He predicts Hollywood ending

R.D. Hubbard, who ran Hollywood Park from 1991 to 1999 as the Inglewood racetrack’s chairman, says he has been back only once in the past four or five years.

And he won’t be there Saturday, either, even though one of his horses, Spring House, is a contender in the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup.

Hubbard will be in Lexington, Ky., through the weekend for Breeders’ Cup meetings, but he says he will watch the race on TVG. And, citing some recent strong workouts, he likes his horse’s chances, particularly on an off track.

“It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see some rain,” he said Thursday by phone from Lexington. “For one thing, we can use it. Secondly, my horse does not have a problem with a muddy track. He seems to like it.”

Spring House is coming off a win in the Carleton F. Burke Handicap on Oct. 29 at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. Garrett Gomez was on Spring House in the Burke, but he’ll be riding Sunriver for trainer Todd Pletcher in Saturday’s Turf Cup.

Gomez rode two more winners Thursday, including Seminole Native in the feature, and now leads the jockey standings with 27 victories through 22 days of the 32-day meet.

Tyler Baze will ride Spring House on Saturday.

Hubbard now lives in Palm Desert most of the year, and also spends a good deal of time in Ruidoso, N.M. He owns the racetrack there, Ruidoso Downs, and about 100 horses. He recently sold another New Mexico track, Zia Park.

But Hubbard, known as Dee to friends, still keeps a close eye on horse racing in Southern California. And he doesn’t particularly like what he sees.

“A year from now, maybe two -- well, at least by 2010 -- there won’t be racing at Hollywood Park,” he said.

He just doesn’t see any way to save the track, which in July 2005 was sold by Churchill Downs to the Bay Meadows Land Co. for $260 million.

The company, which also operates the Bay Meadows track in San Mateo, promised to continue racing for at least three years and was hopeful that the state would allow the addition of alternative forms of gambling at the track, such as slot machines.

“That’s not going to happen,” Hubbard said. “The Indian lobby is just too strong.”

The probable scenario is the land will become a real estate development.

Some in horse racing believe fewer racing dates might help save Hollywood Park and give horse racing in Southern California a needed boost.

When asked for his opinion on that, Hubbard said, “That’s a real tough question. Fewer race dates would improve the purses and raise the daily average attendance, but I think too many horsemen would just take their horses and go someplace else.”

Although his run was not without controversy, Hubbard remains proud of some of his achievements after he took control in February 1991 following Churchill Downs’ purchase of Hollywood Park.

“We tried new things and got younger people to come out,” he said. “For one thing, Friday night racing proved to be a success.”

A $20-million reconstruction project gave the track new life before the start of the 1991 spring-summer meet. Moving the finish line to its original location helped put the fans closer to the action.

It was Hubbard’s idea to standardize the color of the saddle cloths. For example, these days the No. 1 horse in every race at every U.S. track wears a red cloth. The No. 5 horse wears green.

“To get all the racetracks to agree to do that wasn’t easy,” he said.

However, when asked what he thought could be done to boost horse racing at Hollywood Park in particular and Southern California in general, Hubbard said, “I really don’t have the answers.”

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larry.stewart@latimes.com