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All bets are on for Preakness at Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track
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After a two-week scare, the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track in Bonita Springs is allowed to simulcast the Preakness Stakes from Maryland on Saturday and take bets on that race.
"It is our third biggest horse day of the year, so it was important it all got worked out," said Larry Baldwin, general manager at Naples-Fort Myers.
Because of a dispute between the Calder Race Course in Miami and the Florida Horseman's Benevolent & Protective Association, the Maryland race course that hosts the Preakness was not going to allow any Florida horse and dog tracks to simulcast the race or take bets on it.
"We received numerous calls, and we were trying to make sure we got it," Baldwin said.
Calder serves as the simulcast signal rallying point for all of Florida, so by cutting off the signal to that Miami horse track, the race could not be simulcast at all in Florida. The dispute did not effect the Kentucky Derby, though, because the Tampa Bay Downs horse track was still operating at that time and Naples-Fort Myers got the signal from there.
The Preakness is the second of the three races of races for the Triple Crown. Big Brown won the first leg, the Kentucky Derby, and is a heavy favorite to win the race at Pimlico race course on Saturday.
The dispute between Calder and Florida Horseman's stems from proceeds from slot machines going into the racing purses at the track. The agreement to broadcast the Preakness does not solve the dispute but does allow the state to simulcast a race where $4.6 million was bet in Florida last year.
In exchange for being able to simulcast the races from Pimlico for Friday and Saturday, the Calder Race Course -- which is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc., the company that owns the track where the Kentucky Derby is run -- had to agree to put the percentage from Preakness bets that would normally go to racing purses into an escrow account.
"These races were too important not to get out to the rest of the state," said Michele Blanco, Calder spokeswoman. "It is just for those two days, as there are a lot of races at Pimlico for those two days."
In addition to the Preakness Stakes, other races include the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, the Pimlico Special and the Dixie Stakes.
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When is the race?
Wake up Naples Daily News and remember the 5 W's in writing.
Who, what, where, when , why and how?
#1 Posted by Jadip811 on May 16, 2008 at 5:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Saturday.
And YES, the Dog Track SHOULD remain OPEN.
#2 Posted by RockfordGrad on May 16, 2008 at 9:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Death Track
#3 Posted by amused on May 16, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Come lose your money! See dogs and horses lose their lives for your enteratinment. It's another fun day of of cruelty, misery and loss for all at "Losers" dog track on the corner of Old 41 and Bonita Beach Road. Come hang out with the losers.
#4 Posted by Bramble on May 16, 2008 at 2:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bramble, your discription of the place sounds good to me.
#5 Posted by RockfordGrad on May 16, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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