Horse Tracks Place Bets On Infill Redevelopment

"Thanks in part to competition from off-track betting and Indian casinos as well as nationwide trends, Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo has already been demolished, and Inglewood's Hollywood Park could cease racing operations and face demolition as early as August. With parent company Magna Entertainment in bankruptcy, Arcadia's Santa Anita is up for auction, and Albany's Golden Gate Fields is expected to follow. These changes leave San Diego's publicly owned Del Mar as the state's only financially sound thoroughbred track."

"Both Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields are currently zoned for racing and have no imminent plans for redevelopment, but it may only be a matter of time until horse racing tracks go the way of drive-in movies and steel mills. This time, however, planners have been stepping more gingerly on such prized property, envisioning not identical tract homes or office parks but more complex developments that pass muster with stakeholders and public officials – and that favor two legs over four."