Caliente Hipódromo

[2] Gambling and horse racing were illegal in neighboring California, as was alcohol due to Prohibition, so many wealthy Americans and Hollywood celebrities flocked to Agua Caliente.

[1] 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.

[4] 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.

[5] Although President Lázaro Cárdenas outlawed gambling in 1935 and closed the resort and casino, the Agua Caliente Racetrack continued to operate for many years.

Both Phar Lap and Seabiscuit ran and won the Agua Caliente Handicap, which for a time was the richest in North America.

[7][8][9] 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.