One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
End of an Era: Hollywood Park Racetrack to Close This Year
Photo by Christopher Kostrzak via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
75 years of racing at Hollywood Park will come to its own finish line this year when the racetrack closes down for good this December.
The facility will be turned into new housing and retail by its owner, reports the Associated Press.
"From an economic point of view, the land now simply has a higher and better use, so, unfortunately, racing will not continue here once the 2013 autumn meet is completed," said Hollywood Park president Jack Liebau in a letter announcing the closure, reports BloodHorse.com.
Hollywood Park opened in 1938 as the Hollywood Turf Club. Among its founding members and shareholders were several movie biz luminaries, including Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, Walt Disney, and Chairman Jack L. Warner of Warner Bros. Studios. In its opening year, Seabiscuit took the win in the inaugural running of the Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park.
The park closed during World War II when it was used for storage from 1942 to 1944. In 1949, a fire forced the track to close for a season.
In 1984, Hollywood Park hosted the inaugural Breeders' Cup.
Some of the land was sold in 2005 with plans to build the Inglewood Renaissance housing development. Last year, the company Betfair took over operations of the racetrack in the hopes of modernizing operations and boosting business, however Liebau says people just aren't coming to the track and placing bets.
Sponsored message
The casino on the property will continue to operate as part of the new development. The historic track will be transformed into "3,000 new housing units, including single-family townhomes and condos; 25 acres of parkland, including a 10-acre central park; and a retail and entertainment district, anchored by a movie theatre, office space and a 300-room hotel."
Liebau says Hollywood Park lasted "longer than anticipated" but the new development is "going to be a major change as far as Inglewood is concerned."
The last race at Hollywood Park will be run December 22. Construction for the development will begin pretty much at the start of the new year.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
