by Art Hershey
(Former senior manager for 15 years with the Los Angeles Turf Club, operator of Santa Anita Park.)

In the spring of l979, a strike called against all Thoroughbred racing facilities in California imperiled the very future of the sport in the Golden State.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who represented the pari-mutuel wagering tellers, and still do, initiated the walkout.  There were no off-track wagering sites in those days.  Racing locally was scheduled at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Read the full story