BC 2014 Again At Santa Anita

obviously the BC Corporation doesn't care. they'll still make their profit and just funnel less funds thru their non profit arm

if they ever want to return to KY - then they should be taxed to the hilt to do so - forget giving thse aholes tax breaks lol

this is not just a slap in the face to KY, it's a slap in the faces of the majority of thoroughbred fans

i truly hope tracks east of the MS will schedule big days with big races - or a formal boycott - something needs to be done to show that the current leaders of the BC are incompetent as to carrying out the original intended reasons for the BC - they have destroyed the meaning behind the BC - greedy greedy corporate guys - NOT horse people

hell - just get rid of it lol

Breeders' Cup picks California for 2014; loses Kentucky tax break
By Gregory Hall

The Breeders’ Cup will again run its thoroughbred championships in southern California in 2014 — giving up as much as $1 million in tax incentives that Kentucky had offered to bring the event back to Churchill Downs.

A state law authorizing the tax incentives stipulates that the Lexington-based Breeders’ Cup has to hold its two-day championships in Kentucky at least once every three years.
But the event was last held at Churchill in 2011. Last year, it was held at California’s Santa Anita Park, where the 2013 event is also planned. Now, with the decision for 2014, the incentive measure expires — and reviving it for future years would require legislative action

Rita Stephenson Reedy, spokeswoman for the Al J. Schneider Co. that operates the Galt House and Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport, said the absence of the Breeders’ Cup will be buffered by both of its hotel complexes already being close to full due to other business, namely the FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) convention.

“We get good demand with good rates when the Breeders’ Cup is in (Louisville) if our hotels aren’t hosting conferences, but it is nothing like the business/rates we get for the Kentucky Derby,” Reedy said.

Craig Fravel, Breeders’ Cup president and chief executive, said in a statement Monday that Santa Anita offers a “first-class facility” and that the southern California business and entertainment industries have “demonstrated long time dedication and support of the Breeders’ Cup since our inception in 1984.”

The announcement said Breeders’ Cup officials are open to other sites in 2015 and beyond.

In response to specific questions about why Santa Anita was picked for 2014 over Churchill, Breeders’ Cup officials issued a second statement saying only that Churchill could be considered as a host later, and that the 2014 choice is not a criticism of the track.

Churchill’s two most recent years as host — 2010 and 2011 — were the best attended and most wagered upon since the Breeders’ Cup went to a two-day format in 2007. The two sides have differed over financial terms in past years with representatives of both sides saying publicly that they wanted a better deal.

The Breeders’ Cup statement said it does not comment on the specifics behind site selections. Representatives of the Breeders’ Cup and Churchill Downs have acknowledged — at least in prior years — that their negotiations centered on financial terms.
Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said the Breeders’ Cup’s decision for 2014 should not be interpreted “to be the result of any lack of willingness on the part of Churchill Downs to host the event.”
“Churchill Downs had extensive discussions with the Breeders’ Cup on the possibility of serving as its host track in 2014,” he said. “The Breeders Cup and its board simply decided to go another way.” Asher said the two sides had no financial disagreements over the 2014 event.

The 2014 cup at Santa Anita will represent the first time the races have been held at the same track for three straight years and ties the Los Angeles-area track with Churchill for hosting eight times.

A 2010 Kentucky law made the Breeders’ Cup eligible for a waiver of the state pari-mutuel excise tax on the two days its races are run at a Kentucky track. The incentive allows the racetrack that would be paying the tax to share it with the Breeders’ Cup.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, has previously estimated the waiver could generate up to $1 million, a portion of which goes toward non-Breeders’ Cup race purses on the Breeders’ Cup days.

“Apparently the tax credit is meaningless to the company,” he said.
Thayer, a former Breeders’ Cup employee who authored the most recent tax incentive, said the only way he would consider working to reinstate it is if the Breeders’ Cup presented a long-term schedule of host tracks that included Kentucky, and, even then, Thayer said he’s not sure it would pass.
Thayer, said the decision to stay at one track for three years is disappointing — and doesn’t reflect the “moveable feast” that the event’s founder, the late John Gaines, intended.
As a fan, he said, he’d like to know “just what is the long-term plan for the Breeders’ Cup, in terms of the rotation? I feel bad for race fans who live east of the Mississippi (River).”
Without something like FFA, the decision would be a blow for Louisville hotels and restaurants.
A University of Louisville study found that the Breeders’ Cup provided $53.3 million in new revenues across the region in 2010. An earlier study done for the Breeders' Cup pegged the 1998 Cup's impact at $21 million.
The decision is a blow to Central Kentucky, Thayer said, which sees a spillover benefit, particularly at the Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton breeding stock sales that follow the Breeders’ Cup.
“For the Breeders’ Cup to be held three years in a row in California, I think it’s a slap in the face to Central Kentucky,” he said, adding that “It brings more people to Kentucky at a time of the year when our important horse sales are being held.”

The Breeders’ Cup statement said it does not comment on the specifics behind site selections. Representatives of the Breeders’ Cup and Churchill Downs have acknowledged — at least in prior years — that their negotiations centered on financial terms.

Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said the Breeders’ Cup’s decision for 2014 should not be interpreted “to be the result of any lack of willingness on the part of Churchill Downs to host the event.”
“Churchill Downs had extensive discussions with the Breeders’ Cup on the possibility of serving as its host track in 2014,” he said. “The Breeders Cup and its board simply decided to go another way.” Asher said the two sides had no financial disagreements over the 2014 event.
The 2014 cup at Santa Anita will represent the first time the races have been held at the same track for three straight years and ties the Los Angeles-area track with Churchill for hosting eight times.
A 2010 Kentucky law made the Breeders’ Cup eligible for a waiver of the state pari-mutuel excise tax on the two days its races are run at a Kentucky track. The incentive allows the racetrack that would be paying the tax to share it with the Breeders’ Cup.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, has previously estimated the waiver could generate up to $1 million, a portion of which goes toward non-Breeders’ Cup race purses on the Breeders’ Cup days.

“Apparently the tax credit is meaningless to the company,” he said.
Thayer, a former Breeders’ Cup employee who authored the most recent tax incentive, said the only way he would consider working to reinstate it is if the Breeders’ Cup presented a long-term schedule of host tracks that included Kentucky, and, even then, Thayer said he’s not sure it would pass.

Thayer, a former Breeders’ Cup employee who authored the most recent tax incentive, said the only way he would consider working to reinstate it is if the Breeders’ Cup presented a long-term schedule of host tracks that included Kentucky, and, even then, Thayer said he’s not sure it would pass.

Thayer, said the decision to stay at one track for three years is disappointing — and doesn’t reflect the “moveable feast” that the event’s founder, the late John Gaines, intended

As a fan, he said, he’d like to know “just what is the long-term plan for the Breeders’ Cup, in terms of the rotation? I feel bad for race fans who live east of the Mississippi (River).”

A University of Louisville study found that the Breeders’ Cup provided $53.3 million in new revenues across the region in 2010. An earlier study done for the Breeders' Cup pegged the 1998 Cup's impact at $21 million.

The decision is a blow to Central Kentucky, Thayer said, which sees a spillover benefit, particularly at the Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton breeding stock sales that follow the Breeders’ Cup.

“For the Breeders’ Cup to be held three years in a row in California, I think it’s a slap in the face to Central Kentucky,” he said, adding that “It brings more people to Kentuckyat a time of the year when our impoortant horse sales are being held"

Louisville Courier Journal