Historic North Phoenix Horse Track Turf Paradise to be Sold, Developed by California Group

Article originally posted on AZ Central on April 19, 2023

The owner of Turf Paradise, a historic 1,400-acre horse racetrack in north Phoenix, is negotiating to sell to a developer.

Vincent Francia, general manager of Turf Paradise, said the track’s owner, Jerry Simms, has signed an agreement to sell to CT Realty for an undisclosed price.

He said the new owner will for a while continue to operate the racetrack, where more than 2,000 horses live during the racing season, but plans to build other developments on the site.

Randy Hall, spokesperson for Newport Beach, California-based CT, said the company can’t comment until the sale closes.

Turf Paradise opened in 1956 on a site at 19th Avenue and Bell Road that was considered on the Valley’s fringes then. Now the site is centrally located near Interstate 17 and Loop 101.

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One of CT’s latest projects is a 1.7 million-square-foot logistics center in New Jersey that will serve as a distribution hub. It has developed other industrial parks in California, Texas and Florida. Turf Paradise will be its first Arizona project.

TP Racing, led by Simms, paid $17.9 million for Turf Paradise in 2000, according to real estate records.

In 2007, Turf Paradise Marketplace, with a Super Walmart and Sam’s Club, opened.

In March, Turf Paradise agreed to pay more than $150,000 in fees after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority found some of the racetrack’s rails didn’t meet safety standards.

Turf Paradise agreed to pay to repair the rails and restore an area where horses are inspected by veterinarians.

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Arizona has two other horse racing tracks: Arizona Downs near Prescott and Rillito Park in Tucson.

Arizona Downs is in negotiations to be purchased by the Stronach Group, said Tom Auther, managing member of the group that owns Arizona Downs.

Stronach owns the Southern California horse racing track Santa Anita Park and plans to continue to operate Arizona Downs as a racing track, Auther said.