Jill's Journal: Some people dream of visiting every baseball stadium in the country, but for me, it’s every Thoroughbred racetrack. We’ve done a pretty good job on this extended road trip, hitting every one we’ve come even relatively close to. The tricky part is being at a track during the days or weeks or months they’re conducing live racing. We seem to hit most places in their off-season, but that’s okay. I’m happy with a glimpse. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve learned other tracks in the country – particularly in California – are not quite as welcoming during dark days or during the off-season as, say, Keeneland in Lexington. (Oh, Kentuckians have it so, so good. There’s a reason Central Kentucky is racing Mecca.)
During our time in Los Angeles and Orange County, I was so thrilled to get the chance to visit the four area tracks. Weeks after a stellar day at
Santa Anita in Arcadia, we headed down to Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Rob and I had been here for live racing before, many years ago, and remembered it as a beautiful place, known as “the track of the lakes and flowers.” It has a rich racing history and was the home base of Zenyatta, so the girls were extremely excited to see it too, even though Hollywood’s racing season is long off. Our excitement came screeching to a halt when we learned at the gate Hollywood Park charges an entrance fee of $10 per person – that would make $50 for our family – even though there was only simulcasting and no live racing. I haven’t been to every track in the country, by any means, but I don’t recall having been to one that charged more than $5 on a regular live racing day and I certainly haven’t ever paid for simulcasting, much less at $10 a head. Ridiculous. I wasn’t about to pay that for a short visit, so we left, bitterly disappointed.
We swung around to the side and got a peek at the grandstand from a distance, but it wasn’t quite the same. I was able to tell the girls Zenyatta had probably walked on that horse path in the foreground, so they were still pleased. :)
What a difference we found at Fairplex Park in Pomona. Part of the Los Angeles County Fair, Fairplex is not a high-class track, but it provides a fun atmosphere with some decent racing. I didn’t expect to see much of anything at Fairplex, as we got there right at dark (it gets dark early here, or did until this blasted Daylight Savings racket this week!). There was absolutely no access to the track as it was completely fenced off, but a security guard at one of the gates saw our Kentucky plates and took mercy on us. He kindly opened the gate and told us how to get to the track.
Obviously this picture is so dark, but it was taken from the backside (the grandstand is across from us) and we could clearly see the tight turns which makes Fairplex famous as a bullring (a little track completely devoid of the wide, sweeping turns and long stretches which make Thoroughbred racing so great). I was thrilled to get this tiny peek (thank you, Fairplex security – you kick butt over Hollywood Park!).
We had one more stop to make to complete our circuit of L.A.-area tracks and we did that this weekend. Los Alamitos Race Course in…Los Alamitos. This isn’t even officially a Thoroughbred track, but a famous Quarter Horse one. They do conduct some Thoroughbred racing, although if a Thoroughbred finds his way into the starting gate at Los Al, he’s probably better off looking for another career as a hunter/jumper or a backyard pet. Most racing here is conducted at night under the lights and we saw very little of the facility. Still, it was nice to complete our superfecta of L.A.-area tracks. I can’t wait to get to San Diego and finally see Del Mar!
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