by Churchill Downs Inc. and in 2004 a card room was opened. .Last year Calder reduced daily purses and stake races due to lower than anticipated business levels, partly blamed on the poor economy.

In the company’s 2008 results report the increase in net revenues for continuing operations was offset by decreased revenues at Calder. President and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Evans said, “We continue to work through the design, planning, permitting and licensing processes for the construction of an up-to-2,000 slot machine facility at Calder. We currently plan to build a stand-alone, approximately 100,000 square-foot facility that we hope to open prior to the holidays in 2009 if all goes according to schedule. Including machine acquisition, we plan to invest approximately $85 million in this project.”

The 2009 date will come and go but today Calder will break ground on its project. The new casino will offer 1,225 slot machines, poker and three restaurants. Company officials hope that an aggressive construction schedule will have the facility open by January 2010. An estimated 300 jobs will be created and the addition of slot machines at the track should provide a welcome boost to revenues. (E-06.03.09)

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