Close tracks; New (better) jobs, tax revenues and economic activity follow – horse racing abuses

To paraphrase an old legal saying: if you have the facts, pound on the facts; if you have the truth, pound the truth; if you have neither, pound the table and scream like hell. We (see this website) have the facts, the truth; they – the racing industry and its sluggish defenders – are shouting, or distracting, like hell. As despair mounts, they search for something, anything, to hold on to; lately it’s all about ‘jobs’, or more specifically, what will become of all their hardworking people if we, the evil activists, were to get our wish and the horse racing was stopped (the subsidies were abolished). Good.

Here are some race tracks that have closed since the turn of the century, and the redevelopment that followed. New jobs. New company. New tax revenue. New, in demand, replacing old, no longer viable: the American economic system as it was designed to function. And morally progress, to boot.

Cal Expo Racetrack, California, closed in 2025
preliminary plans to become the new site of Sacramento State Football

Freehold Raceway, New Jersey, closed in 2024
preliminary plans for mixed-use redevelopment: shops, restaurants, hotel, social club

Golden Gate Fields, California, closed in 2024
Nothing has been finalized yet, but possibilities for this prized property include residential, commercial buildings and even a hospital

Northville Downs, Michigan, closed in 2024
large-scale redevelopment underway: 174 apartments, 53 apartments, 245 houses and townhomes, more than 18,000 square meters of commercial space, etc.

Pompano Park, Florida, closed in 2022
a large-scale redevelopment is underway: hotels, shops, restaurants, apartments and an MSF industrial park of 1.49 m²

Arlington Park, Illinois, closed in 2021
purchased by the Chicago Bears for the purpose of building a new NFL stadium on the site

Calder Race Course, Florida, closed in 2020
now the site of Calder Casino, as well as a large industrial park

Scarborough Downs, Maine, closed in 2020
has been transformed into a diverse walkable community: businesses, boutiques, restaurants, homes, walking trails, recreational greenery

Bluegrass Downs, Kentucky, closed in 2019
is being reimagined as Paducah Sports Park, a new multi-sport recreational complex expected to generate a local economic impact of $130 million per year

Portland Meadows, Oregon, closed in 2019
now the site of a new Amazon distribution center – jobs, jobs, jobs

Suffolk Downs, Massachusetts, closed in 2019
this ongoing redevelopment – ​​residential, hotel, retail, office – is “one of the largest real estate projects in Boston history”

Hazel Park, Michigan, closed in 2018
has been redeveloped into a state-of-the-art industrial park with huge job-producing tenants – Amazon, GM, LG Electronics, et al.

Hialeah Park, Florida, closed in 2016
The former racetrack was already the site of a casino, but will eventually include hundreds of new apartments and a charter school

Les Bois Park, Idaho, closed in 2016
It is undergoing a redevelopment that will eventually house a large family-friendly park and a professional football stadium

Atlantic City Race Course, New Jersey, closed in 2015
is being transformed into a three-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center with an expected 750 high-paying jobs

Maywood Park, Illinois, closed in 2015
has been transformed into an Amazon fulfillment center, which also includes retail space

Beulah Park, Ohio, closed in 2014
has been transformed into a huge (and much-needed) residential development, with around 1,000 varied homes; commercial development underway

Hollywood Park, California, closed in 2013
Exhibit A for closed-track redevelopment: NFL stadium, full-service casino, 6,000-seat theater, film studio, office, retail, residential and more

Manor Downs, Texas, closed in 2010
ongoing transformation into an industrial park of over one million square meters

Pinnacle Race Course, Michigan, closed in 2010
underwent a massive commercial redevelopment, anchored by two massive Amazon warehouses

Rockingham Park, New Hampshire, closed in 2009
underwent a large-scale mixed-use redevelopment – immediately expected 6,000 new jobs

Bay Meadows, California, closed in 2008
underwent a large-scale redevelopment for mixed uses: offices, shops, residential, public parks

Woodlands Racecourse, Kansas, closed in 2007
now the site of an Amazon fulfillment center with an estimated 500 jobs

Sportsman’s Park, Illinois, closed in 2002
now the site of a Walmart Supercenter and a Wirtz Beverage distribution center – jobs, jobs

Brockton Fair, Massachusetts, closed in 2001
ongoing plans for mixed-use redevelopment – ​​residential, commercial, light industrial

Garden State Park Racetrack, New Jersey, closed in 2001
underwent a large-scale redevelopment for mixed uses: residential, retail, restaurants

Playfair Race Course, Washington, closed in 2001
has been renamed “Playfair Commerce Park” – a brand new industrial park in the heart of Spokane

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