As most of you know, the NorCal horsemen are not giving up after losing (for good) their flagship track, Golden Gate Fields, last month. The plan, for this year at least, is to extend the “fair season” into December with 26 extra racedays to be held at Pleasanton. That said, it’s not set in stone. The northerners still must present the CHRB with more details, including financial projections, before winning final approval. There is, to say the least, much doubt about their prospects, as the Daily Racing Form wrote in March:
“While the racing board approved dates for the Pleasanton meeting, several members stated widespread concern regarding financial issues, specifically whether the track can generate sufficient handle to avoid a purse deficit that currently plagues several tracks in the state. ‘We have some questions that haven’t been answered,’ racing board chairman Greg Ferraro said at the conclusion of the meeting.”
Well, given recent events at Sacramento – the current fair-circuit site – surely those doubts have only intensified. For you see, racing at Sacramento was canceled on the 12th for a “lack of entries,” and has already been canceled tomorrow for the same. This, after Golden Gate had to cancel six times in Apr-May because of a lack of horses. Good news.
(Even if the Pleasanton thing comes to pass this year, there is, and will continue to be, a lot of intra-state fighting on how best to proceed with racing in California. See this.)
The way I see it is that Frank Stronach and his daughter, Belinda, are in this business for profit and don’t really care that the “horsemen” in Northern California can’t make it on their own. It’s a business, not a charity.
The Stronach Group will do what they have to do to stay in business as long as there are enough horses to fill race cards and as long as the laws against business conduct corruption are not enforced and as long as the laws regarding Animal Welfare are not taken seriously and not enforced.