This whole thing will be a huge logistical nightmare for horsemen. Right now there are about 1,500 horses stabled at Santa Anita and 1,500 stabled at Hollywood Park. If they close HP, where are those 1500 horses going to go? Right now, most trainers with decent sized barns have horses at both tracks. HP and SA are only about 30 miles apart so it's not that big of a deal. Many trainers switch off every other day. They will go to HP one day and SA the next.
If HP closes, guys are going to have to keep some horses at either Pomona or San Luis Rey. SLR is over 100 miles away. Pomona is only about 20-25 miles from SA but Pomona is only a 6 furlong track. I don't think too many guys are going to be comfortable training a good horse on that track. Not only that, I don't think they have enough stalls at Pomona. I don't think they have more than 600 stalls or so but they do have plenty of room out there. They could probably add more stalls.
|
06-02-2009, 01:27 PM
Threaded Mode