What started out as vision of movie moguls Jack and Harry Warner in June of 1938, Hollywood Park will end its historic run on December 22 after 75 years.
In a statement that many in the Southern California racing industry has dreaded since 2008 became reality when Hollywood Park Land Company announced that they will not seek 2014 race dates.
Known as “the land of Lake and Flowers”, the venerable old racetrack witnessed legends such as Seabiscut, Citation, Swaps, Round Table, Ack Ack, Dr. Fager, Native Diver, Lava Man, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, John Henry, Cigar, Zenyatta and many others was on life support for the last five years after HPLC gave up trying to revitalize the racing business model when they acquired it from Churchill Downs Company in 2005.
When HPLC purchased the racetrack, they gave a solid three year commitment to racing and tried to push two statewide initiatives in California to bring slot machines to track to help with horse racing revenue.
When the economy took a turn for the worse in December 2007, the land was not worth making an attempt to raze and build housing. HPLC continued to race on a year by year basis until the economy pulled out of a recession.
The writing was on the wall on October 28, when on the Roger Stein Show, Jack Liebau began to state that Hollywood Park may not be requesting race dates in 2013 only to have applied to the CHRB late in 2012.
With the closure of Hollywood Park in 2014 only two major race tracks remain. Santa Anita currently holds an Autumn Meeting that runs from the end of September to the beginning of November and a Winter/Spring Meeting which goes from the December 26 to Mid-April. Del Mar has been a fixture of the summer racing season that only rivals New York resort Saratoga Racetrack during July thru September.
It is rumored that both racetracks will be applying for Hollywood Parks open dates from Mid-April to Mid-July and November to December.
Other reports have the two Southern California’s 5/8th mile tracks in Pomona and Cypress making a play for dates and become a major player in the racing game.
Known as “Fairplex”, the small track located in the San Gabriel Valley is looking at expanding its dirt track to seven furlongs, along with a six furlong turf course. The racetrack will be modeled after Mountaineer Park in Cumberland, WV. The track has held live-racing since 1933, but only during its Los Angeles County Fair.
Owned by Edward Allred, Los Alamitos has been attempting to go from 5/8th mile to a mile dirt track to sway the CHRB to give open dates to the Orange County track that once held a three-week Mixed-Racing Meet called “Orange County Fair Races”. The drawback for Los Alamitos is that all indications show no turf course for the track that has been in business since 1951.
Prior to HPLC and Churchill Downs Company owning the track a power struggle ensued between longtime Chairman of the Board Marjorie Everett and Ruidoso Downs owner R.D. Hubbard. Everett owned the track from the ‘70’s to 1991 when she resigned in a proxy battle with R.D. Hubbard.
During Hubbard’s tenure Hollywood Park offered the first guaranteed $1 Million Pick Six pool in North American racing. Hubbard also attempted in 1995 to keep Al Davis and the Raiders back to Los Angeles with a $200 million stadium offer.
Hollywood Park hosted the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup in 1984; it was highlighted by one of the most exciting finishes in the Breeder’s Cup Classic with Slew O’ Gold, Gate Dancer and little thought of Wild Again who defeated the two favorites at 31-1.
The Breeders’ Cup returned in 1987 with the much anticipated meeting of two Kentucky Derby Winners in Alysheba and Ferdinand. The race reached a crescendo as both battle down the stretch only to be separated by a nose.
It hosted its final Breeders’ Cup in 1997.
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