Official: Magna's Florida Training Center Makes Progress

Gulfstream Park chairman Doug Donn visited Palm Meadows, the training facility being constructed by the track's parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., on Feb. 22 and said he was pleased with its progress. The site is located 55 miles north of Gulfstream in Boynton Beach, Fla.

"They've cleaned up all of the growth and debris and have filled in the ditches, and should be ready to bring in the heavy equipment and start the excavation within two weeks," he said, "They've even staked out where the barns and the lake will be."

The completion of Palm Meadows is a crucial step in Magna's plans to refurbish Gulfstream, because the 800 stalls to be built during the first phase of construction are necessary to replace the stalls lost when Gulfstream reconfigures both its track and backstretch.

Donn expects that Palm Meadows will still be ready to welcome its first residents in time for the Gulfstream meet in January 2003. "That's my understanding," he said.

Magna's architects hope to have a project timeline in place sometime during March, Donn said.