
A Memorable Day with Eugene at Hialeah Racetrack
From 1954 until 1977, Gene along with his father owned and operated the world renowned Hialeah Racetrack. Gene would always recall his days and nonchalantly regale his friends with the most interesting and entertaining anecdotes about the glory days he witnessed and was part of at South Florida's historic, horse racing mecca.
We would always urge Gene to memorialize his reminiscences of when Hialeah Racetrack boasted of 40,000+ attendances for a day at the races and fortunately he did.
A Peek into the Past
On a wet and rainy day in 2009, we took Gene to the track and with a camcorder in hand, spent a nostalgic, poignant day recording his vastly detailed recollections of a place he greatly cherished.
In these videos, Gene shares his encounters with the rich and famous, such as Presidents Truman and Nixon, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, his architectural knowledge of the classic racetrack, his beloved pink flamingos that were fed fresh shrimp to enhance their color, his singlehanded role in ending segregation when the legendary band leader, Cab Calloway, visited in what turned out to be a day of civil rights significance. Gene fascinatingly describes the sculpture of the Triple Crown winner, Citation, which still to this day parades proudly at Hialeah Racetrack.
Somewhat humorously, Gene said one of his more noteworthy regrets was not allowing the producers of a 1968 movie to film scenes at Hialeah. The movie was called Lady In Cement and starred Frank Sinatra. Gene felt the movie may have depicted Hialeah and the sport of horse racing in a manner not conducive to the prestigious reputation of Hialeah Racetrack, the epitome of elegance and declined their request. Later on, Gene discovered Raquel Welch, the world's number one pin up girl at that time was a co-star, to which Gene responded, "If I had known Raquel was in the movie, I would have let them film for free!"
We hope these moments of Gene captured forever on camera that rainy day at Hialeah Racetrack, will in some way acquaint you with a man who loved horses, flamingos and all animals and is the reason for the existence of this charitable foundation. We're so glad Gene agreed to do this and hear and see our old friend once again.
In Loving Memory of Gene
Eileen Herlihy, Patrick Herlihy and Mark Lees
Eugene Ewan Mori Foundation Trustees
For media inquiries please email Mark at





