Notes from the Racing Underground

  

 HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD PARK RACE TRACK

Opening day is this Thursday April 21st 2011.  Good Luck racing friends and here is a few facts about Hollywood Park. I used the reference site on Hollywood Park to get some facts.


The track a cushion track was installed in September 2006 to replace the existing dirt. No comment except this " Let's get back to the days of old the days of gold...... A dirt track!

The track has a 1.125 miles of synthetic dirt (weird word)...oval. The turf oval is one mile and 145 feet.

The track was opened in 1938 by the Hollywood Turf Club. Racing was suspended during World War Two. Hollywood Park during the years of 42-44 was a storage facility in the war effort.

Hollywood Park was the first track to average more then $4 million in daily handle in 1977.

The fire of 1949...... a year before I was born hit the grandstand and clubhouse which became a inferno. The summer of 49' there was no racing at Hollywood but instead Santa Anita open for the summer of 49. Hollywood re-open in the sumer of 1950.

NOTABLE EVENTS AT HOLLYWOOD INCLUDE:


Seabscuit won the first Hollywood Gold Cup in 1938 .....1940 Challedon.....1951 Citation......in 1956 Swaps........ 1957 Round Table....1971 Ack Ack.....in 1979 Affirmed......in 1987 Ferdinand......in 1993 Best Pal.....in 1995 Cigar....in 1998 Skip Away....in 2005 thru 2007 Lava Man......in 2009 Rail Trip and last year Awesome Gem......

CITATION

ZENYATTA BY DAVID MORANT

 In 1951.... The great horse Citation became the first million dollar horse by winning his last race in the Hollywood Gold Cup.

On December 10th 1989 Laffit Pincay surpassed Bill Shoemaker's all time record for wins by a jockey.

Casario became the first Japanese bred to win an American Stakes race in 50 years by winning the 2005 American Oaks.

Hollywood Park was the former home of the great racehorse Zenyatta.

ZENYATTA ENJOYING HER DAILY BATH BY DAVID MORANT

Zenyatta at barn 55 by David Morant