When a 66-year relationship is about to break up the first impulse is to repair the union. The second is to fix blame for the split. Such is the case with the City of Inglewood and Hollywood Park Racetrack in the wake of the racetrack’s impending move to Irvine, California.

The announcement sent shock waves through Inglewood and baffled most residents. Their alarm wasn’t because the race track was an essential part of their lives, or the place where most of them held jobs—it wasn’t. But the information left residents more dismayed than surprised. Most knew the racetrack and the residents had fallen into the worst habits of an old marriage. They have long taken each other for granted and had lost all interest in pleasing one another. Deep down they both knew the union was over, but only after one of them sought a divorce, did the other become peeved by the one-upmanship.

A reported reason for the split is the race track’s need to connect with the hip, young, affluent clientele that’s now thought to be essential to horse racing’s economic survival. This is coupled with a belief that affluent race goers will no longer visit working class Inglewood to enjoy the Sport of Kings. Additionally, the land beneath the Inglewood site is now very valuable, while the proposed site in Irvine is much cheaper. Consequently, Hollywood Park is joining the white flight exodus that hit Inglewood in the mid-70s, motivated by the hope of selling “high” and rebuilding “cheap” and drawing an upscale crowd, to boot!

It’s also been noted that Hollywood Park and its parent company, Churchill Downs are joining the downsizing trend of smaller boutique sized race venues like Del mar in northern San Diego and Saratoga Race track in upstate New York, which draw 30,000-plus fans a day at month long race meets which become community-wide social events.

Experts say that horse racing demographics have changed and on a whole, they are now more comparable to those who enjoy professional golf. Today’s racing fan is more educated and more affluent than the average sports fan. And, the current thought is that this type of fan is no longer willingly to trek to Inglewood to enjoy horse racing. Needless to say, this view plays favorably with those who would blame Hollywood Park’s downslide on Inglewood where the people don’t know enough; don’t spend enough, and aren’t light enough! All of this would clearly make the late writer/poet/horseplayer/boozer Charles Bukowski roll over in his grave.

Further, this assumption falls to account for the success the Lakers enjoyed before leaving Inglewood for Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Throughout their four decades in Inglewood the Lakers played to a standing-room-only crowd of 17,0000-plus at ticket prices that averaged far above the green fees golfers pay at most public courses. And these fans trekked to Inglewood in the evening, when crime-infested inner cities are most feared.

In short, when the product is superior to that found anywhere else, the public will journey to Inglewood to sample the event. The same can be said for horse racing at Hollywood Park. As recently as the mid-90s, special event days managed to draw 50,000-plus crowds. In particular, was the Breeders Cup, which Hollywood Park hosted for the 3rd time in 1997 and established a Southern California record handle of $79,741,030. The on-track crowd of 51,161 was the largest in 10 years, but the day was flawless with smooth traffic flow into the track and championship racing on the track. Once again, this proves that if the product is worthy of attracting a crowd, Inglewood is a host city that is second to none!

But the mindset now is that Hollywood Park race track needs to settle in a region likened to Saratoga Springs in upstate New York. In short, a place with few minorities. Perhaps. But what’s missing in this equation is a true appraisal what makes Saratoga, Saratoga! First and foremost, Saratoga racetrack benefits from sharing a “total resort experience” during the summer months. The crowds drawn to the area are there for exciting Saratoga Performing Arts Center which is not far from the racetrack and is the summer home for the legendary New York Philharmonic and the New York Ballet, to name but a two of the cultural institutions that augment the Saratoga summer experience. When one couples Saratoga’s cultural commitment with the noted Hot Water Spa and Health Resort it becomes clear that Saratoga Racetrack benefits from a sophisticated and culturally advanced environment that is not of their own making!

Conversely, Hollywood Park Racetrack and the City of Inglewood failed to develop a long term plan that was tailored to their mutual benefit. Paradoxically, for the past four years there has been a proposed Inglewood Performing Arts Center to be developed and located next to Hollywood Park Racetrack . Unfortunately, neither Hollywood Park nor Inglewood city government officials saw any merit to advance this proposal as a mutual sum-gain. And more the pity. With LAX only one mile away, Inglewood only needs to attract a mere 2% of the 60 to 70-million that arrive each year to regain its former title of being “Saratoga of the West!”

The problem lies not in the fans but in our decision makers. Some blame should also fall on a horseracing industry which simply has not kept pace with the fast-moving pace of the times. Where would basketball or football be if after every point scored, the teams retired to the locker rooms for 30-minutes, before returning to resume play

Horse racing simply doesn’t provide the steady action to equal card playing, dice throwing, or the down-pull of a slot machine handle. But while the gaming industry is surpassing the horse racing industry in revenues, Hollywood Park Casino has not kept pace with this success. . Since the Casino first open its doors, it has not performed to the level promised by its operators when they sought card room approval at the ballot box. Even now, with the popularity of old fashion Poker at an all-time high on Cable TV, Hollywood Park Casino has not gained appreciatively from this momentum. The Casino is still viewed around the Los Angeles Basin as a place featuring hard-to-pronounce card-games of a foreign-origin which have mostly been rejected by the busloads of retired Los Angelenos who prefer to gamble at the Indian Casinos in the desert!

In all likelihood, all of the above is known to most of the decision makers of Inglewood and officials who run Hollywood Park racetrack and Casino. They know what’s going on and what needs to be done, but as yet, they are unwilling to do it. This gap, between knowing what to do and actually doing it, is most reflected by the racetrack's low-key strategy to the impending Gaming Reform Initiative that will be on the ballot this coming November. The ballot measure calls for the card clubs and racetrack to receive an allotment of slot machines which would provide Inglewood with 33% of the gross income! This would mean a bonanza to cities like Inglewood, but if controversial individuals like Larry Flynt are seen as it's primary backer, the initiative has little chance of winning approval from mainstream voters.

The Gaming Reform Measure would allow Inglewood to transform itself into being rival Las Vegas and become the “Entertainment Capital of Southern California.” A successful Gaming Measure (if the racetrack leaves the slot machine allotment stays in the city) along with 238 acres just one mile from a busy international airport (LAX) in the middle of a thriving city, is an opportunity that would even dwarf the imagination of the legendary Bugsy Siegel, who dreamed up Las Vegas. Inglewood can become the host city of significant world-class Performing Arts Center, Media Distribution Center, Five-Star Hotel and Major Convention Center, state of the art Offices and a major recreation and entertainment theme-park, Harlem Renaissance Jubilee," that would rival anything in Las Vegas. Inglewood’s goal should be to develop the first billion-dollar Theme-Park Game Center to secure for all time, Inglewood’s title of being “The Crown Jewel of the South Bay!”