Closing Day at Hialeah Park

A chilly day in South Florida greeted a big crowd at horse racing's most beautiful venue.  Four stakes races for quarter horses from 300 to 1000 yards and the highlight for many was the South Florida Quarter Horse Derby.

The Derby matched the 10 fastest qualifiers from races on January 26, 2013 and the winner in a big upset was Habits Secret who lit up the board paying $28.40 for a deuce.  The Sailfish "Marathon" went to Classy Cora.  $24.80 was the reward for her backers in the win pool.  Mr. Commando won the Invitational and he was the biggest long shot of the day paying $48 and change for dos pesos.

I was not alone in finding the winner in the stakes races today,  But I saved my best for last and cashed the last superfecta of the 2012-13 meet.  A small profit for the day, after beer, program and a hot dog.

The crowd which was a little over 5,000 showed up in their winter finest as the temperature barely got to 60 degrees.  Next year the "New Hialeah Park" will feature about 800 slot machines, poker and 40 days of quarter horse racing, and some really beautiful weather, at a really beautiful place.

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