Initial reports that Mike Repole was interested in purchasing Gulfstream Park and retaining it as a racetrack gained new life this week when Repole tweeted: “I would buy Gulfstream for $300 million today and close the deal by Friday.”When reached by the TDN to clarify his remarks and provide more information on his proposal, Repole said that in the spring of 2025, he met with Belinda Stronach, the CEO of The Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream, and made the offer. He said he also had conversations with Keith Brackpool, who, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, was hired to explore the sale of The Stronach Group's racing division, which also includes Santa Anita.“I made the initial offer and then told Keith Brackpool 'name your price.' He said he would, but he never got back to me when it came to the Gulfstream offer,” Repole said.Repole said that Brackpool did ask him if he had any interest in buying the Palm Meadows training center.“He wanted to sell me Palm Meadows and tried to tell me that it would be the perfect place to build a racetrack,” Repole said. “I told him, 'do you really think you're going to get an audience at a place like that?' I told him I had no interest.”Tiffani Steer, the vice president of communications for The Stronach Group and 1/ST racing, did not return a message from the TDN seeking commentRepole, who has expressed his opinion numerous times that the sport's future will include fewer racetracks, said that he was motivated by his desire to save Gulfstream Park. He has predicted that it won't be long until it ceases to function as a racetrack.“I have no direct knowledge nor am I privy to anything going on there, but it's definitely not going to be a racetrack,” he said. “Being in the real estate development game myself, I think they probably have multiple developers presenting concepts and ideas to them on what they would like to build with them as a partner. If the development plans get approved, then the developer would put together a team that would buy the property and develop what they want. That's how it's done.”He said that he told Brackpool that his only goal was to help the industry and South Florida racing in particular, and that he gets (expletive) done.One reason why The Stronach Group may eventually pull the plug on racing at Gulfstream is that, as Repole alluded to, the real value when it comes to the asset is not the racing operation, but what its worth as land. When asked if buying Gulfstream to keep it as a racetrack would be a prudent business decision, Repole said he had formulated plans that he believed would make the South Florida racetrack thrive financially.He said that if he ever were to take over the operation of Gulfstream, one of the first things he would do would be to expand its slot machine parlor. On their website, Gulfstream states that it has “more than 700 Las Vegas-style slot machines.” Under Florida law, the track can have as many as 2,000.“They haven't monetized to the fullest extent the casino,” Repole said.He added that anybody who might come in and buy Gulfstream can have it both ways, that parts of the land can be developed in a manner that would not mean the closure of the racetrack.“I've done this before with other projects, where you divide up the land,” he said. “You can keep some of it as a racetrack and maybe sell off other pieces, but you can still save the racetrack. Maybe you'd have to stable horses in other places, but you can do that. You can have a hybrid, where half of the land went to development and half of the land was kept for racing. I love the game and that's why I'm saying that I want to buy it to keep it as a racetrack. I've thought a lot about that. If someone were going to invest and spend money, it could be an amazing track. You might not run 12 months, but maybe nine. You might want to close down in June, July and August. But you could still have the casino open 12 months a year.”With the Florida breeding and racing industries cognizant of the fact that the future of Gulfstream is in doubt, there has been a shift to build a racetrack in the Ocala area. That effort is now being now led by John Morgan, the billionaire who runs the nation's largest personal injury law firm. Repole said he had made inquiries about being involved with a potential track in Ocala, but said they went nowhere.“I had discussions with a big racetrack operator about possibly doing something with them in Ocala and being a really big part of it,” Repole said. “Unfortunately, we both didn't feel that the decision makers were trying to steer it our way.”Repole also confirmed that he has made attempts to buy Tampa Bay Downs only to be rebuffed.“I talked to (track owner) Stella Thayer,” he said. “She is just a sweet, wonderful lady. I just asked her if she had any interest in selling or if she would be interested in taking me on as partner. We had a very, very nice discussion and she politely passed.”When it comes to racing, it's well known that Repole takes a particularly pessimistic view about its future. That is particularly true when it comes to the sport in South Florida.“I think that by 2029, 2030, the only track left in Florida will be Tampa Bay Downs,” he predicted.The post Repole Expounds On His Effort To Buy Gulfstream Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.