Page 2 - September 2005 The Game
P. 2

2 The Game, September 2005
A Spectacular Change for Woodbine
Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
By Peter Gross
For the purpose of this column you will have to be familiar with the plot from the famous musical My Fair Lady in which Englishman Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics makes a bet that he can turn a pathetic street urchin into a sophisticated lady. In our racetrack version, Henry Higgins will be played by Woodbine Entertainment President David Willmot. Eliza Doolittle, the grimy flower seller, is replaced by Woodbine Racetrack itself.
Some eleven years ago, Willmot accepted the challenge of turning a dirty, worn down, out-of-touch racetrack into a sophisticated princess. He knew that not enough fans were singing I’ ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face. Willmot may not have actually taught Woodbine to recite The Rain In Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain, but his reign of change has mainly led to gains. Woodbine is now a stunning and charming hostess and the timing is right for Willmot to take her to the biggest ball of all.
Last month, Woodbine and the Baltimore based Cordish Company revealed a $310 million project called Woodbine Live! that will replace 25 acres of grass and concrete to the north and west of the track and turn it into a stunning architecturally pleasing entertainment complex. The mainstreet concept will break ground sod sometime in 2006 and could be completed by spring of 2008.
Included in the project will be theatres,
shops, restaurants, bars, clubs and a live performance hall.
The idea was hatched about five years ago. Woodbine had many suitors, but once David Cordish’s well funded Cordish Company got involved, Willmot sang I Could Have Danced All Night.
“I knew immediately that the Cordish Company was the right partner for us,” says Willmot,
“David Cordish and his son Reid made a presentation to our board last March and I’ve never seen the board come onside so quickly, recognizing it was the right partner. We’ve seen eye to eye on virtually everything.”
The Cordish Company had reason to like the Woodbine site. They’ve built the Hard Rock Hotel and Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, and have assets of around $1.2 billion. They’ve put up entertainment centres in partnership with the San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers but the boss David Cordish has never see a property so ripe for expansion as Woodbine. He says it’s good for the old girl to be On The Street Where You Live.
“You’re at an intersection of four superhighways. It’s unbelievable,” says Cordish,
“You have two world-class existing anchors that you can build on - one of the great racetracks in the world that already attracts millions and a great casino which is also drawing and we can build on that. It’s
a great partner in a great location.”
What Cordish has learned is that by stacking many appeal- ing venues together, people will have more reason to drive further, a greater wish to stay longer and more incentive to come back. Cordish is pretty sure millions will be singing Get Me to the Track On Time.
Toronto Mayor David Miller (2nd from right) and Provincial Cabinet Minister Monte Kwinter (right) join David Willmot (left) and David Cordish on stage for the announcement of Woodbine Live!
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“I didn’t know E.P. Taylor really well,” says Willmot, “But I knew him reasonably well and Mr. Taylor was a constant builder and innovator. He believed in making money. He did not believe in standing still and I hope that his legacy is being continued in that we build, evolve, adapt and succeed.”
One tantalizing idea in the Woodbine Live! expansion is the proposed 300 to 400 room hotel that will loom high over the first turn. As the horses in the Mile and a Quarter Pattison International make their first left on the E.P. Taylor grass course, dozens of lucky key holders will be able to look down from their rooms right onto the action. Willmot is particularly enthused about an enclosed pool-spa at the front of the hotel.
“To think that you can be sitting there on a winter’s afternoon watching standard-
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Willmot has been
instrumental in
changing not only the
cosmetic appeal of Woodbine, but also her soul, making horse racing a sport worthy of attention by all genders and age groups, but this massive makeover will probably be his legacy. And Willmot seems to believe that the spirit of Woodbine founder E. P. Taylor is invested in this project
bred racing in your bathing suit in this great space is fantastic,” he gushes, (though we really have no desire to see Mr. Willmot in his speedo).
Toronto Mayor David Miller attended the announcement of Woodbine Live! and he had all kinds of reasons to cast romantic eyes at Woodbine. This will mean more tourists, more tax dollars, more international acclaim and all at no cost to the city or its inhabitants.
“This is all private money,” says an impressed Miller,
“We’re just here to applaud because they’re doing it right. They understand urban design. They understand city building and it’s very good for our city to have commercial development like this.”
The Mayor said this assures that public transit to Woodbine will improve and that the discussions of a possible train station at the site will intensify.
A project of this magnitude is not necessarily a complete bonus to everyone. The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) has expressed concern.......
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