from Daily Racing Form:

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A severe horse shortage in California has forced the hand of Hollywood Park, which cancelled live racing Thursday due to insufficient entries. Despite postponing the draw by two days, it became clear late Tuesday morning there were not enough horses to make the Thursday card go.

Hollywood vice-president Eual Wyatt Jr. stated it simply. "The factors are that we could not fill a representative card; we didn't have a choice," he said.

Hollywood will remain open for simulcasting on Thursday. Live racing at Hollywood will resume Friday with a 1 p.m. post. Night racing is schedule to resume the following Friday, May 8.

Hollywood, which opened its spring-summer meet on April 22, has struggled to fill races. Average field size opening week was 7.27, nearly one horse fewer than the average field size (8.25) during the 2008 spring-summer meet.

When the Wednesday card came up light (60 horses entered for eight races), it was only a matter of time until racing secretary Martin Panza simply ran out of horses for Thursday.

"Could I have pieced together six races? Maybe," he said.

Track officials will huddle this week to discuss a course of action for the remainder of the Hollywood meet, which ends July 19. A reduction in racing days to four per week will be considered, as will continuing to run five-day weeks with fewer races per day.

"We're going to sit down and take a look at it, and make decisions that need to be made," Wyatt said. "What the future brings, I do not know. We're open for simulcasting [Thursday], and there will be live racing Friday."

One upshot of the cancellation is improved appeal of the Friday card. There were 75 horses entered on the eight-race card, and only one maiden-claiming race.

unreal....

With Del Mar going from 6 to 5 days, and Hollywood can't fill a 5 day week.
It makes you wonder....

Unfortunately.................this Is A Good Thing They Should Cut Back To 4 Days A Week Out There...........i Guarantee You On May 9th. They Will Have Many Horses As That Will Be A Huge Fix Six Day...................remember That Date May 9th........on Friday May 8th..no One Will Hit The Fix Six.....on The 9 Th..there Big Turf Day The Card Will Be Loaded With Horses Mark My Words....bay Meadows Has Been Averaging 4.2 Horses A Race For The Past 5 Years And Got Away With It....thank God There Gone Forever.................

it's a sad day for california racing!!!!!......they could throw in a couple mule races to make 8 races..
back in the day they ran 9 races 5 days a week, now 8.....do like los alamitos run from thursday-sun
and call it a day!!!!

Turfman................i Feel For You Being A Lifelong So.cal Handicapper,its Ashame ....is "smoking Joe " Coming Out Of Retirement..lol...i No You No That Mule..lol..the Game As You No Is Oversaturated..no Break From Santa Anita To Hollywood....thats What Needs To Happen Between A Meet Ending And A New Meet Opening They Give You A 48 Hour Break............try A Month.....do Away With Fairplex And Northern Cal Fair Circuits,give Trainers A Chance To Get Some Fresh Horses..unfortunately Its Pure Greed By Those In The Industry.................the Late Bobby Umphrey Racing Secretary At Calder For Years Was The Man That Invented The New Class Division Called "optional-claimers" I Dont Like This Condition But It Helped Get More Horses Onto The Track....but It Also Allows A Trainer To Use This Condition As A Workout For Something He May Be Pointing For Down The Road...