Agua Caliente celebrates 75 years with little fanfare
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20041228-9999-1s28calie...
By Hank Wesch
December 28, 2004
Seventy-five years ago today, Dec. 28, 1929, there was a major happening in Tijuana. Agua Caliente, at that time the finest horse racing emporium west
of the Mississippi, opened.
"It was the place to be; there was so much excitement," said David Beltran, author of "The Agua Caliente Story ? Remembering Mexico's Legendary
Track," a book published last fall.
"No one had heard of a track being built for $2.5 million ? remember this was a time of economic depression. From what I've seen in the pictures and
read in accounts there was so much opulence and extravagance.
"And Hollywood just took over the place."
Tijuana and points slightly south being a getaway destination of preference for the movie set in those days, it was no surprise that in the crowd of
20,000-plus were celebrities that included Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Al Jolson.
So was Bing Crosby, still eight years away from gathering some buddies and opening his own track at Del Mar.
The first race, a 5?-furlong sprint carrying a $600 purse, was won in 1:07 4/5 by a 6-year-old gelding named Don K. ? owned by C.B Irwin and ridden by
Willie Moran. The featured $2,000 San Diego Handicap was won by Scotts Grey, ridden by Noel "Spec" Richardson. Eight years later, Richardson would
ride Ligaroti in the match race against Seabiscuit that put Del Mar on the racing map.
That opening day at Agua Caliente started a not-uninterrupted but certainly eventful 63-year run of racing at the border track. And early on,
especially, the biggest names in riding and training and the biggest stables from all across the land could be found on Caliente cards.
Runnings of the Agua Caliente Handicap, which offered the astronomic purse of $100,000, were taken by 1928 Preakness champion Victorian and the
Australian wonder horse Phar Lap, who would die mysteriously shortly thereafter to end a sparkling career but start an enduring legend.
Jim Dandy, who failed to hit the board in starts during the inaugural season at Caliente, was shipped to Saratoga and defeated Triple Crown champion
Gallant Fox in the 1930 Travers at 100-1 odds in what still stands as one of the biggest upsets in racing history.
Caliente proved the launching site for racing innovations such as the jockey helmet ? previously riders went out with only silk or cloth caps
protecting their heads ? and a wager in which bettors tried to identify the winners of six straight races.
That bet, called the 5-10 for the race numbers it encompassed at Caliente, generated large pools and payoffs. And when racing was legalized in
California in the mid-1930s, it wasn't long before the bet was shamelessly ripped off to become the Pick Six, one of the most popular exotics on
Southern California betting menus to this day.
For decades, San Diegans by the thousands would cross the border on Saturdays and Sundays to watch and bet the races. In later years, the elite
horses, jockeys and racing outfits were ensconced in Los Angeles and occupied with the Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar meetings.
But through the mid-1980s, there were enough cheaper horses to fill Caliente cards and enough fans with sufficient interest and desire to make the
trip across the border to create memories that many still treasure.
The advent of satellite wagering in Southern California in 1988, which made the border crossing ? or trips to L.A. for that matter ? unnecessary for
fans, was a portent of doom for Caliente. And in May of 1992, horse racing there ended.
"The original memo said it would only be shut down for a short time," Beltran said. "It's been 12 years now. That's not a short time."
The stable area was demolished for a housing project. The grandstand has fallen into disrepair, occupied only by patrons of the dog races on a mini
track that has replaced the large one.
The track owner/operator who decided to pull the plug on the horse racing operation, Jorge Hank Rhon, was recently elected mayor of Tijuana.
The anniversary of the opening of Agua Caliente will pass without ceremony or much, if any, notice. Today will be just another day.
But in 1929, it was a great day for the city and for the sport.
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