Hollywood Park Closes at the end of 2009

[MaryS]

Uh, boys...

[Wallyhorse2]

Well:

Whenever Hollywood does close (assuming it does), if no track is expanded to replace Hollywood, my solution would be this:

Santa Anita's winter meet goes back to closing in mid-March the way it used to, the Santa Anita Derby headlines closing weekend.

Del Mar runs a new spring meet from mid-March through Derby weekend, assuming many of the old Hollywood Park stakes with the Swaps now the last major Derby prep.

Santa Anita then runs a new spring-summer meet from the Wednesday after the Derby through where Hollywood's spring meet ends. Some traditional winter fixtures at SA are transferred to this new meet.

Del Mar runs its traditional summer meet, followed by the traditional Fairplex and Oak Tree meets.

After Oak Tree, no racing in So. Cal until the regular SA Winter meet EXCEPT for a brief, 10-day Thanksgiving meet (over three weekends) at Del Mar that would feature all of Hollywood's traditional fall stakes. If this meet is not possible, then the Hollywood Fall stakes are transferred elsewhere, most likely to Fair Grounds in my opinion.

[Kermit]

Del Mar over Thanksgiving I could see in a stretch, but no way a Spring meet happens there.

Santa Anita stays open through the triple crown races. Too bad they prolly wouldn't agree to start their Winter/Spring meet around February 1st.

Fair Grounds has a crummy turf course, IMO. Not even good as Evangeline's.

Cal better open up their sat wag facilities to more tracks, that's all youse guys are gonna get.

[Ancient Title]

And it's not as if the facility sits empty and unused for the rest of the year.

Any other meets would have to be scheduled around already planned/contracted events. They have the Del Mar Fair, national horse show, car shows, etc.

[Pegasus44]

SA...12/26 thru Belmont Day...(mostly 4-day weeks, some 5-day for holidays. American Oaks can run early June, with the newly-named Hollywood Gold Cup, Calif Gold Rush can be run late April)
Take 5 weeks off
DMR....usual dates
Pomona...usual dates
Oak Tree...late Sept thru Thanksgiving Weekend (still gets us BC possibilities and the Turf Festival can stay)
Take 4 weeks off
SA Op Day 12/26, start all over again.

# of racing weeks = 43
# of weeks off = 9

Should get us some larger fields. Some barns will go elsewhere, of course, out of necessity.

[DegenerationX]

I think with the expense to race TB's in the state taking anytime off is a mistake. People might leave and race elsewhere like New Mexico where the purses are pretty good and day rates are half the cost if not more and not come back.

[Triple Threat]

How about this schedule for CA racing?

Santa Anita: December 26-May 31(Memorial Day)
Golden Gate Fields: December 26-April 18 (with No. Cal level purses)
Golden Gate Fields: June 3-June 27 (with So. Cal level purses, a boutique meeting)
Stockton: June 30-July 5
Pleasanton: July 7-July 18
Vallejo: July 21-July 25
Del Mar: July 21-September 6 (why does DMR close on a Wednesday, anyway?)
Santa Rosa: July 28-August 8
Ferndale: August 12-August 22
Sacramento: August 25-September 6
Fairplex: September 10-September 26
Oak Tree: September 30-November 28
Fresno: October 7-October 17
Golden Gate: December 2-December 19 (with So. Cal level purses, another boutique meeting)

That's my proposal of a racing schedule, with four days per week except during Del Mar, which is five days..

And with GG getting a lot of shippers from Canada/Washington, they should race mainly during the winter..