Hialeah Park Denied Exclusive Dates, Will Skip ‘90-’91 Season : Racing: A decision on whether to permanently close the financially troubled track will be made later.

Financially troubled Hialeah Park, unable to obtain the exclusive racing dates it sought, has decided not to open during the 1990-91 season.

The historic thoroughbred track withdrew its racing application for the coming winter Tuesday, the deadline for making such a move. Hialeah retained its racing permit, and a decision on whether to close permanently will be made later, an attorney said.

Track officials ignored a proposal from the owner of nearby Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course. Bertram Firestone said he was willing to sponsor a nonprofit organization to conduct an annual meeting of a month or less at Hialeah.

Hialeah was forced to close last season’s scheduled 158-day meet after just 25 days because of poor attendance. This winter’s schedule called for racing from Jan. 4 to March 10, which meant Hialeah would have gone head-to-head throughout its meet against Calder or Gulfstream.

The schedules of Firestone’s two tracks tie up virtually the entire calendar.

At a meeting Monday involving attorneys from the three tracks, Hialeah requested 49 exclusive dates. Attorney Wilbur E. Brewton, special counsel for Calder and Gulfstream, rejected the request.

Hialeah in recent years has had smaller attendance and handles than Calder and Gulfstream on comparable dates, Brewton said. Giving Hialeah so many exclusive dates would mean reduced purses and state tax revenue, he said.

Hialeah was once one of the nation’s premier tracks, but shifting South Florida demographics have left it in a poor location. The track lost an estimated $1.5 million during its short-circuited season last winter while running head-to-head against Calder, which is in the area’s tourist and retirement belt.

John Van Lindt, special counsel for Hialeah, said the track deserves exclusive dates because Calder and Gulfstream, both owned by Firestone, enjoy a monopoly, and horsemen across the nation say Hialeah “has an important place in American racing.”

Under Firestone’s proposal to sponsor a nonprofit organization at Hialeah, he would take over the track’s lease and supply management personnel.

“There will be some expense to him,” Brewton said. “But he doesn’t really care, if saving Hialeah is in the best interest of Florida.”

Van Lindt was less than enthusiastic about the proposal.

“I suppose anything is possible,” the Hialeah attorney said. “But it doesn’t sound terribly economically feasible.”

Hialeah owner John Brunetti was out of town and unavailable for comment, an aide said. The Brunetti family and the Hialeah board of directors will meet “within the next few weeks” to discuss the track’s future, Van Lindt said.

State Rep. Rudy Garcia (R-Hialeah) said the Legislature might consider re-regulation of Florida’s racing industry to preserve Hialeah.