In a recent post on Horse Racing Business (“Rebuttal to Bill Dwyre’s Take on Hollywood Park,” May 16, 2013), I challenged the assertion in Mr. Dwyre’s column in the Los Angeles Times (May 13, 2013) that Hollywood Park’s planned closing is a sign that horse racing is in need of a hospice. My view is that this is not the case at all and wrote: “A more plausible and simple explanation for the closure of Hollywood Park is that it is following an established pattern of industrialization.”
Articles that have recently been published concerning the future of the Hollywood Park site corroborate this view: For instance, one said: “The last race at the Inglewood track will be held in December, and then in January work will finally begin on the enormous project to replace the the track with a renovated Hollywood Park casino, shopping center, 300-room hotel, office space, parks, 2,995 residences (mostly single-family houses and townhouses), and two lakes. Several new streets will also need to be built across the 238-acre site.” This is the largest building project currently underway in the Los Angeles area.
The hard facts reflect that the closing of Hollywood Park has nothing to do with the health of horse racing nationally or globally, but rather, is a special circumstance of economic development. Mr. Dwyre erroneously projected from a sample size of one.
Copyright © 2013 Horse Racing Business
Hollywood Park’ closing probably won’t have an impact nationally, but it could be devastating for California. The issue of stabling is a nightmare. Despite knowing about this potential problem for years, current leadership has failed to put a contingency program into place. Now, many in the industry are hearing ridiculous solutions such as stabling at Fairplex Park !! Who is going to want to train an expensive horse on a bullring ? Heard that the F*** word was used plenty at today’s CHRB meeting when the issue of stabling came up.