Turf Paradise
Turf Paradise opened on January 7th 1956 about 25 miles outside of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Surprisingly enough the track was very popular in the middle of the desert. In 1980 the track was renovated and a turf course was added along with other amenities.
Turf Paradise 's third owner, Robert Walker purchased the track in 1989 and moved it into the off track betting area. Walker and a consortium of horse racing interests successfully lobbied the Arizona Legislature to legalize off track betting (OTB). What started out as a single OTB site grew to over 45 in-state OTB's and over 900 out-of-state locales, located in six different countries.
Turf Paradise was purchased in a stock acquisition by California-based Hollywood Park in 1994 under the chairmanship of R.D. Hubbard. 2000 provided Turf Paradise with a new owner in Jerry Simms. The self-made multi-millionaire purchased Turf Paradise for $53 million. Simms put in a $5 million renovation plan. Both the Clubhouse and Turf Club were completely renovated and re-styled. Simms also had the main track and turf course renovated, and in the summer of 2003, Simms built a $125,000 equine swimming pool in the stable area of the race track. The pool provides advanced horse therapy for more than 2,200 thoroughbreds.
Scomette Di Cavalli
