And They're Off

Tomorrow, the gates open at historic Churchill Downs for the annual Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby.

The scene is spectacular: big money, celebrities galore, a packed racetrack and millions of viewers watching and betting.

The setting itself is glamorous as well. Churchill Downs has recently undertaken a massive renovation project, including the construction of 66 premium suites east of the famed Twin Spires, the creation of a large club and meeting space and a sprucing up of the first- and second-floor Jockey Club and first floor of the grandstand.

Many other storied racetracks across the country, however, have not been as lucky.

Hard Times

In the 1740s, Maryland governor Sam Ogle imported thoroughbreds to the colony and formed the Maryland Jockey Club, the oldest sporting organization in the U.S. Many fans saw Baltimore's historic Pimlico racetrack while watching the movie Seabiscuit, based on the best-selling book.

Behind the pageantry of these races, however, is an industry that is struggling. Many racetracks have been either demolished or are on life support, despite the fact that they are among the most historic structures in American sports, equal in stature to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.

Longacres in Seattle is now a Boeing office complex; Aksarben (Nebraska spelled backwards) in Omaha is part of a college campus; and Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, N.J., has been redeveloped as a residential and office complex. And even Seabiscuit might not recognize Pimlico, with its leaking roof. Indeed, owner Magna Entertainment has threatened to move the famous Preakness race out of Maryland unless slot monies are made available to improve the track.

The poster child for threatened racetracks is Miami's now-abandoned Hialeah Park.

Hialeah, which opened in 1925, was once a prime destination for the moneyed set, as trains from Palm Beach brought the Vanderbilts and other old-money families straight to the action.

Current owner John Brunetti does not hold much hope that racing will ever return to Hialeah, even though he strived to keep it open for much of the past decade. The track is situated on more than 300 acres -- ideal real estate for urban commercial development.