Southern California’s flagging thoroughbred racing industry is pinning its hopes on Los Alamitos Race Course.
A $12 million expansion plan is in the works that would make Los Alamitos a center for thoroughbred racing and training, a first for a venue that has catered to sprinting quarter horses for its entire 62-year-history.
The move comes with Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood expected to shut down racing at the end of this year.
Thoroughbred racing draws millions of fans to Santa Anita in the San Gabriel Valley, Fairplex in Pomona, and Del Mar in San Diego County. It accounts for thousands of jobs, ranging from trainers to stable hands.
The Los Alamitos plan would fill the gaping hole left with a Hollywood Park closure and the behind-the-scenes training needed to prep thoroughbreds for race day.
“Without it the whole infrastructure falls apart,” said Brad McKinzie, a consultant to Los Alamitos Race Course and longtime owner Dr. Ed “Doc” Allred.
Logistics
A closure of Hollywood Park without a new training center in place could cause a logistical nightmare for the industry, with horses and their handlers scattered around the state.
“They would be in lots of different places at a greater expense and greater inconvenience,” said Mike Marten, a spokesperson for the California Horse Racing Board.
Hollywood Park opened in 1938, and its name reflects the roster of movie stars who were original investors. It has some 1,200 stalls and expansive training grounds for thoroughbreds.
Bay Meadows Land Co. owns the Inglewood track, and has refused to commit to hosting a racing season next year. The company also owns the land that once held the Bay Meadows rack track in San Francisco. It tore down the track in 2008 and is expected to eventually redevelop the property.
Los Alamitos is seen as a potential replacement for Hollywood Park’s training facilities, thanks in part to its location about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, with freeways nearby. A willingness to expand is an even bigger draw.
“It seems like it’s a real possibility,” McKinzie said.
Possible competitors include Del Mar and Fairplex, although neither have signaled any intent to add capacity for training.
The California Horse Racing Board hasn’t taken a position on the Los Alamitos proposal, but it is pushing for new training facilities anywhere, with Hollywood Park’s pending closure nearing.
“Just do what you need to do to preserve racing,” Marten said. “That’s been the board’s direction, and we’ll assist in any way possible to meet that goal.”
Investors
Allred has investors lined up for the expansion at his track, according to sources close to the plan.
Track executives met with Cypress officials earlier this month, and they will be submitting more detailed plans and estimates on the economic impact of an expansion, construction, the possibility of additional racing dates, and other factors in the coming weeks.
“We would be the ultimate decision maker,” said Cypress Planning Manager Doug Hawkins.
The city has been amenable to track proposals in the past. It stands to benefit economically from added races and other services, as well as the tax revenue it would generate.
700 Stalls
The expansion plan calls for adding 700 horse stalls, up from 300 now. The track would be lengthened from 5/8 of a mile to a mile, meeting state standards for thoroughbreds. A renovation of the grandstands, which now have capacity for 15,000 people, would be included as well.
Los Alamitos likely won’t be in line to gain all the races lost at Hollywood Park. Del Mar and Santa Anita Park in Arcadia are interested in extending their thoroughbred racing schedules, according to McKinzie.
Expectations that Hollywood Park will end racing is a stark reminder that the sport has been in decline for years.
The industry has struggled to replace its base of aging enthusiasts and gamblers with younger fans as it grapples with other financial challenges.
“Horse racing is a real tough business right now,” McKinzie said. “In this economy it’s tougher for people to own and train race horses.”
Horse racing is still big business in California, home to 12 racetracks that stretch from the Humboldt County Fair near the Oregon border down to San Diego’s shores.
$2.2B
California racing fans wagered more than $2.2 billion for the year ending June 30, 2012, according to the Horse Racing Board.
Los Alamitos drew 500,000 visitors who plunked down more than $260 million in wagers over the same period. The track received a standard 2% of the handle, or roughly $5.2 million.
Los Alamitos hopes to get the green light on its expansion plans in the next few weeks, with an eye on moving quickly to replace Hollywood Park.
“It needs to happen this month,” McKinzie said. “We need to get going.”
