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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Although the future of the Golden State Racing (GSR) meet at Pleasanton wasn't officially on Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) agenda, the reverberations of dismal betting business through the first five weeks of operation at Northern California's new anchor track became the impassioned focal point of the Nov. 21 meeting. Citing concerns that the autumn Pleasanton meet isn't living up to the hope that the former fairs-season-only track might help fill the NorCal void that occurred when The Stronach Group (TSG) closed Golden Gate Fields back in June, Aidan Butler, president of TSG's 1/ST business, implored stakeholders to reconsider variations on North-and-South purse funding, shipping, and stabling ideas that TSG and the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) first proposed a year ago in the belief that some form of a cooperative that didn't involve direct competition would be in the best long-term interests of the state's racing. Butler, who spoke extemporaneously and without a formal presentation, said he was trying to bring up ideas in an open forum because he's had enough of “looking at the abyss.” TSG also owns the financially struggling Santa Anita Park, which is set to open its winter/spring meet Dec. 26. Before Santa Anita's opening day next month, GSR will be back before the CHRB to seek dates for its 2025 season, which at times could end up running directly against Santa Anita and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, like it's doing now. “We're all fighting for our survival at the moment, and it's a tough position,” Butler said. When the CHRB voted 6-0 back in March to approve a 2024 dates package that established Pleasanton as the new crux of a Northern California circuit, it faced a difficult decision in trying to balance the desires of NorCal horsemen and a coalition of statewide breeders (who stressed the need for a semi-permanent venue to complement the North's traditional summer fairs season) with those of SoCal racetrack operators and the TOC (who advocated an alternate plan to consolidate all of California's commercial-track racing in the South, with the North only remaining open for fairs). That TSG-led concept had focused on redirecting simulcast revenue from the Northern circuit to the Southern tracks. It was based on a premise that would have attempted to accommodate displaced Golden Gate outfits by creating more opportunities for lower-level horses to race at Los Alamitos Race Course, dropping the “claiming floors” at both Santa Anita and Del Mar, and establishing “relocation allowances” for stables that had to pack up and move while only short summer fairs meets were conducted in NorCal. On Thursday, Butler didn't delve into specifics, but he made a desperate call for reopening the North/South dialogue in light of how poorly the Pleasanton meet's betting is going. “No one wanted the Northern horsemen, the Northern horses, or anyone up there to be in any distress,” Butler said. “A horse in the North, and horsemen in the North, [are] as valuable as any horse or horseman in the South, regardless of the price tag.” Butler reminded commissioners that when the CHRB didn't vote to adopt aspects of the plan backed by TSG, the TOC and Del Mar, his organization “didn't push ahead” with opposing the Pleasanton concept. “We stayed out of the way,” he said. Now fast-forward eight months, and with Pleasanton off to a rocky start, Butler said, “we find ourselves in a strange position now where everybody's failing. Every one of us. There is no great story coming out of this [and] this thing's a disaster. I don't worry about it from the company standpoint, [but rather] I worry about it from the thousands of employees who I look at every morning and stare at in the face knowing that they know this is no good.” Even Larry Swartzlander, the executive director for the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF), who has been instrumental in turning the Pleasanton plan into reality, didn't dispute Butler's portrayal of how the new NorCal meet was hurting, business-wise. “To give you a perspective on the meet at this point, we're entering our sixth week,” Swartzlander said. “We're 30% down in commissions. We expected 10%. That's unacceptable. “We have the horses,” Swartzlander said, noting that average field size at Pleasanton this meet (6.51) is right about where Golden Gate's number was (6.50) for the early part of 2024. “The horsemen are totally behind us [about] racing in the North. They're happy. Everybody's relocated to the Pleasanton area. The backside, the grooms have RVs. It's a very joyous background. Everybody's positive,” Swartzlander said. “Yet the unfortunate side, as Aidan pointed out, is we're all losing money. The handle is not there,” Swartzlander said. Butler put it this way: “Twenty million dollars is being sucked up into the North. The betting is an unmitigated disaster. [Customers are] still betting in the North the same as they always did on the South. That is not going the other way around. No one in the South really cares for the product, unfortunately. It doesn't mean no one tried, it doesn't mean they [didn't pull] out every stop to have a successful meet. So we're left in a really strange position here. What can we do?” Butler answered his own rhetorical question by bringing up concepts he said could be on the table for renewed discussions. “We have the ability to card races for the Northern horsemen and horses,” Butler said. “Point one, no one wants to relocate. I don't blame you–I don't want to relocate either. But let's just look at the facts. If they don't want to relocate, an option is, well, to cover all transportation costs. Point two, that's great. But then if you pull the horses out of the North, you've ruined the summer [fairs] meet, [which] the state needs. “So we're in this very delicate situation. But there is a fix [and] there is an opportunity to build a plan that works,” Butler said. “It will be suicide if we compete,” Butler continued. “No one will win. No one's winning now. “So I would ask [if] the CHRB could speak with the powers that be in the North and bring everybody to the table in short order [and] see if there is something to be worked out,” Butler said. “Because my intent, come [Santa Anita's opening day] is not to continue this madness, and just to go forward with what I believe is best for my employees, my horsemen, and California racing.” CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, urged the North/South parties to take the next step and sit down to negotiate. “It needs to be said that if our efforts to sustain some sort of racing in Northern California [fail], we could very well take down the entire state of racing,” Ferraro said. “To try to come up with an alternate plan that has a better chance of being successful, I think it's in everyone's interest. We have a big enough problem with our purse structure as it is, let alone trying to compete against each other. So if you can make this work, all the more power to you. It gives the board another option to pursue,” Ferraro said. Back in March, when the commission greenlighted the Pleasanton meet, CHRB vice-chair Oscar Gonzales had said that even if the NorCal interests got what they wanted out of the vote, they, too, had to realize that SoCal does need some form of cooperation and financial help. He said at that time that the decision should be “an opportunity to reset [and] the start of mending fences.” On Thursday Gonzales said that even though he counts himself among the North's “bigger proponents,” he also believes California racing should now be thinking along the lines of one unified circuit, albeit one that doesn't just include summer fairs meetings in NorCal without an anchoring track to keep North viable the rest of the year. Commissioner Dennis Alfieri said that, “With ideas like this, [Butler is] thinking out of the box. We are very concerned. None of us want–the whole industry–we don't want to see the North fail. And with the horsemen here, [this] is their livelihood. But we also have to look at the reality and face the facts.” Commissioner Brenda Washington Davis said that, “I want to express appreciation for putting this idea out on the table, [but] I would just caution that [we] don't get too wedded to doing it one way, because the North may have some other ideas, and hopefully it will be a collaboration.” Prompted by the CHRB for his proposed timing on any North/South pow-wow, Butler said, “The holidays are all upon us and the North's [2025 dates] application is coming up in December. This needs to move quite quickly, [so] we can put a presentation together pretty quickly, circulate it, and then let's just get all on Zoom calls and let's just start to have a conversation if there is a reality here. I think there is. I think it saves us all a lot of gray hair, and maybe makes Christmas a lot more fun for the people who are genuinely worried about [the future].” Swartzlander, who told the commission that Butler had briefed him on Wednesday night about what TSG planned to propose at Thursday's CHRB meeting, said that he will be open to having discussions with Butler and other parties, because he believes that “something has to be done.” Yet Swartzlander also said that while he didn't want to “dampen” enthusiasm for the TSG-backed ideas, he made it clear that other concepts, like pursuing the legalization of historical horse racing or fantasy sports gaming, might be better ways to supplement purses at Pleasanton. “Is there a way to reorganize within the state of California, North and South? Sure,” Swartzlander said. “We race too much in the North. I'm sorry, we do. I'm not going to speak for the South. Is there a plan that we could come to that is not a total separation of racing to the South but a partial, so that we can both work together? We're certainly open to that.” Swartzlander said the CARF board meets Dec. 10 to discuss its position for 2025, and that the “door is open” to meet with stakeholders “to discuss this offline before we come to the CHRB.” But, Swartzlander cautioned, “We're pursuing a [Pleasanton] license for 2025. Money can be found, and that's my position.” Butler made a final plea for thinking about the whole-state future of California racing. “I'm not prepared not to fight at this point,” Butler said. “The game in this state deserves it. The game country-wide deserves it. I think all of us, if we just stop looking at what's going on today, and for the next meet, and look at the future, we're really in trouble.” The post Fearful of ‘Abyss’ Between Cali’s North/South Rift, Stronach Group’s Butler Renews Call for Negotiations appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Air Assault. (Photo by George Sal/Racing Photos) Having secured the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) with Goldrush Guru just over two weeks ago, trainer Andrew Gluyas and owner-breeder Harry Perks will target another major prize this Saturday with Air Assault in the Cranbourne Cup. The four-year-old gelding, a son of Justify, notched his sixth stakes victory last start with a convincing win in the Listed John Letts Cup (1800m) at Morphettville. That performance has earned him a spot in the $500,000 Cranbourne contest, with Gluyas confident the gelding is ready to step up. “He had a few hiccups after the Balaklava Cup (on September 11). The Moonga Stakes at Caulfield was the fork in the road for us as to whether we would go to the Golden Eagle,” Gluyas told Racing.com. “But he raced on the pace from a wide draw, and the way they raced didn’t suit him. The track wasn’t his cup of tea either. “He showed he’s still keen to race (at Morphettville). He’s now won two stakes races this time in, and it was a good effort by him, so he deserves a chance at a race like this.” Horse racing news View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Trainer Brendan Walsh is hopeful that a return to Churchill Downs Nov. 28 for the $300,000 Cardinal Stakes (G3T) will help two-time graded stakes winner Implicated return to form.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Territory Express. Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au Jason Collett is set to reunite with the Paul Niceforo-trained Territory Express in The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday. The jockey knows it will take both good fortune and a sharp steer to guide the five-year-old gelding back to the winner’s circle. “Early days, I rode him a few times, and his racing pattern hasn’t changed,” Collett admitted. “He is still slow out of the gates, and he gets into tricky positions due to that. But when he gets the luck, he can get out of them. “He’s got mountains of class, but he’s difficult to always get right. “All the work they’ve done hasn’t been able to change it, so obviously that’s him, and we have to work with that.” Territory Express has recently struggled to capitalise on his talent, finishing narrowly beaten in the Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) after getting too far back and running a similar race in the Five Diamonds (1500m). On Saturday, he will jump from barrier seven, with Collett aiming to maximise the gelding’s undeniable potential. Territory Express is $6.50 hope with BlondeBet for The Gong. Horse racing news View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Lance Noble will attempt to add to a strong run of spring form for Cambridge Stud when he sends out five well-credentialled runners in Brendan and Jo Lindsay’s black and gold colours at Pukekohe on Saturday. Noble trains privately for Cambridge Stud at Karaka and has collected six wins so far this season, headed by a dominant performance by Luberon in last month’s Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) at Rotorua. That came the day after the Lindsays won the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Te Rapa with the Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall-trained Snazzytavi. That winning sequence continued in last Saturday’s Gr.2 Tauranga Stakes (1600m), which was won by up-and-comer Bella Waters for trainers Moira and Kieran Murdoch. Those racing successes have been backed up on the stallion front by the likes of Hello Youmzain, who sired his first southern hemisphere at Bendigo earlier this month, and Almanzor with Mehzebeen’s Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) and Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) double in Christchurch. “It’s been a really good spring for the Cambridge Stud-owned racehorses as well as the stallions,” Noble said. “Our own team has been going well, and it’s been great to see the big wins for other stables like Moira with Bella Waters and Richie with Snazzytavi as well. It’s always good to see the colours flying high. “I think we’re heading to Pukekohe on Saturday with a nice team of horses that can all be very competitive, and hopefully they might keep this good run going. But it’s a big day of racing and they don’t give these prizes away.” Luberon will shoot for back-to-back feature sprint wins when she lines up in Saturday’s Gr.3 Haunui Farm Counties Bowl (1100m). The daughter of Cambridge Stud stallion Embellish will carry minimum weight with 53kg against a line-up that includes Group One winners Crocetti and Waitak along with multiple elite placegetter Babylon Berlin. “She’s been doing very well since the Sweynesse,” Noble said. “I’ve been deliberately keeping her races quite widely spaced out, because that’s the way she seems to perform best. She’s trained on really well and trialled nicely about 10 days ago. “I’m looking forward to seeing how she goes on Saturday. There are some quality horses in that line-up, but I think she can be competitive from where she is in the handicap. She’s very, very well.” Stablemate Terra Mitica will carry that same 53kg impost in Saturday’s Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m). The Irish-bred daughter of Ulysses was a winner over the course and 2100m last December, and she was a last-start third placegetter in the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie behind El Vencedor and Wolfgang. “The Counties Cup has come up a really even line-up, and with the topweight (No Compromise) compressing the remainder of the weights, I think you can make a case for a lot of runners,” Noble said. “But I’ve been happy with the way this mare built into this campaign, and she’s a previous winner at the course and distance, so I think it’s a good race to be targeting with her and I expect her to run a good race.” The Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) is a big step up in class for Jaarffi, who has won four of her 11 career starts to date including a stylish last-start victory in an open handicap at Ellerslie on October 26. “This is a step up in class, but she definitely deserves a shot at a race like this,” Noble said. “She hasn’t done much wrong in her whole career, and she has just kept getting better with age. La Crique and Campionessa are the benchmark horses here, and if she can hold her own against them, that will set her up nicely for some other nice targets around Christmas.” Noble also has two runners on Saturday’s undercard. Last season’s Gr.2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2050m) winner About Time will line up in the Skycity Horizon (1600m), while last-start Rating 65 winner Frostfair steps up into Rating 75 company for the Stella Artois 1500 Championship Qualifier (1400m). “About Time has just taken a few runs this time in, but I’m happy with the way she’s progressing,” Noble said. “She’s another one that has won at this track previously, and I think she can run a good race over 1600m. “Frostfair has never been out of the first four in her career. She won very nicely last start and has trained on well. She’s quite a promising mare.” View the full article
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