Oak Tree @Pleasanton; Fairplex Phasing Out Sales/Training
Apr 26, 2014 2:21:43 GMT -5
Post by Jon on Apr 26, 2014 2:21:43 GMT -5
Glad Oak Tree found a home. Is it good about Fairplex?
Bloodhorse
Oak Tree Approved to Operate Pleasanton Meet
By Jack Shinar
The Oak Tree Racing Association is back in the race business following a 3 1/2-year absence with the approval of its application to conduct the Alameda County Fair meet by the California Horse Racing Board April 25.
The three-week stand, to be called "Oak Tree at Pleasanton," will run for 12 racing days from June 19 through July 6. Oak Tree president John Barr told the board that the charitable, not-for-profit organization began working with the Alameda County Fair and the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) about a year ago to form the partnership. State legislation was approved and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in order to allow the move.
The board, meeting at the Golden Gate Fields turf club, approved the request unanimously after learning that Oak Tree planned to invest $400,000 this year, much of it in the way of improved stakes purses.
"Oak Tree’s service and charitable activities over the years have been very beneficial to the racing industry in California," said CHRB chairman Chuck Winner. "Their alliance with CARF and Alameda County Fair is a shot in the arm for racing in Northern California. We wish them success."
A fixture at Santa Anita Park for four decades, where it operated the annual fall meet, the track terminated Oak Tree's lease after the 2010 season. Oak Tree operated the fall meet that year at Hollywood Park, where it was moved due to concerns over the condition of the former synthetic racing surface at Santa Anita.
"For 3 1/2 years, we've been looking for a new home," said Sherwood Chillingworth, Oak Tree's executive vice president. "It's very pleasing to us that we've been welcomed by the fair with open arms. We think we're going to bring something here. We're advancing substantial support to the stakes fund. We'll supply $150,000 in additional purses and contribute $65,000 to advertising."
The Pleasanton fair will hold a pair of $100,000 stakes, the Oak Tree Handicap June 21 and the Oak Tree Distaff, a filly and mare race June 28 for California-breds. Also on the schedule is the $75,000 Oak Tree Sprint July 4 as well as a pair of overnight stakes, the $50,000 Juan Gonzalez Memorial July 5 and the $50,000 Everett Nevin Alameda County July 6.
"We're up here on a simple mission," Chillingworth said. "Northern California is the cradle of California racing. What we want to do is to help it recapture some of the glory."
Oak Tree is best known for its charitable donations, amounting to some $30 million over the past 40 years, Barr said. Various organizations that improve the industry, such as the American Horse Council, the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), which supports and raises awareness of the needs to provide retirement and retraining services for ex-racehorses, Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, and the University of California-Davis, are among the many recipients over the years. Oak Tree has assisted in the establishment of facilities and programs for backstretch workers as well.
However, since losing its lease with Santa Anita, the contributions have been cut back to minimal levels due to the lack of income, Barr explained. Oak Tree has a two-year agreement with the fair and CARF, he said, and he hopes it can be profitable so it will be extended.
" 'Chilly' and I are getting a little long in the tooth. We're not going to be around forever," Barr said. "We'd really like to see Oak Tree be able to continue its legacy into the future. There are a lot of people out there that aren't particularly happy they are no longer receiving our donations."
Alameda County Fair CEO Jerome Hoban said he was happy with arrangement.
"The alliance with these partners will be a big gain for horse racing in Northern California," he said in a statement. "Combining the legacy of Oak Tree with the long heritage of racing at Alameda County Fair will bring new excitement to racing at Pleasanton. This is also a great opportunity to showcase horse racing to the hundreds of thousands of people who attend our fair every year. Our community is looking forward to the event."
In other action, the CHRB amended a rule restricting slightly the use of riding crops in races. In a separate matter, the board also established that it will invoke the maximum penalty of a lifetime ban for anyone using an electrical shock device or "buzzer" on a horse within racetrack enclosures in the state.
A representative for the Jockeys' Guild said the change in use of the riding crop has the support of the organization. The change would make it a violation for a jockey to strike a mount after raising the whip above his or her shoulder, and also prohibit using it more than three times without allowing the horse to take at least two full strides. The idea, commissioners said, was to allow the jockey time to see if the horse was responding to the encouragement.
Winner said it was an important matter due to the "perception of fans and the wagering public" regarding whip use. He also noted that the crops now in use, made of soft leather, are much easier "in terms of impact on the horse. Since these riding crops have been in use, we see no signs of the welts we used to see."
As for the use of a "buzzer," the lifetime ban would extend to a rider caught with the device in races or in exercise, and could also apply to a trainer or owner if it was discovered they knew about such use.
The board also approved two new mini-satellite wagering facilities, one in Bakersfield and one in downtown San Diego,
Fairplex Plans to Phase Out Sales, Training
By Jack Shinar
Over the next several months, the Los Angeles County Fair plans to phase out its racing-related activities at Fairplex Park, chief executive officer James Henwood told the California Horse Racing Board April 25.
Meeting at Golden Gate Fields, CHRB commissioners had the opportunity to question Henwood and Brad McKinzie, Los Alamitos Racing Association vice president, on the proposed relocation of the 11-day LACF meeting to the Orange County facility Sept. 5-21.
The discussion was for informational purposes, coming four days after the announcement of the proposed move was made. Action on the date transfer is likely to occur May 22, once a formal application has been submitted for the board's regular monthly meeting at Santa Anita Park.
None of the six commissioners present spoke against the proposal—in fact, some indicated they favored it. But they did ask several probing questions during the two-hour session.
In response, Henwood said Fairplex "is not up the level of major league racing" patrons in Southern California expect. Los Alamitos, which has expanded its bull ring track to nearly a mile and expanded the stabling area, is a more suitable location, he said.
Los Alamitos, which is in Cypress on the northern edge of Orange County bordering Los Angeles County, is about 35 miles from Fairplex, which has hosted a live Thoroughbred meet since 1933.
"With three weeks of racing and the steady decline in business over the past several years, we cannot afford to make the capital improvements necessary" to make the aging Fairplex facility successful, Henwood said.
He stressed that LACF is not selling the dates in question, simply moving them. "We have to put racing where it needs to be in order for it to grow," he added.
Barretts Sales, the major equine auction enterprise in the state that operates at Fairplex, would be moving to Del Mar under the direction of the 22nd Agricultural District beginning in 2015 "if we are able to do a transaction," Henwood said. Barretts would remain in Pomona for the October yearling sale this year, however.
Fairplex, if the date transfer is approved, would also curtail stabling and training as of July 10, Henwood said.
Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, had lobbied successfully to keep Fairplex as a stabling site as the California racing industry was working out its post-Hollywood Park plans. He noted that the closure would hit trainers at a time when 2-year-olds are in need of training space, and complained that the CTT was not included in the Fairplex/Los Alamitos discussion.
"It points to a woeful lack of overall planning," Balch said. "If the population of 2-year-olds is what it has been in recent years, we may have a serious problem. And if it isn't the same, that's a serious problem, too. "The whole stabling and vanning plan was based on the premise that Fairplex would be open during the run of their meet."
Commissioner Madeline Auerbach, while saying she thought the date transfer was a good move, agreed with Balch that Fairplex's stabling decision could hit horsemen hard if it creates an inadequate number of available stalls.
"If I were certain trainers, I'd very upset right now," she told Henwood.
Commissioner Steve Beneto said he was concerned that by moving away from Fairplex, which attracts about 1.5 million visitors during the run of its fair, would hurt attendance.
McKinzie said Los Alamitos would conduct the meet but that it remains part of the LACF. He said Los Alamitos would bear the operational cost, then LACF would receive its share of the profit. He declined to specify what percentage that would be. Whatever is left, he said, would go to Los Alamitos.
The nighttime Quarter Horse track, McKinzie noted, has made a substantial investment in Thoroughbred racing after earlier being allocated five weeks of live racing—two weeks in July and three more in December.
McKinzie said he believed that Los Alamitos would generate better on-track attendance and handle than LACF. "This is a partnership. If we're successful, then they (Fairplex) will be successful.
"We think this move will strengthen the Southern California racing calendar," he added. "We're very excited about the prospects."
Bloodhorse
Oak Tree Approved to Operate Pleasanton Meet
By Jack Shinar
The Oak Tree Racing Association is back in the race business following a 3 1/2-year absence with the approval of its application to conduct the Alameda County Fair meet by the California Horse Racing Board April 25.
The three-week stand, to be called "Oak Tree at Pleasanton," will run for 12 racing days from June 19 through July 6. Oak Tree president John Barr told the board that the charitable, not-for-profit organization began working with the Alameda County Fair and the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) about a year ago to form the partnership. State legislation was approved and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in order to allow the move.
The board, meeting at the Golden Gate Fields turf club, approved the request unanimously after learning that Oak Tree planned to invest $400,000 this year, much of it in the way of improved stakes purses.
"Oak Tree’s service and charitable activities over the years have been very beneficial to the racing industry in California," said CHRB chairman Chuck Winner. "Their alliance with CARF and Alameda County Fair is a shot in the arm for racing in Northern California. We wish them success."
A fixture at Santa Anita Park for four decades, where it operated the annual fall meet, the track terminated Oak Tree's lease after the 2010 season. Oak Tree operated the fall meet that year at Hollywood Park, where it was moved due to concerns over the condition of the former synthetic racing surface at Santa Anita.
"For 3 1/2 years, we've been looking for a new home," said Sherwood Chillingworth, Oak Tree's executive vice president. "It's very pleasing to us that we've been welcomed by the fair with open arms. We think we're going to bring something here. We're advancing substantial support to the stakes fund. We'll supply $150,000 in additional purses and contribute $65,000 to advertising."
The Pleasanton fair will hold a pair of $100,000 stakes, the Oak Tree Handicap June 21 and the Oak Tree Distaff, a filly and mare race June 28 for California-breds. Also on the schedule is the $75,000 Oak Tree Sprint July 4 as well as a pair of overnight stakes, the $50,000 Juan Gonzalez Memorial July 5 and the $50,000 Everett Nevin Alameda County July 6.
"We're up here on a simple mission," Chillingworth said. "Northern California is the cradle of California racing. What we want to do is to help it recapture some of the glory."
Oak Tree is best known for its charitable donations, amounting to some $30 million over the past 40 years, Barr said. Various organizations that improve the industry, such as the American Horse Council, the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), which supports and raises awareness of the needs to provide retirement and retraining services for ex-racehorses, Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, and the University of California-Davis, are among the many recipients over the years. Oak Tree has assisted in the establishment of facilities and programs for backstretch workers as well.
However, since losing its lease with Santa Anita, the contributions have been cut back to minimal levels due to the lack of income, Barr explained. Oak Tree has a two-year agreement with the fair and CARF, he said, and he hopes it can be profitable so it will be extended.
" 'Chilly' and I are getting a little long in the tooth. We're not going to be around forever," Barr said. "We'd really like to see Oak Tree be able to continue its legacy into the future. There are a lot of people out there that aren't particularly happy they are no longer receiving our donations."
Alameda County Fair CEO Jerome Hoban said he was happy with arrangement.
"The alliance with these partners will be a big gain for horse racing in Northern California," he said in a statement. "Combining the legacy of Oak Tree with the long heritage of racing at Alameda County Fair will bring new excitement to racing at Pleasanton. This is also a great opportunity to showcase horse racing to the hundreds of thousands of people who attend our fair every year. Our community is looking forward to the event."
In other action, the CHRB amended a rule restricting slightly the use of riding crops in races. In a separate matter, the board also established that it will invoke the maximum penalty of a lifetime ban for anyone using an electrical shock device or "buzzer" on a horse within racetrack enclosures in the state.
A representative for the Jockeys' Guild said the change in use of the riding crop has the support of the organization. The change would make it a violation for a jockey to strike a mount after raising the whip above his or her shoulder, and also prohibit using it more than three times without allowing the horse to take at least two full strides. The idea, commissioners said, was to allow the jockey time to see if the horse was responding to the encouragement.
Winner said it was an important matter due to the "perception of fans and the wagering public" regarding whip use. He also noted that the crops now in use, made of soft leather, are much easier "in terms of impact on the horse. Since these riding crops have been in use, we see no signs of the welts we used to see."
As for the use of a "buzzer," the lifetime ban would extend to a rider caught with the device in races or in exercise, and could also apply to a trainer or owner if it was discovered they knew about such use.
The board also approved two new mini-satellite wagering facilities, one in Bakersfield and one in downtown San Diego,
Fairplex Plans to Phase Out Sales, Training
By Jack Shinar
Over the next several months, the Los Angeles County Fair plans to phase out its racing-related activities at Fairplex Park, chief executive officer James Henwood told the California Horse Racing Board April 25.
Meeting at Golden Gate Fields, CHRB commissioners had the opportunity to question Henwood and Brad McKinzie, Los Alamitos Racing Association vice president, on the proposed relocation of the 11-day LACF meeting to the Orange County facility Sept. 5-21.
The discussion was for informational purposes, coming four days after the announcement of the proposed move was made. Action on the date transfer is likely to occur May 22, once a formal application has been submitted for the board's regular monthly meeting at Santa Anita Park.
None of the six commissioners present spoke against the proposal—in fact, some indicated they favored it. But they did ask several probing questions during the two-hour session.
In response, Henwood said Fairplex "is not up the level of major league racing" patrons in Southern California expect. Los Alamitos, which has expanded its bull ring track to nearly a mile and expanded the stabling area, is a more suitable location, he said.
Los Alamitos, which is in Cypress on the northern edge of Orange County bordering Los Angeles County, is about 35 miles from Fairplex, which has hosted a live Thoroughbred meet since 1933.
"With three weeks of racing and the steady decline in business over the past several years, we cannot afford to make the capital improvements necessary" to make the aging Fairplex facility successful, Henwood said.
He stressed that LACF is not selling the dates in question, simply moving them. "We have to put racing where it needs to be in order for it to grow," he added.
Barretts Sales, the major equine auction enterprise in the state that operates at Fairplex, would be moving to Del Mar under the direction of the 22nd Agricultural District beginning in 2015 "if we are able to do a transaction," Henwood said. Barretts would remain in Pomona for the October yearling sale this year, however.
Fairplex, if the date transfer is approved, would also curtail stabling and training as of July 10, Henwood said.
Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, had lobbied successfully to keep Fairplex as a stabling site as the California racing industry was working out its post-Hollywood Park plans. He noted that the closure would hit trainers at a time when 2-year-olds are in need of training space, and complained that the CTT was not included in the Fairplex/Los Alamitos discussion.
"It points to a woeful lack of overall planning," Balch said. "If the population of 2-year-olds is what it has been in recent years, we may have a serious problem. And if it isn't the same, that's a serious problem, too. "The whole stabling and vanning plan was based on the premise that Fairplex would be open during the run of their meet."
Commissioner Madeline Auerbach, while saying she thought the date transfer was a good move, agreed with Balch that Fairplex's stabling decision could hit horsemen hard if it creates an inadequate number of available stalls.
"If I were certain trainers, I'd very upset right now," she told Henwood.
Commissioner Steve Beneto said he was concerned that by moving away from Fairplex, which attracts about 1.5 million visitors during the run of its fair, would hurt attendance.
McKinzie said Los Alamitos would conduct the meet but that it remains part of the LACF. He said Los Alamitos would bear the operational cost, then LACF would receive its share of the profit. He declined to specify what percentage that would be. Whatever is left, he said, would go to Los Alamitos.
The nighttime Quarter Horse track, McKinzie noted, has made a substantial investment in Thoroughbred racing after earlier being allocated five weeks of live racing—two weeks in July and three more in December.
McKinzie said he believed that Los Alamitos would generate better on-track attendance and handle than LACF. "This is a partnership. If we're successful, then they (Fairplex) will be successful.
"We think this move will strengthen the Southern California racing calendar," he added. "We're very excited about the prospects."
