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Calder Casino & Race Course on Friday resolved a dispute with South Florida horsemen and then raised the average daily purses paid to horse owners by 7.5 percent, from $170,000 to $182,750.

The Miami Gardens track announced the purse increase several hours after the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association agreed to a 2011 contract on the division of money from Internet and phone wagering.

The increase is applied evenly to base overnight purses excluding overnight stakes. Minimum Florida Owners Awards (FOA) also increase from $500 to $1,000 and 2-year-old maiden special weight races increase from $39,000 to $40,000.

'We’re off to a positive start of the Calder Meet. The early demand for the Calder product is encouraging,' said Calder Vice President & General Manager of Racing John Marshall. 'For now, our purse revenues are stabilized by added revenue from slots and poker.'

Calder officials said they will continue managing the purse account responsibly and both look forward to possible future increase opportunities.

The 2011 Calder Meet began on April 25 and runs through Sept. 30. The Tropical Meet will be held from Oct. 1 through Dec. 2.

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In an existential way Calder Race Course can trace its origins to Willis Haviland Carrier (1876-1950) who, as every Syracuse University graduate knows, invented modern day air conditioning.

Indeed Calder was the first race track in Florida to be fully air conditioned. Without it, there would be no Calder.

In the mid-1960’s well connected South Florida developer Stephen A. Calder convinced the Florida legislature summertime horse racing was possible even in the humidity challenged muggy tropics. Aside from an Orioles AAA baseball club playing in a dilapidated stadium in downtown Miami, a few sport fishing derby’s, night racing at the only fully air conditioned Miami Beach Kennel Club, sweat induced golf, and an occasional picnic on Key Biscayne featuring mosquitoes the size of a Lear jet there was precious little entertainment or sport held forth in the Magic City.

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Dangling a new source for more tax money from racing and offering horsemen with their employees and contractors an opportunity to make serious money in the “off” season, Calder got the green light to erect a track on the border of Miami-Dade and Broward counties in 1970.

The confluence of Mr. Carrier’s air conditioning and Mr. Calder’s perseverance generated a mid-size facility to host thoroughbred racing from Hialeah’s and Gulfstream’s closings in April until December. Located about 10 miles west of the ocean on highly travelled 27th Avenue, and at a brand new exit from the Florida Turnpike Extension, the race course sat in the demographic midst of the tri county area.

Easily reached by the retirees of Western Dade and Broward counties, the middle class African American neighborhoods of northwest Miami and Southeast Broward, and the first wave of Cuban refugees in midtown Miami, Calder was as accessible as Hialeah or Gulfstream.

The magnificent expanse of the glassed in clubhouse and grandstand welcomed bettors from the state, as well as high rollers from South and Central America who came to Miami to escape the winters of the southern hemispheres. Additionally, immigrants from the Caribbean Islands, notably Jamaica and Mexico were knowledgeable horse players and they adopted Calder as their favorite track.

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An added plus was a large equestrian footprint the developer insisted upon with many stables and housing areas where trainers and owners could keep their horses year round even during the competitor’s meets.

As the construction began in 1970, Mr. Calder couldn’t have envisioned that less than a half mile to the east on a large tract of privately owned land, fellow entrepreneur Joe Robbie, owner of the Miami Dolphins, would erect a state of the art NFL football stadium in the early 80’s. Sun Life Stadium and Calder are a “complex” unlike most.

The racetrack and NFL stadium (which also housed major league baseball and soccer) with their combined parking lots, green space, storage buildings, etc., became the nexus for South Florida sports for nearly two decades until the new hockey, basketball arenas and now the Marlins baseball stadium were built.

As construction commenced, Calder’s first two meets were actually conducted at Tropical Park, a rapidly fading venue in the middle part of the county. In 1972 Calder Race Course officially opened. It remains the summer home of racing in the state.

Another innovation attributed to Calder and subsequent owner William McKnight was the introduction of Tartan Track – the all weather surface which permitted racing even during and after the summer mega thunderstorms. A considerably different but consistent surface, effectively negating the summer ­humidity, heat and rains, it caught the attention of owners, trainers and gamblers alike.

This synthetic polyurethane surface provided safe passage for the animal athletes and a calculable surface for the handicappers. The surface was regularly upgraded and improved over the years. It was just recently replaced by a more traditional dirt track with great drainage. Calder features outstanding turf course racing, weather permitting. The tartan track is now a staple in the world of track and field as well.

Once the Calder summer meet was established in 1972 the Tropical meet was folded into it and continues to be run at Calder every fall. Tropical Park was demolished shortly thereafter.

Bertram Firestone purchased Calder in the early 80’s and subsequently sold it to Kawasaki Leasings, Inc., in the early 1990’s. It remained under their control (and considerable financial difficulties) until 1999 when Churchill Downs acquired the track, its dates and permits for approximately $86 million.

The annual signature event is the Summit of Speed held every July (July 7 this year) featuring six stakes races worth $1.25 million. The day consists of sprint features, including the Carry Back Stakes, Princess Rooney Handicap and Smile Sprint Handicap among others. The Summit has produced several Breeders Cup champs as well as Eclipse Award winners over the years – notably Cajun Bea, Oriente and Lost in the Fog.

The Summit handle generally tops $10 million for the day and draws crowds from far and near as well as simulcast wagers from the big tracks around the country. Top jockeys fly in for the event, which has a festive atmosphere with live music, carnival rides for children, and food and drink specials.

The other big day for racing at Calder is the Florida Million with eight Stakes and a combined $1.2 million purse. It’s held each November highlighted by the Grade II Princess Rooney Stakes.

A latecomer, Calder joined the other South Florida race tracks introducing its Casino Calder in 2011. But Churchill Downs did it right: The proceeds from the new adjacent facility have helped increase the purses for the horse racing. Management has embarked on updating the main facility as well.

Depending upon the calendar, Calder hosts live racing four, five or six days a week. As the temperatures drop from the 90’s to the 80’s the race days increase. In the dead of summer the horses only run Thursdays through Sundays but, even on simulcast only days, the parking lots are filled with summer gamblers betting on Belmont, Saratoga and Del Mar on the giant TV screens.

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The new casino radiates an elegant atmosphere not generally associated with the racinos in the state. The lighting, carpeting, and layout are all conducive to relaxing slot players. And the Calder Casino features many of the newest slot machine themes. From banks of 1-cent games to the VIP slot room there is no shortage of machines. There are several dining options in the casino proper, including a daily buffet that opens mid-afternoon seven days a week. It is a no smoking casino as mandated by the state.

Just a short walk around the corner is the entry to the main race track, which is also the entry to Studz Poker Room. One of the largest in the area it’s one place where the track and casino fans can easily mix. The simulcast and live racing shown on omnipresent televisions afford the Texas hold’em players a chance to play cards and the horses simultaneously. Studz is always busy and offers numerous promotions on weekends.

With six floors all connected by escalators and elevators, the track affords race fans excellent vantage points to see the races as they unfold and finish. The hallways are spacious and the various seating areas in front of the giant TV’s are comfortable.

There’s always space for the high rollers and no roller fans alike. Tellers and automatic teller machines are everywhere and, excepting stakes race days, have no waiting lines.

The first floor opens onto a vast concrete patio enveloping the finish line, dotted with tables and chairs and wide comfortable benches even in the tropical sun. Calder’s design invites fans to be close to the horses, jockeys, trainers and owners.

The middle floors open onto the huge glass encased viewing stands for both clubhouse and grandstand. The view and temperature are perfect. For those who enjoy summer racing, Calder Race Course and its new casino are a bonafide big time racing gaming venue. And, with AC.

Florida Gaming Report is exclusively prepared for GamingToday by Thompson/Hutchinson & Associates, the “Casino Doctors” based in Miami, Fla., with offices in Philadelphia and Tucson. Principals, Baird Thompson and William Hutchinson are veteran gaming executives and consultants with clients in the pari-mutuel and casino industry. Check them out at www.thecasinodoctors.com.