Long-awaited train stop at the races inches closer to reality

If they build the train stop at the rear of the west parking lot of the fairgrounds, people will ride the train to the races and other fairground events. That is the firm conclusion from the comments posted to a host of stories which have appeared in the San Diego press about this project this past year.

As race fans like Bill Leutzinger, who travels to Del Mar for a few weeks each race season from Chicago puts it, “I would love to be able to fly into either Los Angeles or San Diego, and be able to take the train, carefree and car free, directly to the Del Mar parking lot. From there it is just a matter of steps to the condo I rent each year.”

Leutzinger also notes that in his home city of Chicago people can take the train from any part of downtown directly to the Arlington Park raceway, where they disembark closer to the stands than even the preferred parking. The proposed Del Mar Fairgrounds train stop at the west edge of the rear parking lot, just north of the San Dieguito River, would be just a few hundred yards from the grandstands.

“Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday the trains are full of not just horseracing fans but families bringing their children to the Arlington track,” notes Leutzinger. “My grandfather took me as a child to the races and I have been going back ever since. After all, this sport will die if we don’t get the younger fans,” says the Chicagoan.

SANDAG completed preliminary designs and cost calculations in May
On May 15, 2009, the SANDAG staff presented the results of their year of study of the Del Mar Fairgrounds Permanent Seasonal Rail Platform Feasibility Study, which is part of their San Dieguito River Bridge Replacement and Double Track Project, to SANDAG’s Transportation Committee.

In their study the SANDAG staff broke out the train stop platform and access ramp’s costs from the balance of the project. Cost calculations were $5.4 million for a 1,000-foot long train stop platform; $3.7 million for a 600-foot platform, with appropriate access ramps. The cost of constructing 1.1 miles of double tracks from the existing double tracks in Solana Beach north of the San Dieguito River, and new double tracks into Del Mar to the south, plus the two new trestles over the river was budgeted at $72 million.

At their meeting the SANDAG transportation committee began considering how the total $72 million-plus project could be broken into phases so that the two most important benefits — the train stop at the fairground and a new trestle over the river - could quickly be achieved.

In addition to the benefits derived from constructing the train stop platform at the fairgrounds, dredging the San Dieguito River is considered essential to the health of the $86 million lagoon and wetlands project being completed there. It will allow “tidal flushing” to take place. A construction of at least one of the new long span trestles and demolition of the old circa 1914 wooden trestle would facilitate the river’s dredging and tidal flushing.

At the May meeting the SANDAG staff was instructed to look into a three phased approach.

Phase 1 would be to construct the new west side of the double tracks from Solana Beach to the river, and to build 600 feet of the northern section of the train stop platform, plus the ramping system suggested by the SANDAG planning consultants. A 600 foot platform is adequate to accommodate current Coaster and Amtrak trains.

Phase 2 would include building the new west-track trestle and switching both north and southbound trains to that crossing. The old 1914 wooden trestle could then be demolished.

At this stage, the goals of being able to dredge the river to achieve “lagoon flushing” and the goal of re-establishing direct train ridership to fairgrounds, would both have been accomplished.

The potential need to raise the elevation of the new trestles to accommodate both a higher level flood plane, and potential rising sea levels could have an impact on the precise design and order of these phasing efforts, requiring that the new west trestle be built first.

Phase 3 is the final phase involves deciding on the route to be used south of river and to complete the project. That would involve building the new east-track trestle and the double tracks along what ever south-of-the-river route is ultimately chosen. At this phase the train stop platform would also be extended southward to its ultimate total length of 1,000 feet in order to accommodate future longer trains.

According to Matt Hall, Carlsbad City Councilman and Vice Chairman of SANDAG’s Transportation Committee, progress is being made. “I feel we have made more progress in this last year than has been made in the last 24 years, since the Fair Board added locating a stop at this spot to the master plan for the Fairgrounds in 1985. SANDAG continues to make this project one of our transit priorities,” says Hall.

According to Hall, the SANDAG committee and board are scheduled to look at several projects along the Coaster line to determine which projects to invest money into, in order to make them “shovel ready” for implementation. “I am comfortable in saying that this is one that we would evaluate for stimulus implementation,” says Hall.

According to Gary Gallegos, CEO of SANDAG, they hope to present some of these alternatives to their board for their consideration at the end of July.

Other potentials for financing the platform’s cost have been identified
In a parallel effort last May, San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, and SANDAG chief executive officer Gary Gallegos each wrote to the state of California Race Track Leasing Commission suggesting that the commission include a provision in the State’s soon to be released Request for Proposal for the race concession at Del Mar calling for a platform cost-sharing negotiating point be included in their RFP.

The concession contract of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club expires this year and Gallegos and Slater-Price were suggesting in their May correspondence that given the attendance benefits such a stop could provide, cost participation by the new concessionaire would seem in order. The State Race Track Leasing Commission is responsible for negotiating that contract.

A study done in the summer of 2008 and presented to State Assemblyman Martin Garrick showed that the 2007 revenue to the race concessionaire from the betting alone approached one million per day. Revenue from on-track concessions, i.e. program sales, admissions, gift shops etc. were in addition to that.

The 22nd District Agricultural Association, the state agency which is the landlord of the Del Mar facility, also receives a portion of the betting revenue, plus revenue from various concessions including food and beverage consumption, which on certain race days has topped one million per day.

Hollywood Park’s closing should also increase attendance at Del Mar
On June 3, 2009, the Inglewood City Council approved the Environmental Impact Report needed for the $2 billion “Hollywood Park Tomorrow” planned community to be built on the 238-acre site of the Hollywood Park racetrack. From the reallocated Hollywood Park race schedule Del Mar should receive at least two more weeks of racing, thanks to AB 2205 — a bill governing the reallocation of racing weeks sponsored by Carlsbad Assemblyman Martin Garrick and signed into law by the Governor September 27, 2008.

Hollywood Park’s closing is expected to yield the potential for LA and Orange County race fans to want to commute to the Del Mar races by train. That, plus the addition of at least two more weeks of racing at Del Mar, should increase the potential for a newly selected concessionaire to participate in the funding of the train stop’s platform.

“If they build the stop, I will ride the train” says Pablo Suarez, president of Nectar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. whose headquarters is in Valencia, located in the north western corner of Los Angeles County along Interstate 5.

The Suarez Racing Stables, which sports a “Superman” symbol on their silks has an impressive set of wins and high stakes finishes at Del Mar, Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, even Dubai. In 2006 he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs with Thor’s Echo.

“My employees all know I love the sport of racing,” says Suarez, “and many wish they could travel to Del Mar to watch.” Normally Suarez runs 15 or more horses each meet at Del Mar. “But frankly, the traffic is a turnoff,” says Suarez.

Suarez, a strong family man, who has a patriarchal attitude of concern for his employees, has a plan for when it becomes possible to get a reserved seat on Amtrak from the current stop in Santa Clarita to Del Mar.

“I want to involve my employees in an annual summer weekend of racing and enjoyment of the beach. They could rent accommodations for a long weekend, and we could make it a three day company event, with a company picnic-on-the-beach one of the nights. They could experience my joy for the sport of racing and we could build company moral and spirit all with no hassle by reserving our seats on the train,” says Pablo Suarez.

“Even the workers at the track would benefit from the train stop,” says Lee Hall, vice president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The Union, which has been on record for the past two years endorsing the construction of the train stop, conducted a survey of its track employee members last summer.

The survey sampled the round-trip mileage to the Del Mar track from the homes of SEIU members in: Vista, Carlsbad, San Carlos, San Diego, Chula Vista, and El Cajon, calculating their mileage cost using the Federal approved mileage rate, plus any parking costs. It showed that Union members surveyed would save between a low of $17.75 per day by riding the train to work from Carlsbad, as opposed to driving their cars, to a high of $47.40 per day by taking a Trolley/Coaster combination to work from a SEIU member’s home in El Cajon.

The union is on record recommending that this project be included in the President’s Stimulus Program for funding. Not only would it create construction jobs, but it would have a lasting positive impact on traffic congestion, saving money and gas for those wanting to get to the fairgrounds, cutting pollution, plus riding the train is fun, notes Lee Hall.

If the interest groups and government agencies involved remain “all aboard” in the collaboration required to make the train stop happen, the race fans coming to the 2011 Thoroughbred meet should be able to commute directly to the races by Amtrak or Coaster.

Helen and Richard Eckfield are with Savvy Seniors at the Track, and wrote this column for the Carmel Valley News, an SDNN media partner.

Tags: Del Mar Racetrack, Hollywood Park, horse races, Los Angeles, SDNN, train stop

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