The Shrinking Map of the Sport of Kings
By Jonathan Stettin, Past the Wire — Horse Racing Dissected and Delivered
Humphrey Bogart said it best in my opinion,
This is the stuff dreams are made of
As a lifelong racetracker with it in my blood, literally, I thought it applied to the Sport of Kings. Buy a yearling at Saratoga, the stuff dreams are made of, put in that huge pick 6 carryover ticket, this is the stuff dreams are made of, get that job in that barn you wanted, the stuff dreams are made of, get that coveted job at the track, again, the stuff dreams are made of. Win a Grade 1, a Triple Crown, the stuff dreams are made of. Who knew it was a nightmare!
It was the kind of dream you could smell in the dirt and feel in the grandstand. Lately, it feels more like they’re being buried under condos, shopping centers, and corporate “mixed-use developments.” Every time another racetrack goes dark, a little more of the game’s heartbeat fades into the past tense. I’ve seen it happen too many times, and it never gets easier.
When the Gates Closed for Good
Hollywood Park — that one still stings. It wasn’t just another racetrack; it was a palace of racing royalty. Citation, Seabiscuit, Zenyatta, horses that defined generations ran beneath those palm trees. I remember the way the sun hit that stretch in the afternoon, and how the place had an energy all its own. Then one day, the bulldozers came, and that hallowed ground became a football stadium. Some called it progress. I called it heartbreak. After all I saw the very first Breeders’ Cup there and who could have imagined that day the place would now bw a football stadium.
Arlington Park — Arlington was elegance. It was where horse racing met high society without losing its blue-collar soul. The fire in ’85 nearly ended it, but they rebuilt it, stronger and more beautiful than ever. The Arlington Million made global headlines as. the first million-dollar race in North America, a symbol that our sport could think big. The inaugural running did not disappoint either, John Henry and The Bart, the camera could hardly separate them to the point the telecast put up the wrong horse. And now? Gone. Swallowed up by the Chicago Bears and another “development plan.” A crown jewel lost to concrete.
Calder and Hialeah — both Florida legends, both victims of time and greed. Calder had that gritty, working-class charm, the kind of place where you could smell the liniment and hear the real horseplayers talking. Hialeah, on the other hand, was pure art-deco romance. Flamingos, fountains, Cuban coffee, and some of the most beautiful architecture in all of sport. To walk through those gates was to step into history, and like too many things in racing, history didn’t seem to be enough to keep it alive.
Even Pimlico — the home of the Preakness wasn’t safe. It’s survived wars, riots, and politics, and it was patched up more times than an old saddle. Until it wasn’t. They talk about “redevelopment” like it’s a promise, but we all know what that usually means.
The Real Estate Race
Let’s call it what it is: racetracks are sitting on gold mines. Most were built decades ago, long before anyone imagined how valuable the land beneath them would become. Developers see acreage, not atmosphere. They see square footage, not history. The money isn’t in the horses anymore — it’s in what you can build where the horses used to run. Racetracks losing money without racinos or subsidization doesn’t help.
The Stronach Group, say what you will about them, saw this coming. You have to ask why the new Gulfstream was built to small to ever host a Breeders’ Cup despite being a prime location. When they started pushing for decoupling, separating casino revenues from racing obligations, they were telling anyone listening that Gulfstream Park was on borrowed time. If racing no longer needs to run to justify the slots, the business case for keeping the track open evaporates. By my educated guess at about 9 million an acre Gulfstream is probably worth a billion dollars on the open market. Who wouldn’t look at the cash-out option? Nobody whose brain does more than separate their ears. I have heard Mike Repole offered 500 million for it and while all who love racing, myself included, would have to applaud the attempt to keep it alive that might be half of what the facility is actually worth.
Last Man Standing
If that day ever comes, it would leave Tampa Bay Downs as The Florida Racetrack. Think about that. The same track that’s quietly been a winter haven home for horsemen and serious players could suddenly be the lone torchbearer for Florida racing. I love Tampa, they’ve stayed true to the game, but if that day comes, it’ll mark another seismic shift in a sport already losing too much ground. Can Tampa Bay Downs support Florida racing on it’s own? I don’t know and hope not to have to find out. Their 100th year anniversary is upon us and I would say you would not be off base to call them “The Florida Racetrack” of today. They certainly have the best turf course in the state.
California Dreaming… or Fading?
Out west, the story’s the same. Santa Anita, the Great Race Place, is still beautiful, but the grandstands feel thinner and the whispers louder. Purses are smaller, the schedule’s shorter, it is tough to fill even small field races and you can feel the uncertainty in the air.
Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows are already gone, erased from both geography and memory. Once upon a time, California had a circuit that rivaled New York’s. Now it’s a fight to keep one track viable, and even that feels like a battle against the inevitable. Santa Anita, like Gulfstream Park is also owned by The Stronach Group controlled by Belinda Stronach who most believe wants out of racing and that opinion is supported at least on the surface. by some of her actions. Imagine that property on the open market. Different players and location, same question, can Del Mar support California racing all by it’s lonely and isolated self?
Who’s Next
While now official most of us new Aqueduct has been on life support for a while. That plug gets pulled as soon as the new Belmont is built. The Big A will be the Gone A. Secretariat, Forego, Ruffian, they all raced there.
What’s Next for the Game?
Even Saratoga and Churchill Downs, two at least for now strongholds in the game have days where you can fire a cannon in the grandstand and not hit a soul.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if we keep losing racetracks, we lose the foundation of the sport. If we keep leaning on CAWs, the computer-assisted wagering whales firing millions through ADWs, we might be mortgaging the future anyway. Racing has always been two things, a spectator sport and a gambling one.
Kick the CAWs out, and where does that handle come from? Who replaces that money? We need it desperately, but the imbalance between retail players and algorithmic ones is suffocating the ecosystem.
Maybe it’s time to admit racing has to reinvent itself from the ground up, or we’ll keep watching those grounds turn into something else entirely. Because at this rate, one day, there might not be any racetracks left to close.
Oh yeah, if there are no racetracks, there is no thoroughbred breeding either. Hopefully the alarm clock rings soon. Even if it does it has to wake up the right people, whoever they are.
