Hollywood Park Racetrack Horse Racing

About Hollywood Park Racetrack

Given its location, it's not a surprise that Hollywood Park Racetrack is attended by the rich and famous. Located in Inglewood, California, between San Diego and Bakersfield, Hollywood Park has been in existence since June 10, 1938. On that date, Jack Warner from Warner Brothers studio formed the Hollywood Turf Club. Among the shareholders were Bing Crosby, Walt Disney, George Jessel, Wallace Beery, Irene Dunne and Mervyn LeRoy.

From 1942-44, the racetrack was closed because of World War II and was used as a storage facility during the conflict. In 1949, Hollywood Park battled a raging fire that consumed the clubhouse and the grandstand. After one year, the track was repaired and racing began anew in January 1950. One year later, history was made when Citation became the first horse to win a $1-million prize, a feat accomplished in the Hollywood Gold Cup.

On May 10, 1967, Hollywood Park unveiled a Turf course that featured four chutes with a total length of one mile and a width of 150 feet. In 1971, the track made history again when it introduced the exacta wager. This was a massive leap for horse racing as exacta wagers have become one of the most common types of horse bets on any circuit, anywhere. An exacta is when you pick the first two horses of a single race to cross the finish line in the exact order.

As Hollywood Park became more popular it was imperative that renovations be made to meet the expectations of horse bettors. In 1972, Hollywood Park doubled its Turf course, added a restaurant called "The Winner's Circle Dining Room" and made upgrades to the stable area.

During the next 20 years, Hollywood Park broke many records and crossed many barriers in the racing industry. In 1980, it became the first racetrack to average more than $5 million in handle and in 1983 the Hollywood Futurity was not only the first $1-million race for thoroughbred 2-year-olds, it was the richest race staged for thoroughbreds at the time with a purse of $1,049,725.

In 1999, Churchill Downs Inc. purchased Hollywood Park for an estimated $140 million. The deal included the Hollywood Park Casino, which was leased back to Hollywood Park Inc. (now Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.) for 10 years at an annual rate of $3 million, with one 10-year renewal option. On-track handle was up 11.3 percent and on-track attendance up 2.1 percent during the 31-day Autumn Meeting of 2000 - the first under the stewardship of Churchill Downs.

Work began in 2006 to replace the Hollywood Park main track with an engineered Cushion Track racing surface. Cushion Track is a mixture of silica sand, synthetic fibers, elastic fiber, granulated rubber and a wax coating. The resurfacing project was completed on September 13, 2006, just in time for Hollywood Park's fall 2006 meeting. Hollywood Park was the first track in California to install a safer artificial surface, but Del Mar followed soon after with the installation of a Polytrack surface. As mandated by the California Horse Racing Board, all major Thoroughbred racetracks in California must install synthetic surfaces on their main tracks by 2008.