‘Once a track is sold, it is gone forever’: Can racing afford to keep selling land?

Cover image courtesy of the Australian Turf Club

Amongst a global industry, Australia’s position in the racing landscape is one of strength, projecting prestige and quality across the world.

One of the strongest qualities possessed in this country in respect to our racing industry is the quality of tracks, with world-class surfaces and a proud history of spectacular grandstands and facilities for racegoers and participants alike.

There has been a growing trend in the last two decades of a willingness, or in some cases eagerness, to sell off land owned by turf clubs and whittle down, or in some cases remove entirely, the racing presence at these precincts.

But what can we learn from the past, and even globally? The Thoroughbred Report looks at recent examples of racecourse attrition, to see what impacts jurisdictions have felt as a result of their closure.

South Australia’s past highlights ramifications

The most prolific example of racecourse attrition in Australia, at least in contemporary times, is South Australia, who have lost two metropolitan racecourses since 2007.

Cheltenham was sold for $85 million by the South Australian Jockey Club, where the land that the historic course once stood on now hosts housing.

The circuit that the state sorely misses the most is Victoria Park, which was shuttered some 17 years ago, with the SAJC no longer being able to leverage the prime location to bring in casual and corporate attendees.

Bloodstock agent Adrian Hancock (FBAA), who has been involved in the South Australian racing industry as part of his career, explained to The Thoroughbred Report some of the history behind the closures, and the impact it’s had.

“Cheltenham, I think the benefits of selling it outweighed the costs. Three tracks in Adelaide, it would have been ideal, but not viable probably,” he said.

Gallery: Historic images of Victoria Park Racecourse, images courtesy of State Library of South Australia

“Victoria Park was a big loss, and that wasn't owned by the racing industry. It was leased and we lost the crown land. Politics got in the way of that, and some personnel.

“It needed a lot of money spent on the Victoria Park site. The grandstand needed repair, and it would have been a lot of money needed to upgrade it, but just the location, it was just spectacular.

“When you drive past it today, you’re still sort of disappointed to see where it is today compared to where it could be and racing would have been a benefit to it, but a few of the locals provided some politics and some individuals (got) involved, and it was taken away from racing.

“Some influential people lived on East Terrace, which is where a lot of powerful people live in Adelaide (including some people involved in) politics at the time.

“From what I remember, it just came to a point where the Jockey Club needed to spend some money on the place, that wasn't able to be done.

“I think the majority of Adelaide racing people are very disappointed that Victoria Park isn’t in operation as a racecourse. I know they put up a really good plan to build a universal grandstand that could have been used either way for racing and motor racing, um, with a two-sided stand.

“They started motor racing now, for about six months of the year, they erect a grandstand, all the facilities to house the cars, and then they take it down afterwards. So the motor racetrack is still used.

“Not having Victoria Park does bring up a bit of monomony, but there's new developments happening at Morphettville. There’s the new entertainment and conference centre that just opened up.

“We've got to deal with what we have, we've got Gawler and Murray Bridge that are used throughout the year as well. They probably have about 10 meetings a year between them on a Saturday as a main metropolitan meeting.

“So, yeah, we deal with it, and that's what it is, but when you drive past Victoria Park from my perspective and see the open space and how it could have been, it’s sad.”

An issue with global reach

It’s not just Australia that has seen a trend in reduction of land for racing, with jurisdictions over the world facing challenges caused by different genesis points, but often looping back to the same outcome.

It is worth pointing out that land attrition isn’t a problem solely faced by racing, with golf courses also finding themselves under pressure to preserve their assets, against a tide of rising real estate prices and a scarcity of prime, inner city land. Most notably, Moore Park Golf Club faces a slashing of their land by half, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced in November 2023.

Singapore and Macau’s racing industries have lost in the race for space, with both set to be shuttered permanently by the end of the year. While the news, particularly regarding the latter, isn’t a shock by any stretch of the imagination, in fact at times it felt like an inevitability, the closure of a track, and thus the industry, lays bare how quickly things can fall apart when the land on which we race is gone.

Gallery: Both the Singapore Racecourse and Macau Racecourse will shut permanently at the end of the year

Someone who has seen this scenario play out first-hand is Craig Rounsefell, the experienced head of Boomer Bloodstock (FBAA), who divides his time between Australia and the United States.

Speaking to The Thoroughbred Report on the issue of racecourse attrition, Rounsefell gave some valuable insight into the situation that has unfolded in the last 15 years in the United States, one which should cause alarm bells to ring in the minds of local stakeholders.

“The situation that all racecourses face around the world is the rising price of real estate and the justification of using the land for racing when it holds such a significant value for other purposes such as housing or development.

“In the US the fact that most tracks are privately owned plays a huge part as there is a profit motive and coupled with the decline of the industry, companies that own the racetrack get to a position where it is hard to justify to shareholders the returns they are receiving, compared to what they could realise through a sale.

“These same pressures are obviously appearing in Australia with the value of land in Melbourne and Sydney reaching some of the highest levels in the world, although as history tells us the value of this real estate will only keep going up over time and once a track is sold, it is gone forever.”

With eye-watering real estate prices, particularly in Sydney, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the ATC have looked to cash in on Rosehill, with a very willing dance partner in the current State Government.

The land that Rosehill currently occupies, touted (albeit unverified) to be between $5 billion to $7 billion by Racing New South Wales chief executive Peter V’Landys, is undeniably invaluable, but as Rounsefell points out, once a track is sold, it’s gone forever.

While promises have been made about upgrades to Warwick Farm and Canterbury Park, as well as a brand-new racing facility, which would certainly help bolster the industry, there are very valid concerns about both the delivery of those promises, as well as the ramifications of losing a prime metropolitan racecourse.

“California has been consolidating its racetracks over the past fifteen years with racing declining in the State during this time due to many internal and external factors such as not having access to alternative forms of wagering, like they do in other states,” Rounsefell continued.

Gallery: The Hollywood Park redevelopment

“When I was working for Neil Drysdale in California in 2008, one of the two main racetracks in Northern California, Bay Meadows, closed its doors after being sold to developers. It was then only five years later in 2013, that the second biggest racetrack in Los Angeles, Hollywood Park closed its doors after being sold and subsequently developed into the Sofi Stadium which is now home to the Los Angeles Chargers and the LA Rams NFL football teams.

“In my opinion, this was a disastrous decision as it massively reduced the capacity in Los Angeles for training and resulted in leaving only one track in what is one of the biggest cities in the world.

“The recent news that the lone remaining major track in Northern California, Golden Gate, will be closing is another hit as it leaves only Santa Anita, Del Mar and Los Alamitos as the only major racetracks in the State.

“Given the reduction in racetracks, the capacity for stabling has obviously also decreased which has had a knock-on effect with the breeding industry in California, field sizes and ultimately wagering. In my opinion, all go hand in hand.

“The biggest issue with the sale of these tracks in California is that they were not replaced and in addition, large training facilities have also not been built resulting in many trainers and owners shifting their operations to other states. The issue isn’t isolated to California though, with famous racetracks such as Arlington Park, among many others, closing their doors on the east coast.

“Most racetracks in the US are privately owned with the largest operators being the Stronach Group and Churchill Downs Inc. The closest models to Australia would be tracks such as Keeneland and Del Mar, although still quite different in their approach and setup.

“Australia is in a strong position where the membership base gets to vote and guide the major decisions, particularly around a sale of a racetrack rather than a Board that is driven by the share price of the company or dividends to investors.

“I hope that those in positions of power in Australia, make decisions that benefit and strengthen the racing and breeding industry for many years to come and not just for a season so that one day my children or future grandchildren can pursue a career in this great industry that employs and benefits so many, if they want to, of course!”