Thoroughbred racing will return to Los Alamitos Race Course next year for the first time in more than two decades, positioning Orange County’s lone track as a hub for the industry in Southern California.
The race track—which has catered to sprinting quarter horses since the Vessels family opened the gates in 1951—will host 20 days of thoroughbred racing in July and December.
Los Alamitos also plans to expand its year-round training facility to accommodate some 500 thoroughbreds displaced by last week’s closure of Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood.
Los Alamitos plans to lengthen its oval track from five-eighths of a mile to a mile and add horse stalls in order to accommodate what’s considered the big leagues of horse racing.
Plans also include adding flat-screen TVs and seating throughout the aging concourse; expanding the winner’s circle, walking ring and club; and building a bar in the upper grandstands as part of an overall renovation.
The $3 million upgrade of the 15,000-seat track would be the first major project at Los Alamitos since the $7 million addition of the Vessel turf club in 1993.
“Big Boost”
The addition of several weeks of thoroughbred racing, which typically draws bigger crowds and more prize money than quarter horses, is “a big boost for our racing program,” said Brad McKinzie, a consultant to Los Alamitos Race Course and longtime owner Dr. Ed “Doc” Allred. “We expect to do very well during those weeks and introduce this race track to a whole new group of people.”
The extra land for the expansion of the racetrack is part of a former golf course next-door—a chunk of land also owned by Allred.
Los Alamitos drew about 500,000 fans last year. It is already the largest satellite wagering venue in the state: Gamblers threw down more than $260 million in bets for the year ending June 30, 2012, the latest available data, according to the Horse Racing Board. The track received a standard 2% of the handle, or roughly $5.2 million.
How much Los Alamitos can make of the extra dates remains to be seen. Its expansion will come against a backdrop of an industry that has struggled to replace its base of aging enthusiasts and gamblers with younger fans as it grapples with other financial challenges.
Horse racing is still big business in California, however, home to 11 racetracks that stretch from the Humboldt County Fair near the Oregon border down to San Diego’s shores.
Los Alamitos emerged as a dark horse to land the extra thoroughbred racing dates—which required an expanded training center—earlier this year. The North OC track looked to be out of the running just a few months ago, thanks to a field of competitors such as Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in San Diego County and Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, one of the sport’s model venues.
An expansion plan unanimously approved by the Cypress City Council earlier this month helped win over some naysayers, clearing the last local hurdle.
“We actually didn’t have anybody speak against it,” said Doug Hawkins, planning manager for the city of Cypress, which oversees the track.
No city funds will be used to expand the track or make other renovations, according to Hawkins.
“There’s no city involvement,” he said. “It’s all being done by the owners of the race track.”
The 20 extra days of racing at Los Alamitos will take their place in a revamped Southern California thoroughbred circuit next year. Santa Anita will extend its racing season from mid-April through June, while Del Mar will add four weeks of fall racing to its two-month summer session.
Fairplex
Fairplex in Pomona won’t get thoroughbred racing dates added to its annual season, which coincides with the Los Angeles County Fair. The Pomona track will share the load in providing stables and training grounds for 500 horses displaced by the shutdown of Hollywood Park. Fairplex will host the horses through June, when they will be transferred to San Luis Rey Downs in North San Diego County, which is owned by Santa Anita Park.
Los Alamitos’ success in hosting thoroughbred races in the 1970s and ’80s during the Orange County Fair, along with its central location between Los Angeles and San Diego, helped it secure a spot in the racing rotation.
Another factor in Los Alamitos’ favor: OC residents accounted for about a third of Del Mar’s attendance this year, which surpassed 653,000.
“This is a market asking to be tapped,” McKinzie said. n
