Thoroughbred racing in California, currently consolidated in the southern part of the state, could include summer fair dates in the north this year if fair organizers successfully secure approval for race dates and the state regulator approves licenses.
Both the Alameda County Fair and Humboldt County Fair have submitted applications for race dates to the California Horse Racing Board, and their applications will be heard during the board's April 17 meeting in Sacramento. The Alameda County Fair has requested to run nine days of racing at Pleasanton, beginning June 20 and continuing through July 6. The Humboldt County Fair has requested to race over seven dates from Aug. 16 through Sept. 1 at Ferndale. If approved by the CHRB, race dates at these fairs would take place on weekends and, in the case of the Humboldt County Fair, also on Labor Day—Monday, Sept. 1.
Approval is not ensured, and in the case of the Alameda County Fair, perhaps a longshot for advancement, owing in part to its submission for race dates just over two months before the proposed start of its meet. Fair organizers would also need to have their licenses approved at a future meeting for racing to go forward.
Eddie Mishow, an attorney for the Thoroughbred Owners of California, a group that opposes awarding dates to the fairs, wrote in a letter to the CHRB that is published in meeting materials that the Alameda County Fair's request for a meet that would begin in June fails to comply with CHRB rules regarding advance notice.
Though the Humboldt County Fair's application complies regarding advance notice, he further objected to the Humboldt County Fair request, stating that "we do not believe that various stakeholders will have sufficient time to undertake the necessary comprehensive review/analysis of the economic impact to the industry" and "to perform a full due diligence review on the proposed licensee."
For an agenda item to advance, it needs the support of four commissioners, which may prove more difficult than usual Thursday. There is one unfilled spot on the usual seven-member CHRB, and only five of the six current commissioners are expected to be present at Thursday's meeting. Commissioner Damascus Castellanos cannot attend, according to Scott Chaney, the CHRB's executive director.
Chair Dr. Greg Ferraro has, during past meetings, expressed his views for a single circuit in California. Another key board member, vice chair Oscar Gonzales, has been supportive of affected Northern California horsemen.
Regarding its operations, Alameda County Agricultural Fair Association plans to enter into a license agreement with Bernal Park Racing to use the racing enclosure and necessary support areas at the fairgrounds at Pleasanton. Bernal Park Racing would then apply to the California Horse Racing Board for a race meeting license in cooperation with the association.
Bernal Park Racing is headed by George Schmitt and John Harris—prominent owners and breeders and the treasurer and a board member on the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, respectively. According to Schmitt, Bernal Park Racing is supported by individuals previously involved in Northern California fair operations.
Bernal Park Racing is also sponsoring the Humboldt County Fair at Ferndale, according to James Morgan, special counsel for the fair.
Both requests from the fairs are expected to be opposed Thursday by racing interests in the south, which have benefited from redirected simulcast revenues from the northern tracks to the southern tracks. According to Chaney, based on the southern zone handle from the previous year, approximately 60% of the redirected funds go toward Santa Anita Park, 30% to Del Mar, and 10% to Los Alamitos Race Course. The redirect is officially meant to defer regulatory costs, monies which might otherwise have been paid for by the tracks or through other means.
Without racing in Northern California this winter and spring, Santa Anita experienced growth in field size and wagering handle. It was also able to boost purses, partially due to the redirection of simulcast revenues.
"A total of 385 horses have relocated from north to south," TOC president and CEO Bill Nader said. "We want to continue on this successful path, which has brought renewed life to California racing and that will be our position at Thursday's meeting."
According to Nader, since the consolidation of racing in the south, 73 north-restricted races have been run at Santa Anita this year, and northern horses have also won 15 non-restricted races.
United States Rep. Jared Huffman, whose Northern California district includes the Ferndale area, wrote an April 15 letter to the CHRB, urging them to back the dates request for what is to be its 129th fair. "The Humboldt County Fair has a major positive impact on Humboldt County and the region's economy, attracting attendees from all over California and Oregon," he wrote.
In his letter, Morgan pointed to simulcast revenue as a key point in a dispute over race dates.
"Apparently, the south feels that already receiving 49 weeks a year of commissions generated from wagers placed in the north is somehow not enough," Morgan wrote on behalf of the Humboldt County Fair in a letter to the CHRB included in the meeting materials.
Continued racing in Northern California has been in doubt since 1/ST Racing closed Golden Gate Fields in June 2024 and several other subsequent setbacks. In January, the California Authority of Racing Fairs announced that it would not submit a future race meet application. Previously, CARF managed operations for most of the Northern California fair meets except for Santa Rosa.
CARF's exit from the Northern California racing scene came after an unsuccessful meet staged last by Golden State Racing at Pleasanton. Handle and revenue fell short, leading to nearly a $2 million loss from racing operations. It also reportedly lost millions more from a necessary agreement to accommodate racing with Pleasanton Golf Center, which is on the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
Racing at Golden State Racing was opposed by 1/ST Racing, which operated Golden Gate Fields and desired to consolidate racing at Santa Anita, which it also owns and operates.
According to Schmitt, the losses were highest in the first two weekends of the GSR meet, when GSR struggled to secure advance-deposit wagering amid a changeover from using a 1/ST Racing-owned entity for simulcast negotiations to one handled by Churchill Downs Inc. Short fields and GSR's lack of an established brand in the marketplace were further obstacles.
But Schmitt notes that horsemen have also taken their horses out of state to compete elsewhere, such as Emerald Downs in Washington. Schmitt and others who support Northern California racing view racing in the area as vital to maintaining the state's breeding program.
Whether Northern California can sustain racing with a limited horse population—horses have either moved south or left the state after Pleasanton stopped stabling in late March—is likely to be debated during Thursday's CHRB meeting. Pleasanton stabling and shipping to Santa Anita during the first few months of the year had been subsidized in part by southern interests.
Speaking of the potential horse population for a meet at Pleasanton, "I know where the first 60 (horses) will come from for sure, because John Harris and I have that many," Schmitt said of their stables.
He said he distrusts 1/ST Racing, pointing to its closure of Golden Gate Fields and its ongoing desire to decouple racing from its casino at Gulfstream Park in Florida, and he views the TOC as long supportive of Southern California interests.
Humboldt County Fair Association's application for race dates is not unexpected. Andy Titus, president of the board of directors for the Humboldt County Fair Association, told BloodHorse in late January of their intention to continue racing. He said that millions of dollars flow into the rural community of Ferndale due to conducting the fair, which promotes the state's agriculture, and "I mean, if we lose horse racing, we can't afford to maintain the facility. We can't afford to employ the staff that we employ."
