This color educational film is about The Hollywood Turf Club and Horse Racing at Hollywood Park. There is no copyright at the beginning or end of the film so the date of the production is 1959/1960 as a lot of 1958 is mentioned. The track was opened in 1938 by the Hollywood Turf Club which was designed by Arthur Froehlich. Its chairman was Jack Warner of Warner Bros.
Opening titles: The Hollywood Turf Club presents The Home Stretch (:13-:19). Thoroughbred racing is loved by sports fans and the home stretch of a race is considered the best in all of sports. The Hollywood Park is the track featured. Horses roam. Horses start early in the morning and do practice runs that foretell how they’ll do in the actual race (:20-2:29). The jockey is the hardest worker. They are given massages and a steam room to lose some weight. All of the silks to be worn are in a room cared for (2:30-3:34). Money is what its all about. Jockeys are in the amphitheater paddock in Hollywood Park. Horses line up for the race. Jockeys get 10% of the winning horses pay. The race begins, the horses take off and race. Six horses run the track. The race is very close on the home stretch (3:35-6:09). The horse Swaps had a statue erected in his honor in 1958. Races showing Swaps win are shown. How Swaps was breaking records. The statue is shown and the horse’s family is present (6:10-9:36). In Maryland, Native Dancer runs in the snow. Determined, a former Kentucky Derby winner, runs in CA. California is second behind Kentucky for producing thoroughbreds in the USA (9:37-10:57). Horses get ready to race. The skill of the rider is just as thrilling as the speed of the racehorse. Numerous jockeys are featured and information on them is provided (10:58-13:55). A famous race: 1957 Starlet Stakes at Hollywood Park. It was controversial and an inquiry began as soon as the race was finished. Photo Patrol system is used to review the race. A presiding steward talks about what he saw during the inquiry. There was an infraction, which was dangerous, during 2 horses down the stretch. Strong Ruler finished first but was disqualified (13:56-16:45). All races are reviewed the following morning and the jockeys are allowed to watch and learn. Apprentice riders watch older races like the 1941 Kentucky Derby or horses like Seabiscuit (16:46-19:15). The 1958 Hollywood Gold Cup race. The race is thrilling and the home stretch is exciting. Gallant Man is the winner (19:16-22:16). A thoroughbred’s goal since begin a foal is to win (22:17-23:07). End credits (23:08-23:16).
Hollywood Park, later sold and referred to as Betfair Hollywood Park, was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994 Hollywood Park Casino, with a poker card room, was added to the racetrack complex. Horse racing and training were shut down in December 2013 though the casino operations continued while a new state of the art casino building opened in October 2016.
The former horse racetrack area will be the site of SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL), when the stadium is completed in 2020.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
