Turf Paradise
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| Location | Phoenix, Arizona |
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| Coordinates | 33°38′05″N 112°05′33″W / 33.6348°N 112.0925°WCoordinates: 33°38′05″N 112°05′33″W / 33.6348°N 112.0925°W |
| Owned by | Jerry Simms |
| Date opened | January 7, 1956 |
| Race type | thoroughbred and quarter horse |
| Official website | |
Turf Paradise is a thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack in the Deer Valley section of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. During the off-season it hosts American Flat Track motorcycle racing.
In 1954 businessman Walter Cluer, a successful millwork company founder and manufacturer from Phoenix, purchased 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) of barren desert at what is now Bell Road and 19th Avenue. Cluer, who was also a horse owner, dreamt of building a first-class race track in Phoenix.
Many locals thought Cluer's ambitious project was ill-timed and destined to fail, given that the property was 25 miles (40 km) from downtown Phoenix, and that the only way to get there was via a few badly maintained dirt roads. However, he forged ahead and on January 7, 1956, Turf Paradise opened its doors to great success. Cluer remained as head of the track for nearly 25 years.
In 1980, Herb Owens took over and Turf Paradise entered into a phase of renovation. A seven-furlong infield turf course with a one-mile (1.6 km) and one-eighth chute was added. The Clubhouse was enlarged and a Turf Club with penthouse-style Directors’ Suite and outdoor patio was also added.
Turf Paradise’s third owner, Robert Walker of Scottsdale, Arizona had made a fortune with an aerospace company he had founded and sold. He purchased the track in 1989 and moved it into the gambling field of off-track betting. Walker’s formula seemed to be the right approach at the right time, as he retired the track’s outstanding debt and declared the first-ever dividend for Turf Paradise stockholders. In addition, Walker and a consortium of horse racing interests successfully lobbied the Arizona Legislature to legalize off track betting (OTB). The in-state OTB network is perhaps Walker’s most significant contribution to the track and Arizona’s racing industry. What started out as a single OTB site in little Cave Creek (pop. 4,000) in 1991, has now grown to over 45 in-state OTBs and over 900 out-of-state locales, located in six different countries.
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Wikipedia