The Caliente Hipódromo, formerly named the Agua Caliente Racetrack and the Agua Caliente Casino and Resort, is a resort and casino that formerly included a

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

and

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The racetrack opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million, while the adjacent

Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel The Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel was a resort that operated from 1928 to 1935. Although the casino and hotel were closed, the racetrack continued to operate for many years. The original grandstand structure was destroyed by fire in 1971, but wa ...

had opened in June 1928, later going defunct in 1935. After the racetrack underwent renovations, the complex added the

Estadio Caliente Estadio Caliente is a multi-purpose stadium in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, located across the Tijuana River from the Mexico–United States border. It is the home of Club Tijuana of Liga MX. The stadium is also home of Galgos de Tijuana o ...

sports and concert stadium in 2007. Caliente Hipódromo is currently the largest branch of the Casino Caliente casino chain, and beyond the racetrack and arena, it houses a casino with race betting, hundreds of slot machines, a restaurant and a

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

café.

History

Early years

The vast and spectacular

opened in June 22, 1928 outside

, in what is now the Agua Caliente neighborhood. It was designed by the prominent North American architect Wayne McAllister. Gambling and horse racing were illegal in neighboring

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, as was alcohol due to

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, so many wealthy Americans and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

celebrities flocked to Agua Caliente. An associated racetrack opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million. Like the resort, the racetrack was designed by Wayne McAllister and built by wealthy Americans Baron Long, a Los Angeles nightclub owner, Wirt Bowman, owner of the Tijuana gambling establishment The Foreign Club, and James Coffroth, a member of the local Tijuana horse racing establishment. Some sources note the fourth partner was Abelardo L. Rodríguez, Military Commander and Governor of Baja California, and future

President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

. The lavish resort and racetrack on the Mexican border was popular among Americans, particularly

celebrities, because drinking, gambling and horse racing were still illegal in most of the neighboring U.S. states. The first manager of the track was

Tommy Gorman Thomas Patrick Gorman (June 9, 1886 – May 15, 1961), known as "T.P." or "Tommy", was a Canadian ice hockey executive, sports entrepreneur and athlete. Gorman was a founder of the National Hockey League (NHL), won the Stanley Cup seven times a ...

, who had previously been involved in

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

Horse and greyhound racing

Although

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

outlawed gambling in 1935 and closed the resort and casino, the Agua Caliente Racetrack continued to operate for many years. It was the site of several industry firsts, including starting gates, caliente safety helmets, the first track to have a track announcer and "pick six" wagering. Both

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a New Zealand-born champion Australian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Achieving great success during his distinguished career, his initial underdog status gave people hope during the ear ...

and

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-hors ...

ran and won the

Agua Caliente Handicap The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the richest race in North America. Inaugurated in 1917 as the Coffroth Handicap, ...

, which for a time was the richest in North America. The race track is the originator of the Pick 6 (on the North American continent), then known as the 5-10 and later on the 4-9'er. Some racetrackers called it the Big Six. In 1939 Anna Lee Aldred received her professional license from the Agua Caliente Racetrack, becoming the first U.S. woman to receive a jockey's license. Other riders as Esteban Medina, Aureliano Noguez, Humberto Enriquez, Francisco Mena, Antonio Castanon, Dionicio Navarro and David Flores graced the jockeys' quarters throughout the days of horse racing. Jockey

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple ...

rode his first winner at Caliente in 1932. Trainers such as L. W. Jenner, L. J. Brooks, Wayne Spurling, Juan Garcia, and Roberto Mengaña and El Raton Aviles were among the leading trainers every year. The original grandstand structure was destroyed by fire in 1971, and while rebuilt as operational, was just a shadow of its opulent beginnings. The racetrack ceased hosting horse racing after 1992, instead only presenting greyhound races from that point on. In 2015, the dog racing circuit was one of 20 tracks in seven US states and Tijuana - it was the lowest ranked track on the circuit, and the only location in Mexico. At the time, it had 375 dogs, down from 1,000 at its zenith. It ceased racing greyhounds on July 14, 2024.

Rebuild and arena

The resort is currently owned by millionaire politician Jorge Hank who gave the Agua Caliente Casino and Resort its current name "Hipódromo de Agua Caliente", or Caliente Hipódromo. The

stadium was built in the grounds and opened in 2007. According to ''The New York Times,'' prior to 2007, "the site of Estadio Caliente was a muddy pit surrounded by a defunct racetrack and populated by hippos and alligators, part of a private zoo owned by the millionaire Jorge Hank Rhon" through his family company Grupo Caliente in 2007, he also founded the soccer team

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, simply known as Tijuana or Xolos, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Tijuana, Baja California, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. The club ...

to play at the Caliente Estadio, with the casino and dog-racing track on the next lot. The zoo moved to an adjacent lot. By 2009, the stadium was still under construction and at reduced capacity, as it still was in 2017. By 2017, the stadium had 27,000 seats and was at 90 percent capacity for the winter season. The resort was renovated in the 2010s.

Facility and features

Along with the casino itself and dog racing, the property has 340 rooms, golf games, a nightclub, and a spa. Also on the property is the

. Caliente Hipódromo is currently the largest branch of the Casino Caliente casino chain, and beyond the racetrack and arena, it houses a casino with race betting, hundreds of slot machines, a restaurant and a

café.

References

Bibliography

* Vanderwood, Paul J
''Satan's Playground: Mobsters and Movie Stars at America's Greatest Gaming Resort''
(Duke University Press, 2010) * Beltran, David Jimenez. ''The Agua Caliente Story: Remembering Mexico's Legendary Racetrack'' (2004)

Eclipse Press Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Public ...

*Chris Nichols
The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAlli
(

Layton, Utah Layton ( /ˈleɪʔɪn/) is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 81,773, with 2022 Census Bureau estimates showing an ...

: Gibbs Smith) 2007 *

External links

Official site

Watch Phar Lap win the Caliente Handicap in 1932

on the map of Tijuana {{coord, 32, 30, 24.25, N, 116, 59, 43.77, W, type:landmark, display=title Horse racing venues in Mexico Sports venues in Tijuana Sports venues completed in 1929 Agua Caliente, Tijuana 1929 establishments in Mexico Casinos in Tijuana Casinos completed in 1929 Buildings and structures in Tijuana Defunct greyhound racing venues Casino hotels in Mexico