Is your favorite track a potential land development site?

[dylbert]

Discussions abound that as horse racing continues its decline as industry that more racetracks become potential land development opportunities. I would like to hear assessments of venues around the country.

I will start by offering my opinion about each of the four racetracks that operate here in Louisiana.

Fair Grounds: surrounding neighborhood would strongly suggests that FG is not residential or mixed commercial/residential play. Addition of slots further diversified site use. Home of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest.

Louisiana Downs: large tract at intersection of I20/I220/US80. Nearby flooding in 2009 exposed possible seriously flaw there. Development of large upscale mixed comm/res project within two miles has probably diminished value of LaD as prime location. Racino must compete with five other casinos that feature table games.

Evangeline Downs: moved from Lafayette to Opelousas when local citizens voted video poker's cessation. Current site specifically developed for racino with proximity to I49 & US190.

Delta Downs: if you ever traveled to Vinton to visit DeD, you know you are in the middle of nowhere! Several miles from I10, this site would appear to have no potental for redevelopment as residential, commercial, or industrial real estate.

I look forward to others sharing their thoughts & opinions here. In closing, I will share what my college real estate professor stressed, "land will always go to its highest and best use."

[2Hot4TV]

Southern California is doomed when the next residencial home building boom comes, and it will.

Santa Anita is on PRIME real estate.

Hollywood Park is already tagged to be redeveloped.

Del Mar, who knows what the future holds. It isnt in the location to take on a year round racing and make it worth while. Fun for 6 weeks, then the vacations over.

Fairplex is owned by the county and I dont see them investing in a new track to take on more racing dates. It is what it is, County fair race track.

Los Al is also on prime redevelopment real estate, so I dont see them investing in a new facility and race track to take on more than what they have now. Los Al and Fairplex are really old facilities and in need of being replaced.

The short stroy is you can put a fork in California racing, its on life support now.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by dylbert

Louisiana Downs: large tract at intersection of I20/I220/US80. Nearby flooding in 2009 exposed possible seriously flaw there. Development of large upscale mixed comm/res project within two miles has probably diminished value of LaD as prime location. Racino must compete with five other casinos that feature table games.

LAD is actually part of massive tracts of lands in the immediate area surrounding the track, all viable options for development. I think the track is okay, but the land owned by the track is fair game.

[dellinger63]

Hawthorne is safe unless they want to expand the garbage dump. AP is safe for now but in 10-15 years I think parts of it will be sold off.

[keithting]

Isn't there a way to get some of these race tracks declared to be "National Historical Sites" to protect them from development ?

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by keithting

Isn't there a way to get some of these race tracks declared to be "National Historical Sites" to protect them from development ?

So we add a sign on the freeway and a marble head stone to designate the site that WAS Santa Anita Park.

[JJP]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

Hawthorne is safe unless they want to expand the garbage dump. AP is safe for now but in 10-15 years I think parts of it will be sold off.

According to the article in the Louisville Courier Journal, Arlington is definitely NOT safe.

Re: Hooves post, I think a large Portillos would be favored over a Polytrack race track.

[chucklestheclown]

Originally Posted by JJP

According to the article in the Louisville Courier Journal, Arlington is definitely NOT safe.

Re: Hooves post, I think a large Portillos would be favored over a Polytrack race track.

If it DOES become a Portillo's, who inspects the meat?

[JohnGalt1]

I think they've done a fine job redeveloping Bay meadows.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by dylbert

Fair Grounds: surrounding neighborhood would strongly suggests that FG is not residential or mixed commercial/residential play. Addition of slots further diversified site use. Home of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest.

Prior to slots coming to FG, and more importantly prior to Katrina, redevelopment of the site for residential was not out of the question. The neighborhoods on the Gentilly and Desaix sides of the track are shaky, but you'd be surprised about the value of many houses on the Esplanade side.

[trackrat59]

I can share this first hand experience when a track closes.

As a kid my parents would take us to Freestate Raceway. It was up the road and across the street from Laurel. Later in life it made for a kick-butt double header.

Freestate was sold to a developer and closed after the 1990 racing season. They put a CarMax on the site. Freestate had a life sized horse and driver sitting there when you drove on to the track. The developers kept it and it's sitting next to U.S. 1 near the CarMax today.

This was 25 years ago and to this day when I drive by that site I still get pissed off. I always bark something out like loud like FU$&% Y&$ DeFRA%$#@.

Good luck to all of you and your local tracks.

[jballscalls]

we've been told they have been going to close PM and develop the land in some way for 15 years. yet it still stands and we're still running (handle is up too)

[Left Bank]

Canterbury had a deal with developers of a strip mall that would have eliminated about 6 of the barns that were along Canterbury road.The deal fell through,but I'm sure if the right price came along,the Sampson family would probably jump on it.The whole area is booming with housing,retail,and commercial use.

Originally Posted by jballscalls

we've been told they have been going to close PM and develop the land in some way for 15 years. yet it still stands and we're still running (handle is up too)

same with Turf Paradise, but Jerry Sims has sold some of the property.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Very few of the tracks actually deserve to stay open. They continually give our money out in short fields that provide little to no entertainment. They just had a three horse field at Belmont. All they care about is these powerful trainers etc. getting easy checks for beating hardly anybody. So, they can close 'em all up until they learn how to provide actual entertainment. Doesn't do any good to tell them what's wrong with the product. They don't want to have to actually compete for purse money. Look at the races at Hwd today. The first four races have 104k in purse money, and folks it goes towards providing almost zero entertainment (26 horses in 4 races.) You've got 104k to divide up in some way, and that is not the entertaining way to do it. So, close. The industry is full of people that need to wake the fk up. You don't have to be a damn genius to stop giving out money to people for beating 5 horses. Just stop it. Very few of us give a damn about those fields. There aren't enough people (that weak) to prop you up. I don't care if you only run 3 days a week. Whenever you do run, have good fields, or don't run. Period. Get it? No? Stay stubborn, and drive it into the ground.

[trackrat59]

Scud you make some valid points.

It's sad. I hate to admit it "out loud" and I really don't want any tracks to close but I believe it kinda makes better business sense to have fewer tracks. I'm really torn. It's a very difficult issue as everyone knows.

I don't want to see tracks close but with simulcasting we could all be betting on the same tracks with more horses and bigger handles. Living on the animal rescue side of life I also feel we produce way too many horses in this country. The thing is too I don't want to see people lose jobs. No easy answers here with any of this.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

I could not tell ya the last time I played any of the first four races in SoCal. I play the late pick 4, because they tend to offer some actual entertainment value. The people who play the late pick 4, (and the pick 6) don't want their take-out money going to pay for the purses on those stupid early 5-6 horse fields. That money needs to be used to reward the connections that line up in full-field racing (only.)

[ddthetide]

Colonial is/or was for sale, with the possibility of being developed.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

arlington will close and turn into a large portillos..