Racing history
Racetracks that became neighborhoods
Speedways and horse tracks need hundreds of acres. When racing ended, those acres became malls, housing and even an NFL stadium.
Lost Stadiums · Updated October 19, 2026
Few lost venues leave a bigger footprint than a racetrack. A speedway or a thoroughbred track can occupy hundreds of acres near a growing city, and when racing ends, that land rarely stays empty.
In Southern California, Riverside International Raceway hosted racing from 1957 to 1989; its site became a retail district anchored by the Moreno Valley Mall. Ontario Motor Speedway ran from 1970 to 1980, and its land became the Ontario Center district, home to the Ontario Mills mall.
Horse racing followed the same path. Tanforan in San Bruno closed in 1964 and became The Shops at Tanforan. Bay Meadows raced until 2008 and is now a San Mateo neighborhood of homes, offices and parks. Garden State Park in Cherry Hill became a town-center development after its last races in 2001.
The most dramatic transformation is in Inglewood. Hollywood Park raced from 1938 to 2013, and its land is now a master-planned district that includes SoFi Stadium. A former sports venue gave way to a new one, which is why the atlas records them as separate, connected places.
Not every story is finished. Arlington Park outside Chicago ended racing in 2021 and its grandstand has been demolished, but the site's future use is still unsettled.