For Sale: Former Balmoral Park, Now Show Jumping Facility, Listed At $4 Million

News — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 21:56:38 +0000

Balmoral Park in Crete, Ill., hosted its final race in 2015 before the property went into bankruptcy. Purchased for $1.7 million in 2016, it was then transformed into a show jumping facility by New York-based Horse Shows in the Sun, or HITS, which hosted its first horse shows in 2017.

Now there are 10 arenas, renovated stables, and the racing grandstand with 4,400 seats still on the property.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Balmoral property is back on the market with an asking price of $4 million.

The 2016 deed for the 200-acre property prohibits gambling until 2026, but HITS confirmed last year that it had a pending deal with real estate developer Phil Goldberg, who planned to reintroduce harness racing and build a casino. Neither Goldberg nor HITS commented on the listing.

Balmoral was built as Lincoln Fields in 1926, and the name change to Balmoral came with a sale in 1955. The track has hosted both Thoroughbred and harness racing during its history.

NY Delivers Cease And Desist To Popular Horse Show

News — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 18:25:39 +0000

The HITS horse show season in Saugerties, New York, began on Wednesday despite being given cease and desist order h by the state Health Department earlier in the month. The order noted that horse shows were not considered essential businesses that could conduct in-person services.

The first in the HITS show series, the Vermont Summer Special, slated to run July 1-5, would have violated the state regulations regarding the COVID-19 state of emergency. The state was prepared to allow for a drastically pared-down version of the event, which was to allow for no more than 25 competitors each day. HITS President Tom Struzzieri voluntarily cancelled the events scheduled for July 3-5.

HITS had already cancelled three weeks of scheduled horse shows in Saugerties. In May, the organization announced that it would start its six-week 2020 show series in July and call it the Great American Show Series. The plan was to combine three Vermont Summer Festival shows with three HITS shows to create a series. The shows would not have spectators.

The horse shows draw thousands of tourists to the area each year, pouring millions of dollars into the local economy. The rescheduled shows were to run July 1-5 and July 8-12. Traditional HITS shows had been scheduled for July 15-19, July 22-26, and July 29 to Aug. 2, and Aug. 5-9. It is unclear whether the state will place similar restrictions on those events.

hits | Horse Racing Free Tips

For Sale: Former Balmoral Park, Now Show Jumping Facility, Listed At $4 Million

NY Delivers Cease And Desist To Popular Horse Show