Southern California Horse Tracks

Southern California Horse Tracks

Fairplex, Pomona Cal.

In California, Thoroughbred flat races are run on surfaces of either dirt, polytrack or turf; other tracks offer Quarter Horse racing and Standardbred horse racing, or combinations of these three types of racing surfaces. Racing with other breeds, such as Arabian horse racing, is found on a limited basis. American Thoroughbred races are run at a wide variety of distances, most commonly from 5 to 12 furlongs (0.63 to 1.5 mi; 1.0 to 2.4 km); with this in mind, breeders of Thoroughbred race horses attempt to breed horses that excel at a particular distance.

Del Mar Racetrack, Del Mar, California

When Del Mar opened in 1937, Bing Crosby was at the gate to personally greet the fans. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race between Charles S. Howard's Seabiscuit and the Binglin Stable's colt, Ligaroti. In an era when horse racing ranked second in popularity with Americans to Major League Baseball, the match race was much written and talked about and was the first nationwide broadcast of a Thoroughbred race by NBC radio. In the race, Seabiscuit was ridden by jockey George Woolf and Ligaroti by Noel Richardson. In front of a record crowd that helped make the fledgling Del Mar race track a success, Seabiscuit won an exciting battle by a nose.

The track has a one-mile main dirt track and a seven furlong turf course. The track runs during the summer at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and can stable more than a thousand horses. Del Mar is known for its tan stucco grandstand located directly on the Pacific Ocean.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Del Mar continued to offer high quality racing and continued to be one of the premier racetracks in the country. The track attempted to run a fall meet in the 1960s but later canceled it after getting lackluster results. This allowed for the creation of the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita race track.

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Del Mar from the West

Del Mar July 2008

Blue Sky above Santa Anita Racetrack

Nighttree, Santa anita Racetrack

Santa Anita Racetrack, Arcadia, California

Santa Anita Park was opened on December 25, 1934 and is the oldest racetrack in Southern California. It was designed in the art deco style by architect Gordon B. Kaufman. Originally part of "Rancho Santa Anita", owned originally by former San Gabriel Mission Mayor-Domo, Claudio Lopez, named after a family member "Anita Cota". The ranch was later acquired by rancher, Hugo Reid, a Scotsman. Later, it would be owned by Gold prospector Lucky Baldwin. He initially founded a racetrack on the present site in what is today, Arcadia, outside of the city of Los Angeles in the 1800s but it later closed. In 1933, California legalized parimutuel wagering and several investor groups worked to open racetracks. In the San Francisco area, a group headed by Dr. Charles H "Doc" Strub was having trouble locating a site. In the Los Angeles area a group headed by movie producer Hal Roach was in need of further funds. These two groups combined and the newly-formed Los Angeles Turf Club reopened the track on Christmas Day in 1934. In February 1935, the first Santa Anita Handicap was run. The race's $100,000 purse, the largest of any race ever in the United States until that time, produced its nickname the Big 'Cap.

Santa Anita has a one-mile (1,609 m) synthetic "cushion" main track which rings a turf course measuring 9/10 of a mile, or 7 furlongs plus 132 feet (1,448 m). In addition, it has an unusual hillside turf course which crosses the dirt and is used mainly to run turf races at a distance of "about" 6½ furlongs (exact distance 64½ feet less than same). This type of track is one of the few of its kind in America.

Santa Anita occupies 320 acres. It has a 1,100-foot-long grandstand, which is a historic landmark that seats 26,000 guests. The grandstand is done in an Art Deco style and is the original facade from the 1930s. The track infield area, which resembles a park with picnic tables and large trees, can accommodate 50,000 or more guests. The Park also contains 61 barns, which house more than 2,000 horses, and an equine hospital.

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Oak Tree Racetrack, Arcadia, California

In 1968, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club the operators of Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California decided to inform California racing authorities that they did not intend to use the fall dates they were granted and to instead race only a summer meet. Clement L. Hirsch, Louis R. Rowan, both leading horse owners, and veterinarian Dr. Jack Robbins, as well as other horsemen and fans were deeply opposed to the move which had the effect of ending live racing in Southern California from September 1 to November 1.

Hirsch, Rowan, Robbins, and several others decided to do something and formed the Oak Tree Racing Association. Dr. Jack Robbins, was a founding Director and became its President. The Association decided against purchasing a racetrack or constructing a new one. Instead they rented Santa Anita Park for the first time in 1969 and they remain there to this day. Generally run in September/October, Oak Tree is considered to be one of the finest race meetings in the country and is renowned for excellent turf racing.

The track conducts many races that lead up to the World Thoroughbred Championships. Oak Tree has held the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003 and will host the 25th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park on October 24-25, 2008.

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Oak Tree Logo

Front Runner Room 2008

Hollywood Park Stands

Post Time, Hollywood Park

Hollywood Racetrack, Inglewood, California

The track was opened in 1938 by the Hollywood Turf Club[1]. The racetrack was designed by noted racetrack architect Arthur Froehlich. Its chairman was Jack Warner of Warner Brothers, and its 600 shareholders included many other Hollywood luminaries. Al Jolson and Raoul Walsh were members of the founding Board of Directors and Mervyn LeRoy was a director from 1941 until his death in 1986.

Hollywood Park closed from 1942 to 1944 due to World War II, being used as a storage facility. In 1949, the grandstand and clubhouse were destroyed by a fire; the rebuilt facility reopened in 1950. In 1984, the race track was extended from 1-mile (1.6 km) around to 1 1/8 miles around prior to the first Breeders Cup race. In 1986, the turf course was similarly expanded from just over 7/8 of a mile around to just over 1-mile (1.6 km) around. A card club casino was added to the complex in 1994. Churchill Downs, Inc. bought the facility for $140 million in 1999. The previous owners of the track renamed their company Pinnacle Entertainment to concentrate on its gambling interests.

In July 2005, Churchill Downs sold the track to the Bay Meadows Land Company for $260 million in cash. Under the terms of the deal, the company, which operates Bay Meadows in San Mateo, was to continue thoroughbred racing at Hollywood Park for at least three years. According to Bay Meadows officials, the continuation of Hollywood Park as a racing venue after that depends on California allowing more gambling, like slot machines, to the track.

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Los Alamitos, Los Alamitos, California

Los Alamitos Race Course is a horse racing track in Cypress, California. The track hosts both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. The track has the distinction of holding four quarter horse stakes races with purses over $1 million, more than any other track in the United States.

The first pari-mutual meet at Los Alamitos was held in 1951. The meet lasted 11 days, closing on 15 December. It rained for ten of the eleven days of the inaugural meet. Frank Vessels and his family spent many hours during this first meet repairing rain-induced damage to the racecourse. The closing night festivities featured a world record performance by the mare Bart B S in the Miss Princess Handicap. She covered the 400 yards in a time of :20.3.

Until the 1990's, the Vessels Family had always owned Los Alamitos. However, the 1980's proved a time of great change, as the track passed from one owner to another. Finally, When Los Alamitos was put up for sale in 1990, Allred was able to acquire 50 per cent ownership, with help from RD Hubbard. 1995 saw the opening of the $5 million Vessels Club, the lavish turf club restaurant which has gained fame for the decor and food alike. The Vessels Club has even been named the top sports park restaurant in Southern California. In addition to the Vessels Club, the track has also opened such fan favorites as the Player's Club, Rodney's Bar (named after trainer Rodney Hart) and Schwanie's Grill (named for trainer Blane Schvaneveldt) under Dr. Allred's tenure.

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Los Alamitos Fountain

Rider returns in victory

Fairplex Wagering

Fairplex Racetrack, Los Angeles Fairgrounds

Fairplex Racetrack, Pomona, California

Fairplex, formerly known as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, has been since 1922 the home of the L.A. County Fair. It is located in the city of Pomona. The L.A. County Fair is now held during the month of September, but the facility is used year-round to host a variety of educational, commercial, and entertainment such as trade and consumer shows, conventions, and sporting events.

Having begun in 1922 with 43 acres (170,000 m2) donated by the City of Pomona, the Fairplex grounds now cover 543 acres (2.2 km2) and include nearly 325,000 square feet (30,200 m2) of indoor exhibit space. Slightly less than half of the grounds are given over to paved parking areas to accommodate 30,000 vehicles. Among other features of Fairplex are various scenic parks, plazas and picnic areas, a historic train exhibit, and 12 acres (49,000 m2) of carnival grounds.

In addition, Fairplex is the site of the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts at Fairplex, a year-round education and exhibit space affiliated with The Smithsonian Institution. The center is located in the historic Fine Arts building, a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) facility designed by architect Claud Beelman and erected by the WPA in 1937. In 1994 the building was renamed in honor of artist Millard Sheets, a Pomona native who was the director of the county fair's art programs from 1930 to 1956.

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