Historia Del Casino Agua Caliente Tijuana

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En el anverso: 'Un aspecto del Gran Casino 'El Agua Caliente Tijuana B. En el reverso: '51'.

  • The Tijuana Agua Caliente Hotel and Casino. By Will Chandler. Built by three American sports promoters at a cost of over $1.5 million, Tijuana’s legendary Agua Caliente Hotel and Casino opened to the public on June 23, 1928.
  • Complemento del casino agua caliente, que hasta fecha en curso esta permanence en el mismo lugar, fue colocada frente a la puerta principal de uno de los hotels mas lujosos y famosos en su epoca. Donde cerca de ahi fue construido un hipodromo y y un club de.
(Redirected from Hipodromo de Agua Caliente)

The Agua Caliente Racetrack (current name “Caliente Hipódromo“) is a greyhound racing and former horse racing track in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million.[1]

One year before, the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel opened in June 1928.

Now the largest branch of the Caliente casino chain, the renovated building houses a casino with race betting, hundreds of slot machines, a restaurant and a Starbucks café. The complex includes the Estadio Caliente sports and concert stadium.

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 Croffroth, a member of the local Tijuana horseracing establishment. Some sources note the fourth partner was Abelardo L. Rodríguez, Military Commander and Governor of Baja California, and future President of Mexico.[2] The lavish resort and racetrack on the Mexican border was popular among Americans, particularly Hollywood 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, who had previously been involved in ice hockey.[3]

Although PresidentLázaro Cárdenas 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, safety helmets, and “pick six” wagering. Both Phar Lap and Seabiscuit ran and won the Agua Caliente Handicap, which for a time was the richest in North America.[4]

Historia Del Casino Agua Caliente Tijuana Mexico

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.[5][6][7]

Such riders as Aureliano Noguez, Humberto Enriquez, Francisco Mena, Antonio Castanon and David Flores graced the jockeys' quarters throughout the days of horse racing.

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.

The original grandstand structure was destroyed by fire in 1971, but was rebuilt and continues to operate today, though just a shadow of its opulent beginnings.[8] It is currently owned by millionaire politician Jorge Hank who renamed it 'Hipódromo de Agua Caliente'. It has not hosted horse racing since 1992, but presents greyhound races. The building was renovated in the 2010s and the Estadio Caliente stadium was built in the grounds.

References[edit]

  1. ^Wesch, Hank. 'Agua Caliente celebrates 75 years with little fanfare The San Diego Union-Tribune'. Signonsandiego.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  2. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2006-10-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^The Gazette 1929, p. 13.
  4. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-06-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^Post, Claire Martin The Denver. 'ANNA LEE ALDRED, 85, JOCKEY PIONEER'. Sun-Sentinel.com.
  6. ^Press, The Associated (July 5, 2006). 'Anna Lee Aldred, 85, Hall of Fame Cowgirl, Dies (Published 2006)' – via NYTimes.com.
  7. ^Simon, Mark (2007). The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac. pg. 37. i-5 Publishing. ISBN978-1-933958-38-5.
  8. ^Pierson, Cindy. 'Top Horse Racing Books for Beginners'. Horseracing.about.com. Retrieved 2016-09-09.

Bibliography[edit]

  • 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 PressISBN1-58150-115-3
  • Chris Nichols. The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAlli [1] (Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith) 2007
  • The Gazette (July 9, 1929), 'Eddie Gerard has Resigned Post of Maroon Manager', The Gazette, Montreal

External links[edit]

  • Location on the map of Tijuana

Coordinates: 32°30′24.25″N116°59′43.77″W / 32.5067361°N 116.9954917°W

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agua_Caliente_Racetrack&oldid=984869109'
Historia del casino agua caliente tijuana hoy
A brief history of the 'Monte Carlo en Tijuana' (and its fate) which opened in 1928

An orquesta típica serenaded diners at Tijuana’s Agua Calinente Hotel and Casino in 1928. Photo: Guy Sensor Landscape Photo, courtesy of San Diego History Center Photo Archive.

Historia Del Casino Agua Caliente Tijuana Hoy

Tijuana

The Tijuana Agua Caliente Hotel and Casino

by Will Chandler

Historia Del Casino Agua Caliente Tijuana Mex

Built by three American sports promoters at a cost of over $1.5 million, Tijuana’s legendary Agua Caliente Hotel and Casino opened to the public on June 23, 1928. The enterprise was a spectacular success, thanks in part to its brilliantly staged development. A year’s advance press notices for the hotel were stoked by Caliente’s Phase 1 construction of a greyhound racetrack. The track opened on July 1, 1927, with record-breaking purse payouts that drew the racing sports world to Tijuana.

Known as the “Border Barons,” Caliente’s developers were Wirt G. Bowman (1874-1949, cattle rancher, capitalist and politician), James N. Crofton (1895-1968, rancher and sportsman)—both from Nogales, Arizona—and Baron H. Long (1883-1962, sports promoter and U.S. Grant Hotel owner). Bowman’s long friendships with northern Mexico’s politicians enabled rapid progress in Tijuana. Caliente’s contractor was Fernando F. Rodríguez, brother of northern Baja’s military commander and governor, Abelardo L. Rodríguez (1889-1967).

Named for its medicinal hot springs, the Agua Caliente resort complex included a therapeutic pool and spa, but its chief attractions for wealthy Americans were its luxurious gambling casino, greyhound races and elegant full-service cocktail bars. None of these entertainments were legal in California, and the resort’s location, less than three miles from the international border, was made even more accessible by transborder train service from San Diego to Caliente, and by twice-daily 12-passenger Ford Trimotor airplane flights from
Los Angeles and San Diego to its own airfield.

The hotel’s 300 guest rooms, private bungalows, lush gardens and superb food service guaranteed its popularity as a Hollywood getaway. Guests at the opening’s formal dinner included Al Jolson, Dolores del Rio, Charlie Chaplin, Sid Grauman, Raoul Walsh, Renée Adorée, Mabel Normand, Lupe Vélez, Jack Dempsey and United Artists’ president Joseph Schenck, who became the resort’s majority stockholder in 1932.

Surprisingly, the famously beautiful hotel was designed by fledgling architect Wayne D. McAllister (1907-2000) and his wife Corinne Fuller McAllister (1905-2001), better known for their midcentury-modern projects. Reported monthly casino and track receipts of $500,000 paid for rapid expansions of the hotel, a grass golf course, and, in 1929, a new $2.5 million racetrack and grandstand.

Even after the 1929 stock market crash, Caliente seemed destined for long-term success. Its pinnacle of glamor came with the Warner Bros. musical In Caliente, released May 25, 1935, and starring Dolores Del Rio and Pat O’Brien. But on July 20, incoming Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas permanently revoked all gambling casino licenses, and the resort, then valued at $8 million, was abruptly forced to close at the height of its fame. The Caliente track was allowed to reopen, but the hotel was converted to a military school. ϖ