The Northern California racing community could be without a training base as soon as late March, according to a text message released by racing officials Tuesday evening.
In a three-paragraph statement sent to horsemen by Santa Anita on behalf of the Southern California stabling and vanning committee, training could cease at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton on March 25 if the number of horses based at the track is less than 500 on Feb. 25.
There is no racing currently scheduled in Northern California this year, but there is hope among participants that the five-stop fair circuit will operate from mid-June to mid-October. The first stop is a four-week meeting at Pleasanton, but a possible disruption to daily training at that facility through the spring has led to concern among some trainers that the meeting will not be held.
On Wednesday, officials with the California Authority of Racing Fairs directed questions to Alameda County Fair officials, who were not immediately available for comment.
Pleasanton hosted a 13-week meeting in the fall to replace racing previously held at nearby Golden Gate Fields, which closed permanently in June. A winter-spring meeting scheduled to start at Pleasanton on Dec. 26 was canceled earlier in December because of lower-than-expected business figures at the fall meeting.
Instead, an arrangement was reached between officials with Santa Anita in Southern California and backers of the Pleasanton meeting to provide racing opportunities in Southern California for northern-based stables in exchange for no racing at Pleasanton. Under the arrangement, Northern California-based stables would be compensated for sending horses to race at Santa Anita while training at Pleasanton.
The arrangement may be in jeopardy if the population of horses based at Pleasanton declines.
According to the statement released Tuesday afternoon, the Alameda County Fair and California Authority of Racing Fairs have “the sole and exclusive right to extend” the stabling and training agreement for Pleasanton to June 10 “by providing written notice no later than Feb. 25, provided there are 500 or more horses stabled at Pleasanton at that time.”
The agreement for stabling and vanning at Pleasanton announced in December stated that training would be conducted until early June. According to Tuesday’s text statement, the agreement was later amended in late December only through March 25. Officials with the racing board and horsemen’s organizations in the state were part of the discussions of the revised terms.
A person familiar with the stable area said Wednesday that there are more than 700 horses at Pleasanton. The population is said to be decreasing as some trainers send horses to other tracks, such as Los Alamitos in Southern California, Turf Paradise in Arizona, Santa Anita, or to other venues or farms.
Some trainers have already taken action to relocate some of their stables to Southern California. Trainers Jose Bautista, Sam Calvario, O.J. Jauregui, Andy Mathis, Tim McCanna, Bill McLean, Felix Rondan, Isidro Tamayo, Steve Sherman, and Blaine Wright have requested from five to 20 stalls for the current meeting at Santa Anita, which continues through June 15.
Calvario has explored relocating some of his stable to Texas or Louisiana this winter.
Other Northern California-based trainers have been active at Los Alamitos since the conclusion of the Pleasanton meeting on Dec. 18. Trainers Ivan Becerra, Terri Eaton, Gary Greiner, Roger Hansen, Sergio Perez, Jesus Ramos, Marcia Stortz, Jamey Thomas, and Ruby Thomas started horses at Los Alamitos on the final weekends of December or have runners entered this Saturday.
Santa Anita has offered races for Northern California-based horses in the early days of its current meeting that began Dec. 26.
Friday’s fourth race, for example, is a starter allowance for former $8,000 claimers restricted to horses or stables based in Northern California in the last year. The race drew 10. Other Northern California-based horses have been entered or have raced in non-restricted races.
Mathis will have a 20-horse stable at Santa Anita this winter and spring with the hope of making the transition to Southern California, he said from Pleasanton on Wednesday.
“I’m trying to upgrade and get higher-quality horses,” he said. “I’d like to go down there and buy some horses.”
Mathis acknowledged that not all trainers based at Pleasanton have runners that can compete at Santa Anita.
“I think this is a transition time for people to figure it out,” he said. “It’s a different decision for everybody. My goal is to move down there and support Santa Anita racing.”
Some trainers have sent runners to Turf Paradise, while others expect Emerald Downs, near Seattle, to have an influx of horses previously based in Northern California. In recent years, runners have competed on both circuits. Emerald Downs opens its spring-summer meeting on April 27.
“I think Seattle will pick up quite a few,” McLean said Wednesday.
McLean has 22 at Pleasanton and has requested 10 stalls at Santa Anita.
“I’ll try some of the cheap ones at Santa Anita,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll do all right. If not, I’ll sell them or take them over to Turf Paradise and run them.”
McLean said his stable has been reduced in size in recent weeks.
“I lost a couple of horses,” he said. “I turned a few out. I don’t know what I’m freshening them up for. We’re talking up here what we’ll do.”
Sherman said he will take the month of January to finalize plans, which may include relocating some horses to the San Luis Rey Downs training center in Northern San Diego County. He fears Pleasanton is no longer a feasible option for racing.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that this won’t be here for long,” he said.
“I’ve got a lot of things in the works and I don’t have anything concrete. I’m in limbo with a lot of horses. I’ve got a lot of young horses. Pleasanton is fine for them right now.”
Racing at Santa Anita is not necessarily an easy option, Sherman emphasized.
“I don’t know if I have the horse power for that,” he said. “There is nothing easy about that place. We’re dealing with tough circumstances.”
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