The announcement earlier this week from the ownership of Turf Paradise that the 67-year-old Phoenix, Ariz., racetrack would no longer conduct live racing left employees, horsepeople, and fans reeling. With no live racing, the off-track betting facilities operated by Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms would also be forced to close, shutting down key revenue streams that would produce purse money for racing at other tracks.
A deal to sell the track fell through when efforts stalled to persuade state lawmakers, including Gov. Katie Hobbs, to approve Historical Horse Racing machines.
Stacy Campo, a trainer whose family has been breeding and racing horses in Arizona for decades, joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills on this week's Friday Show to discuss the Turf Paradise closure and the prospects for the continuation of live racing at Arizona Downs in the Prescott Valley and other smaller tracks in the Grand Canyon State.
“The writing was on the wall just by the way the place looks and how it's just kind of fallen apart around us,” Campo said of Turf Paradise. Nevertheless, she added, “It was just a shock. People are crying. People have been fired. … It's just devastating.”
Campo called Arizona Downs in the Prescott Valley, about 90 minutes north of Phoenix, a “viable” alternative, but that track is also for sale with no certainty about its future. She remains hopeful the industry can survive.
Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:
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