HOLLYWOOD PARK

Hollywood Park is a 240-acre thoroughbred racing facility in Inglewood, California. It is one of the Golden State’s most famous race tracks and has two racing seasons in a year - the Spring / Summer Meet that usually goes from April to July and the Fall Meet that goes from November to December. It also regularly hosts a slew of stakes races, which includes the Vanity Handicap, the Californian, the Beverly Hills Handicap, the American Oaks and the Hollywood Gold Cup.

Hollywood Park Track Facts

Records

History of Hollywood Park

• Hollywood Park opened its gates to the public on June 10, 1938.
• The Hollywood Turf Club was formed under the chairmanship of Jack L. Warner (of the Warner Brothers film corporation). The 600 original shareholders included many show business stars, directors and producers.
• The so-called "binocular camera", a movie camera attached to binoculars, was introduced in 1941 and was used to record sections of the track during races.
• Racing was suspended during World War II and the track was used as a storage facility from 1942-44 as part of the war effort.
• A fire hit the track in 1949 and the ’49 summer meeting was conducted at Santa Anita Park instead. Hollywood Park re-opened in the summer of 1950.
• The Lakeside Turf Course, featuring four chutes, opened on May 10, 1967. Old Mose won the first race on the course.
• Hollywood Park pioneered the exacta in 1971.
• A $3 million expansion project in 1972 doubled the size of the Turf Club, added the Winner's Circle Dining Room to the Clubhouse, and renovated the stable area.
• Sunday racing was introduced at Hollywood Park on April 15, 1973.

Hollywood Park
Inglewood, California


• The Pick Six, an exciting and successful innovation in California and a forerunner to the Perfect Six, was introduced at Hollywood Park by Vernon O. Underwood on June 7, 1980.
• In 1980, Hollywood Park became the first track to average more than $5 million per day in pari-mutuel handle.
• The 1 1/8-mile main track, which has a 1,321-foot stretch, was opened on Nov. 7, 1984.
• Hollywood Park was host to the first Breeders' Cup on Nov. 7, 1984, handling a then-record $11,466,941.
• Hollywood Park again hosted the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 21, 1987, becoming the first track to host the prestigious event twice. It set a Breeders Cup handle record of $14,352,515 for the event. The total handle, including simulcast handle, of $36,398,366 was also a single-day Breeders Cup record.
• The Turf Festival, a series of six grass races which attracts turf stars from across the country and Europe, was introduced at the 1991 Autumn Meeting.
• The $20-million Hollywood Park-Casino opened on July 1, 1994.
• A Hollywood Park record of $21,287,723 was wagered on the 1995 Kentucky Derby Day.
• In 1997, Hollywood Park hosted the Breeders’ Cup Championship for third time and total wagering on this 10-race program reached $79,741,030.
• An increase in on-track attendance helped the 1998 Autumn Meeting attain a daily average handle of $9.1 million - a record for a non-Breeders’ Cup meeting.
• Churchill Downs Inc. acquired Hollywood Park Race Track for $140 million on Sept. 10, 1999.