Looks like Hollywood Park is going under the wrecking ball. Thoughts?

Well, we knew it was coming, didn't we? There's been plans to develop the track for over a year and it was just a matter of when they'd officially do it.

Of course I think it's terrible and I'm very worried. No where in the country does horse racing have a stronger base than in Southern California. There's great racing in Kentucky and New York and in the winter in Florida, but you don't see the sort of support that the So Cal tracks get anywhere else in the country... there's bigger fields, better odds, more money wagered, etc. If a racetrack in SoCal is having trouble surviving, what will happen to the tracks in the rest of the country?

There's been so much focus on Magna going bankrupt that it took the focus off of Hollywood Park this spring. Latest reports say that Magna wants to sell Santa Anita and a group of its other tracks including my little Thistledown. I can't decide if it's good or bad that Magna has put us up for sale with Santa Anita. The community around Santa Anita doesn't want it developed, so that's promising that we could go in a deal to someone who will run a few tracks across the country.

The area where Thistledown is located is very old and run down. The whole area was dominated by racing years ago, both cars and horses. There's still two racetracks located within 5 miles of each other. Randall Park used to be right across the street from Thistledown... it was our thoroughbred racing in the winter and it had a turf course. It was sold and made into a mall which has since closed too. We still have Thistledown, but it's obvious that the people who matter couldn't care less about the track. We have a few race days full of $4000 claiming races and that's it. They cancelled our graded stakes this year to ensure there was enough money to pay the other purses. A couple thousand dollars are wagered on our races and the payouts are always horrible.

I went to Mountaineer last year for the West Virginia Derby and I hated the casino atmosphere of the track... it was crowded, they didn't have enough wagering windows, you had to go through the casino to get to the paddock, etc. However, you can't deny that they have something really good going on... those casino games and slot machines are raking in the money and enabling the track to run a full day of stakes attracting major trainers and jockeys (I met Larry Jones just before the big race). If a casino is what it takes to pump some life back into my racetrack, I'll take it.

It's a shame to see what's happening with these historic tracks... Bay Meadows, Hialeah, and now Hollywood Park. Maybe we as horse racing fans need to band together and put up the money to buy the track and save it.