John Brunetti, 87, owner of the historic Hialeah Park casino and racetrack, died Friday, March 2 morning at his home in Boca Raton. He owned a successful construction company in New Jersey, then bought Hialeah in 1977. He had first seen the racetrack in 1957, when he was a student at the University of Miami. “We went to Gulfstream, Tropical Park and Hialeah. I loved Hialeah right away. It was breathtaking,” Brunetti said. Opened in 1925, Hialeah featured Mediterranean architecture, pink flamingos and rich history, as well as Miami’s first elevator. The venue attracted celebrities and world leaders, and some of racing’s greatest horses. A statue of Citation still stands there.
While the state regulated racing dates, officials for Hialeah, Gulfstream and Calder battled for the best dates. Their feuds often ended up in the state capitol and the courts. But after the state stepped out in 1989, tracks could run races whenever they wished. Hialeah was unable to compete and held its last thoroughbred race there on May 22, 2001. It scraped by on quarter horse racing and opened a casino.
Rick Sacco, manager of the Brunetti family’s breeding and racing operations in Ocala, said Brunetti frequently, and unsuccessfully, contacted Gulfstream Park. “He was always calling them up saying, ‘Let’s come up with a dates solution where Hialeah could fit into the picture. He always had hope,” Sacco said. Longtime friend and trainer Howie Tesher added, “He would never give it up.”
Brunetti also developed and owned King’s Court, a fronton and casino in Florida City. In addition, he was a philanthropist, supporting medical research and higher education. In 2017, he donated $2.5 million to St. Thomas University’s Human Trafficking Academy. He also supported the Wounded Warrior Project and helped those born with a cleft palate.
After battling numerous medical issues in the later years of his life, Brunetti told the Miami Herald in December, “I’m rounding third base and headed for home.”
