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By GREG MELIKOV
First, Churchill Downs bought Calder Race Course for $86 million. Then Frank Stronach agreed to purchase Gulfstream Park for $95 million. Is Hialeah Park next? Could be. Even before news of the Gulfstream announcement died down, Stronach was saying he'd like to buy Hialeah and turn it into a training track. And he admitted he'd like to purchase Monmouth Park. It looks like the beginning of Track Wars. In this corner, Churchill Downs Inc., with Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park, Calder and Ellis Park. In this corner, Stronach's Magna Venture, with Santa Anita and Gulfstream. At stake: the simulcast championship of North America. There are fears in some circles nationwide that both contenders might raise the prices for their simulcast signals as their empires grow. After the millennium, Track Wars should heat up in South Florida, reminiscent of those battles for the prime winter racing dates between the up-and-coming Gulfstream and the declining king-of-the-hill Hialeah. The winner less than two decades ago was Gulfstream. Last week, Stronach announced he'd like for Gulfstream expand its meeting, opening maybe in November instead of early January. That would go head-to-head with the Tropical at Calder meeting. Don't bet on it until after a tax penalty in Florida's thoroughbred racing law that protects Hialeah's spring dates expires in 2001. If Gulfstream would hold live racing after March 16, the state's tax on its handle would soar from 2 percent to 4.4 percent. Of course, if either Stronach or Churchill buys Hialeah, that would make for a very interesting scenario. Don't bet against it.
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