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[Andy Asaro]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

This is wrong. Dead wrong.

If year round racing was to succeed, it would have succeeded at Hollywood Park. Hollywood Park is far nicer than either Pomona or Los Al. It had an already built, very functional and beautiful plant, and an already built out, mile and an eighth racetrack and mile turf course.

There is just zero interest in horse racing in Southern California in late November and early December. And that translates into low attendance, low handle, small fields and little support from horsemen, etc. Whoever has those dates will lose money.

Further, there is zero interest in Pomona in any sort of horse racing. Bear in mind, fair meetings historically did fairly well, and yet Pomona could not wait to get rid of their racing dates. They were losing money over three weeks in September despite having a fairgrounds full of people to come to the races. So how the heck are they going to make any money running races in December?

And how big a chunk of their profitable fairgrounds are they going to commit to expanding the racetrack? Or were they supposed to just race over a 5 furlong oval?

When Hollywood closed, the proper thing to do was to realize this was the end of year round racing in Southern California and to coordinate our racing dates into a single circuit with Northern California as existed before the late 1960's.

The horsemen, though, threw a hissy fit. They didn't want to ride circuit. What they didn't do, however, is actually support Los Al. They ignore it. It's full of 5 and 6 horse fields.

Southern California doesn't want year round racing. We just don't anymore (if we ever did). Eventually this has to be recognized and we need to just not have year round racing. We can have the spring and fall at Santa Anita and the summer at Del Mar. That's basically enough.

I'm dead right not dead wrong. So. Cal needs another turf course and training center. Los Al is going away. Then what?