NEWS
Minor files lawsuit against Brunetti
Posted: Monday, February 09, 2009 2:16 PM
HALSEY MINOR
by Pete Denk
Halsey Minor has filed a lawsuit against Hialeah Park owner John Brunetti and the City of Hialeah in hopes of purchasing and reopening the historic south Florida track.
Last year, Minor was negotiating with Brunetti to buy Hialeah, which has fallen into disrepair since it last held live racing in 2001. Those negotiations eventually broke down, and Minor has turned to the courts in his bid to purchase and renovate the 206-acre property that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an official sanctuary for the American Flamingos that helped make the track famous.
The goal of the lawsuit is to determine the rightful owner of Hialeah, according to a press release from Minor’s not-for-profit organization Save Hialeah Racing Inc. Brunetti has owned Hialeah since 1977. Minor’s lawsuit suggests that Brunetti only operates Hialeah as a lessee, and Brunetti may be in default.
“The time has come to restore Hialeah Park by preserving its historic buildings and reinstituting Thoroughbred racing on its track for the benefit of the citizens of Hialeah and the rest of Florida, as well as the millions of annual visitors,” Minor stated in a press release.
Minor, 44, is a technology entrepreneur and founder of CNET, the online technology publication and Web portal.
Minor owns historic Carters Grove Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia, where his Thoroughbred operation is based.
Pete Denk is sales editor of Thoroughbred Times
