Quote from: curtis on June 06, 2016, 04:21:03 PM
The last several years after the Bay Meadows Land Company takeover, Hollywood Park really went to seed. I thought about flying down there during the fall of 2013 and going one last time--it was once my favorite track--but I decided against it. It would have been like viewing the deceased, for me, I like to remember them a different way. Los Alamitos has always been utilitarian at best. I've seen many great quarter horse races there but it has never worked for thoroughbreds for me. I did claim Anniversary Year, just about the best 1/2 ton pet ever, there. Thirteen years later, I'm still doctoring his feet after all the races he ran on that hard track.
Pre-1992 Del Mar had all the history and charm you'd ever want. The new grandstand is decent and the architectural style was honored, but it has a slightly sterile feel to it. If you want to see both Santa Anita and Del Mar, I suggest you go to the end of the SA fall meet and the beginning of Del Mar fall. The weather in Del Mar will be very similar to the summer and you'll be able to get around town much easier. The racing won't be as good as in the summer but you won't have to fight crowds. There is a certain pace to a day at Del Mar and being a so CA beach boy, I can't think of anything better than a racetrack on the beach. I live on a farm in WA state now, very much like what surrounds Saratoga, it is a lovely place. I'll always love Del Mar though, heaven on earth for me.
Thank you for sharing. Here is hoping you are doctoring Anniversary Year's feet for many years to come keeping him happy. I will probably make it to Santa Anita for a Breeders Cup event when I go, though not this year. And I do want to see Del Mar some time - and it will probably be in the time frame you suggest.
My one and only visit to Hollywood Park was in late 2013 for the Cash Call Futurity with Shared Belief. Reflecting on the visit now I get a bit choked up since Shared Belief is no longer around. I had a choice that year to go to the Breeders Cup at Santa Anita, or visit Hollywood Park. Since it was closing, I chose Hollywood Park. I am very glad I did because it was my only chance to see Shared Belief win a race in person. I also had the privilege of visiting him at his barn the following day.
Though it may be hard to believe, I could still feel the charm of the place even though it was a shell of itself. I walked the entire length of the track taking pictures in the grandstand and clubhouse. The track kitchen had some of the best salsa I have ever had. The barns were concrete, but that was practical to protect the horses. I never visited Gulfstream Park when it had the old grandstands. I hear they were magnificent. Fortunately, I have had the chance to see Hialeah since it has been refurbished. In fact, right after it was refurbished. Now that is a grandstand. Hollywood Park I liked so much more than Gulfstream now. It had flamingoes. It had palm trees. It had Sherman, Hollendorfer, and O'Neill on the backside. And we even saw Lava Man in his latest role. I only visited the place once but I get emotional thinking about it. It is very sad that some things need to end. That the past has to give way to the present. They call it progress, but at what cost? I guess I am truly getting old. I think I will go home and look at the pictures I took there tonight.
