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Originally Posted by rocknrowl
I hate to see Hollywood go, but maybe this can help California racing in the long run. Instead of having NorCal and SoCal racing they could combine the two and run a circuit that consist of Santa Anita, Golden Gate, and Del Mar. It would lead to bigger fields and I would think an increase in handle. The fair circuit could still run each summer and Fairplex could become part of the NorCal fair circuit. Los Alamitos could even get in the mix by carding more Thoroughbred races to accommodate some of the lower level claiming horses that run in NorCal now.
Of course it will never happen, I'm sure getting the two circuits to work together will be next to impossible.
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Not sure this would work. One thing that makes the So Cal circuit work is that the two LA tracks act as training centers for the others as each one has racing. Horses ship from Hollywood to race at SA, and vice versa. No Cal racing ain't just an hour or two down the road; it's a full day's drive. Okay for occasional races, but not on a daily basis.
I'm so old I remember when Oak Tree was brand new and was dedicated to younger horses and turf racing. Any horses who had aspirations to national championships went east after Del Mar (or even before) to run in the Woodward and JC Gold Cup, the Spinster and the Ladies H. And the only horses running at Hollywood in the fall pulled sulkies. The horses who got a late start on the year went up to Bay Meadows, until Santa Anita opened. The others got a rest. Seemed like we got some good racing out of that schedule. Sorry, old people ramble.