The 2010 thoroughbred racing season can’t come soon enough for Gulfstream Park.

The Hallandale race track has battled a storm of non-racing distractions, from the stunning $800,000 fine levied by state regulators for casino irregularities to parent company Magna Entertainment’s increasingly contentious bankruptcy proceeding. And then there’s the on-going construction of The Village retail and office complex that has turned the site into a maze.

But there has been some good news on the racing side four months before live racing resumes Jan. 3.

Dan Bork, new racing secretary at Gulfstream Park

Handle figures show Gulfstream continues to buck the national trend of lower handles. There’s a new racing secretary – Dan Bork – who brings good bloodlines and industry connections.  And there are some changes to the racing calendar aimed at providing big-purse stakes races that lead into the prestigious Florida Derby.

The Grade 1 Florida Derby has produced 21 Kentucky Derby winners and 33 winners of the other Triple Crown classics, the Preakness and Belmont. The Kentucky Derby victories by Barbaro and Big Brown were the most recent classic successes by Florida Derby contestants. The 59^th edition will be contested March 27 at a mile an eighth for a purse of $750,000.

Two of the meetings other top stakes races will be tweaked to better serve as preps for the Florida Derby.

The $250,000 Fountain of Youth, a Grade II race, will return to 1 1/8 miles, the same distance of the Florida Derby. It will be run Feb. 27, again four weeks before the Florida Derby.

The $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes will return to a mile. The Grade III race will be run on Jan. 23, five weeks before the Fountain of Youth.

“Horsemen indicated a desire to have a two-turn race a little closer to the Florida Derby,” Bork said, “and we believe we have accommodated them with the bump in distance of the Fountain of Youth from a mile to a mile and an eighth. With these changes – coupled with the horsemen’s pursuit of graded-stakes earnings in preparation for the Kentucky Derby – we expect the serious classic contenders to stay close to home.”

For Bork, taking the racing secretary job is the continuation of a rise through the ranks of the family business. The 39-year-old is the son of Bob Bork, president of Sam Houston Race Park, and the nephew of Bill Bork, president of Penn National Gaming and Racing.

He has served in various posts at Turfway Park, Garden State, Atlantic City and Arlington Park. He serves as racing secretary at Ellis Park; assistant racing secretary at Keeneland and Churchill Downs and steward at Kentucky Downs.

“Dan has good people skills, something very important in his line of work,” said two-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Nick Zito. “I’ve recommended him for jobs around the country, so I know he’s a great choice.”

There’s also good news in rising simulcast handle.

“It’s a significant achievement,” said Gulfstream Park President and General Manager Bill Murphy. “The amount of money bet on horse racing is down at practically every racetrack in the country, except at Gulfstream Park. We were up at our live meet, which concluded April 23, and we’re up with our ongoing simulcast product.”

Casino figures are also higher.