In 2010 live racing was cut to Saturdays and Sundays only, 44 days in all, due to a budget reduction in the state's racing commission. The long-term plans call for racing annually from March through November, with the Michigan Derby for three-year-olds running in April, as a prep race for the Kentucky Derby. The inaugural season of thoroughbred racing started July 18, 2008, ending November 2, 2008. The track opened with a 1,000-seat temporary grandstand, with a 4,000-seat permanent grandstand expected to be complete by 2010.īoth of these projected upgrades never started. The track was a one-mile dirt oval, with plans to build a 7/8-mile turf course by 2010. Magna Entertainment Corporation closed Great Lakes Downs in November 2007 after years of financial losses. The track was rushed into operation in the summer of 2008 to replace Muskegon's Great Lakes Downs on the Michigan racing schedule. Based on this Wayne County sold the developer 320 acres of land for $1, and spent $26 million building roads, and installing sewer and water to the site. Ficano said, "I see this as an experiment to see if we can deliver speed, speed, speed." Ficano was convinced by Republic Bancorp founder Jerry Campbell that a track would be viable in Wayne County, and would generate 2,300 permanent jobs. The track was described by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano as an experiment in cutting red tape. In 2021, it was announced that an Amazon fulfillment center will be constructed on the site of the former track. The track was built on land owned by Wayne County, and the county lost $36 million when it failed. The track was just south of the Detroit Metro Airport, in Wayne County. Pinnacle Race Course was a thoroughbred horse racing track in Huron Township, Michigan, southwest of Detroit off of Interstate 275. Huron Township, Wayne County, Michigan, USA
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