There was a massive telecommunications network failure Saturday afternoon that affected much more than just the horse racing industry. Regardless of where wagers are placed, the transmission from the Amtote totalizator system to the host track's pools are redistributed via Roberts Communications Network. There was a telecommunications failure of several network carriers in the mid-Atlantic region, therefore Amtote and Roberts had no connectivity with the racetracks and therefore it was technically impossible to transmit bets. That it happened prior to Tampa Bay Downs' biggest race of the year and not the third race on a Tuesday was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence.

Other tracks, among them Santa Anita, Oaklawn, Laurel, Aqueduct, Fonner Park and the Meadowlands experienced similar problems, but none of them were forced to run races as non-betting events.

On Sunday, Amtote and Roberts issued a joint statement, which read in part:

“The issues were not the result of a tote system failure. Rather, the communications network (both primary and backup) that connects the Amtote Mid-Atlantic hub to other wagering hubs failed. Roberts Communications Network (“RCN”) provides the communications network that connects Amtote's Mid-Atlantic hub to all other tote company wagering hubs worldwide. RCN designs and installs the communications network in a manner designed to prevent outages of this type. However, the unprecedented nature of the connectivity outage yesterday, which impacted the third-party providers from which RCN provisions bandwidth, took down both the primary and back-up networks.”

“Everyone needs to stop blaming Amtote,” said Todd Roberts, President and CEO of RCN. “This was an unprecedented failure in the primary and back-up connectivity provided to RCN by our third-party suppliers.

“When the communications links at Amtote's hub were disrupted, it caused a breakdown in the flow of wagering data between Amtote's Mid-Atlantic hub and all other wagering locations. The communications disruption was not caused by any failure in RCN equipment or operations. Rather, both the primary and back-up bandwidth providers to the RCN network failed. RCN has not yet received an official reason-for-outage report from its third-party providers specifying a reason for this failure. However, it is believed that the outage, which was much broader than just the racing industry, affected at least three major telecom/internet bandwidth providers in the geographic region that services the Amtote hub.”

The loss of the estimated $4.5 million in betting handle was a huge blow to Tampa Bay Downs, a racetrack that does not receive any revenue from casinos or slot machines and, therefore, can't afford a hit like it took Saturday. Berube says he wants some answers and has called for an investigation.

“Only bits and pieces are coming in and that's why I have asked for an independent investigation,” he said. “You have a couple different vendors involved, the tote company and RCN communications. I'm not getting a clear story as to what happened at this point and that's why I've asked for an independent investigation. This is unprecedented. I've been in this business for over 30 years and I've never experienced or seen anything like what happened yesterday.”

So who's to blame? That's the tricky part. Neither AmTote, which is owned by 1/ST Racing, nor Roberts nor Tampa Bay Downs apparently did anything wrong. This issue was caused by a utility company that provides network connectivity that carries the transmission of betting data. When that went down betting data could not be transmitted.

And Tampa did what it had to do.

“We waited as long as we could,” Berube said. “It wasn't fair to the horses, so we made the decision to go ahead and run the Tampa Bay Derby, even though it was not a profitable decision. But we needed to run the race and we were glad to run the race.”

Yet both Berube and 1/ST President Aidan Butler, expressed similar sentiments, that no matter how complicated this issue might have been and no matter who was at fault, these sort of things can't keep happening. Remember, it was only a few months ago that FanDuel experienced a situation where bettors were able to make huge wagers on a race and only the base price of their tickets was deducted from their accounts. There still hasn't be a credible explanation as to how that occurred.

“There needs to be a change and this should be a wake-up call for the industry,” Berube said. “I plan on being totally transparent once I get the information and the sequence of events, what happened and who was responsible. The customers need to have confidence in the system.”

“This truly was not an AmTote issue,” Butler said. “But that doesn't really matter. I am looking at it through a gambling lens, and it is really unacceptable. Going forward, it doesn't matter whose fault it was. It's the year 2024 and there's no reason something like this can go on. This can never happen again and can't happen again and that will take a lot of work.”

He's right. As with so many aspects of the game, racing can't afford these stumbles. They alienate the customers and make the sport look amateurish. It must do better.

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The event will be called the California Crown and the premier race on the afternoon will be a revamped GI Awesome Again S. It was previously reported that the Awesome Again will be restricted to 3-year-olds, which will not be the case. It will remain a race for 3-year-olds and older.

1/ST Racing President Aidan Butler said that the company is looking to include the GII Eddie D. S., run at 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course, and the GII John Henry Turf Championship S., run at a mile-and-a-quarter on the turf, as part of the California Crown series. Other races traditionally run that weekend at Santa Anita include the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S., the GII City of Hope Mile S., the GII Zenyatta S., the GIII Tokyo City Cup and the $100,000 Unzip Me S.

The key detail that has yet to be announced is what will the purses for the races be. When announcing Saturday on NBC the formation of the California Crown, 1/ST CEO Belinda Stronach said it would be the richest non-Breeders' Cup Day of racing in the history of Southern California racing. The purse of the 2023 Awesome Again was just $300,000, one tenth the amount given away in the Pegasus.

With so much uncertainty in California racing right now, including how simulcasting revenue in the state will be divided up once Golden Gate Fields closes in June, Butler said it's too early to announce purses.

“We still have a lot of work out there to figure out what the purses will be,” he said. “There are a lot of decisions that have to be made.  We are hoping we can get everything sorted out soon. But we don't want to jump the gun and announce purses when we don't know exactly what is going to happen with the CHRB, with the Northern circuit and with the Southern circuit. There are a lot of things we still have to work on.”

As is the case with the Pegasus, the California Crown will be about more than racing. 1/ST has turned Pegasus Day into a party that attracts a younger crowd and many people who are not regular racing fans.

“The intent is to create a great experience for anyone who is currently a racing fan and for potential new customers,” Butler said.  “There will be entertainment, things to elevate the customer experience. Los Angeles is such a huge market to draw from. People are used to a level of experience at sporting events with lots of entertainment and that's what we will try to replicate. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the Pegasus. It was a really cracking day and people had a lot of fun. We want to do the same at Santa Anita. The good thing about Santa Anita is that it is such a big venue you can create an even bigger day. At Gulfstream, we struggle with how many people we can get in the building. We won't have that issue at Santa Anita.”

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According to a release, the expansion of Butler's role into president 'reflects and supports Stronach's mandate of continued growth in the company's racing and gaming assets.' Stronach, the daughter of Frank Stronach, has held the position of president in addition to her other roles since the introduction of 1/ST in 2020.

Butler's primary focus will be on the innovation and diversification of the company's industry leading wagering and gaming assets. He will work closely with the Chief Executive Officers and leadership of the 1/ST RACING AND GAMING, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, 1/ST CONTENT and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses to drive growth and performance and to achieve strategic objectives.

As the CEO of 1/ST RACING AND GAMING, Butler has overseen racing operations at the tracks within the 1/ST portfolio and its training centers while endeavoring to expand the company's gaming footprint to capitalize on the future of sports wagering and gaming. Craig Fravel, Executive Vice-Chairman, 1/ST RACING AND GAMING together with Stephen Screnci, President of Racing & Business Development, 1/ST Racing and Gaming, will assume responsibility for day-to-day racing and training operations.

Butler previously served as Chief Operating Officer, 1/ST RACING and as Chief Strategy Officer for The Stronach Group.

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“Goodwood Racecourse is one of the crown jewels in global racing,” said 1/ST Racing & Gaming CEO Aidan Butler. “It's an honor to work together with Goodwood on growing each of our events and brands at home and abroad.”

Goodwood's Director, Lord William Gordon Lennox, concurred: “Goodwood is thrilled to be partnering with 1/ST on this exciting initiative. This is a great first step in what we hope will be an exciting partnership over the coming years.”

1/ST also began a partnership this year with Royal Ascot, making Gulfstream's Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies races automatic qualifiers for entry into one of six 2-year-old races during Royal Ascot in June. Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) won both the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and Ascot's G2 Queen Mary S.

The Goodwood partnership will include a $25,000 travel stipend to the winning connections of the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

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Murphy, 28, is the more familiar of the two. He was the British flat champion jockey three years running in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and has ridden Group I winners in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, Japan, the UAE and in the U.S. His three Grade I wins in the U.S. came in the GI Belmont Oaks, the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. and in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff with the Japanese invader Marche Lorraine (Orfevre {Jpn}).

While flat racing quiets down in the winter in Europe, Murphy had been traveling all over the world to compete in big races, going to places like Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. But the chance to settle in at one track in the winter, one that offers good purses and perfect weather, appealed to him. Gulfstream also represents a chance to master a new surface–dirt.

“I wanted to try to get some more experience on dirt,” he said. “At Gulfstream, most of the important races are on dirt. There will be ample opportunities to get plenty of rides and ride over what is an important surface. It's important for me to show that I can win races over all surfaces.”

Murphy is the retained jockey for Qatar Racing, the global racing and bloodstock operation founded and chaired by Sheikh Fahad bin Abdullah Al Thani and is the presenting sponsor of the Pegasus World Cup card. Murphy can count on riding the Qatar Racing horses that show up in the entries during the Gulfstream Championship meet.

“I have been watching American racing since I was a kid and I had always wanted to do a little stint in the States,” he said. “The opportunity came up for me this time. Sheikh Fahad, who heads Qatar Racing, had a conversation with [Chief Executive Officer 1/ST Racing and Gaming] Aidan Butler and he said he thought it would be a good idea for me to come here. I will try to do the best that I can, stay busy in the mornings and make a real effort to ride to the best of my abilities in the afternoon.”

Murphy plans to joining the Gulfstream colony Dec. 27 and, except for a trip to Saudi Arabia for the Saudi Cup Card, intends to ride full time at Gulfstream at least until through January.

“From the first time I stepped across the Atlantic and came to the U.S,. I wanted to ride against these top guys,” said Murphy, who is 4-for-31 lifetime in the U.S. “I won the Belmont Oaks on Aspen Grove, won the Queen Elizabeth II on Mawj and I won a Breeders' Cup race in the Distaff. I have a huge amount of respect for the top riders here. Hopefully, riding against them will help me pick up a huge amount of knowledge and help me to learn their riding styles. I already have a good relationship with those guys.

Like Murphy, Levey, 35, is looking for new opportunities and a challenge. He said he usually spent his winters riding on the all-weather tracks in Great Britain, but wanted to try something different.

“I think I'm at the point in my career where I've been riding on the all-weather tracks in England during the winter for quite a few years,” he said. “There's nothing more that I can learn. This is a great opportunity to do something different and to put me in a good place for the season ahead. I was put in touch with the right people and they were looking for European riders to take part in the festival over here. It was an opportunity. It's not just the better weather, it's the better prize money. There are a lot of things that are better about riding here versus in the winter back home.”

Levey was born in Swaziland and his father was a jockey who rode all over Europe. In 2001, the family moved to County Tipperary, Ireland, where his parents worked at Ballydoyle for trainer Aidan O'Brien. Levey rode out for O'Brien and, together with his brother Declan, spent a year on the pony racing circuit. He started riding professionally in Ireland before moving on to Great Britain. He's won six Group I races, four in the U.K. and two in France.

He said he has made some connections with U.S. trainers when coming over with O'Brien horses for the Breeders' Cup and other major events. He's also spent some time in the U.S. working as an exercise rider.

“I'm hoping to make more contacts, but I worked with Saffie Joseph and he said come here and see what we can do,” Levey said. “I also have worked for Brendan Walsh.

“I'm coming over with no other plan than to gain as much experience as I can,” he said. “I'm coming over here with an open mind and will try to get as many rides as I can and gain as much experience as I can. If that comes with my getting a few winners that would be great. I'm coming here to be competitive. I know how many good riders are here and I know that lessens my chances of getting some good rides. It will be very competitive. But once I get my foot in the door that will lead to my getting a few winners.”

Levey hopes to begin riding next week and says his work visa lasts for 90 days.

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“1/ST is committed to ensuring the racing industry continues to expand through inclusivity and diversity,” said Aidan Butler, CEO of 1/ST RACING & GAMING. “The Horse Racing Women's Summit is aligned steadfast with this vision, and we are proud to be co-sponsoring this event with FanDuel TV for the second year.”

“After the inaugural Horse Racing Women's Summit was such a resounding success, the FanDuel Group is looking forward to again serve as co-presenting sponsor alongside our friends and partners from 1/ST RACING,” said Amy Howe, CEO of FanDuel Group. “Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our core values at FanDuel Group and we are proud to be represented on panels at this event by two of the smart, dedicated women on our team as we all come together as an industry to continue to support women in this sport.”

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GI Kentucky Derby winner, committed what would have been considered blasphemy 20 years ago and skipped the Preakness to rest up for the GI Belmont S. This year, Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) was the only Derby starter to run back in the second leg of the Triple Crown, which had a field of just seven.

The Preakness has become a shell of its former self, which is a problem. The Triple Crown is not the Triple Crown unless all three races are top-class events featuring the best 3-year-olds in training.

It didn't make sense for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns Pimlico, to keep sitting back and do nothing and let one of its most valuable assets grow more irrelevant by the year. Which is why it was no surprise when TSG floated out a trial balloon in the media last week, saying that it was serious about pushing back the date of the Preakness so that it would be run four week after the Kentucky Derby.

TSG's Aidan Butler said the move was being considered for safety reasons, that it wasn't in the best interests of the Triple Crown horses to have so little time between races. That was just spin. There's no evidence that racing horses on two weeks' rest is more dangerous than running them back in four weeks. The real reason is that the two-week gap all but guarantees a lot of good horses, and maybe even the Derby winner, will pass the Preakness, which isn't good for the race or business.

Moving the Preakness will help the Preakness, but doing so raises a new problem. The current spacing of the Triple Crown races-two weeks from the Derby to the Preakness and three weeks from the Preakness to the Belmont-works very nicely for the New York Racing Association and the Belmont Stakes. The Belmont field always gets six or seven top horses out of the Derby from trainers who wouldn't run them back in two weeks in the Preakness. That makes for a good race. It gets even better if the Derby winner wins the Preakness and heads to Long Island with a Triple Crown on the line. The chances of that happening is made easier when the competition in the Preakness is subpar. Then there's the Belmont Day card. Everything has fallen into place and the stakes-loaded Belmont day program is the best non-Breeders' Cup Day card run in the U.S. The handle is astronomical.

Moving the Belmont would also likely affect the graded races in the summer for the 3-year-olds, like Saratoga's GII Jim Dandy and the GI Travers S. With less time between the Belmont and those two races, two highlights of the Saratoga meet could be weakened.

It's easy to see why NYRA wants to keep the status quo, and that was the message the organization sent out within minutes of TSG saying that the Preakness could be on the move. “NYRA has concerns about fundamental changes to the structure of the Triple Crown. We have no plans to move the date of the Belmont Stakes,” said NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna.

What was left unsaid is that NYRA has a weapon that TSG probably doesn't. NYRA has the assets to throw money into the Belmont. Make it a $5 million race, something I can't see TSG being able to match with the Preakness, which has a purse of $1.5 million. That sort of purse discrepancy would all but guarantee that the Belmont, and not the Preakness, would get all the big-name horses out of the Derby.

Which leaves us where?

If the Preakness is moved to four weeks after the Derby and the Belmont stays right where it is then we will have four weeks between the Derby and Preakness and one week between the Preakness and the Belmont. You would have to run in one race or the other but not both. No trainer would ever run his or her horse back on one weeks' rest if that were what was required between the Preakness and the Belmont. You probably wouldn't even get a Derby-Preakness winner to run back in a week with a possible Triple Crown on the line. The bottom line: this would be a disaster, the destruction of the Triple Crown.

This can't happen. The Triple Crown is racing's greatest asset and its demise would do irreparable harm to a sport that gets little attention from the public or the mainstream media outside of the Triple Crown. For that not to happen, something has to give. Yes, TSG could relent and recommit to the two-week break. But that leaves us right where we started, with a weak Preakness, which means a weakened Triple Crown.

The best thing for the Triple Crown, the best thing for horse racing, is for NYRA to fall in line, swallow a bitter pill, and push the Belmont back so that it is run four weeks after the Preakness. The four weeks-four weeks spacing would help reinvigorate the Triple Crown and save it from what is now floating out there, a possible Triple Crown schedule that no one should want.

In any other the sport, this would be handled by a commissioner's office, whose mission is to make decisions that benefit the league and not necessarily individual teams. A racing czar would never let the Triple Crown hang on a thread like it is. But, of course, racing doesn't have a commissioner and never will. That's why tracks get away with acting in their best interests, the interests of the sport be damned.

It's not in NYRA's best interests to move the date of the Belmont. Everyone gets that. But, realistically, only NYRA fan fix this. It needs to step up and do the right thing for the Triple Crown, which will be better and stronger with the changes. Put the sport first.

NYRA and the Pick-5 Fiasco
Bettors had every right to complain last week when the Sunday late Pick 5 at Saratoga was turned upside down by a decision to take three races in the segment off of the turf. As the horses were being loaded into the starting gate for the sixth race, the first in the Pick 5 segment, it was announced that the races were being moved to the main track. That was the result of Ever Summer (Summer Front)breaking down in the fourth race, which was run on the turf, which resulted in the horse having to be euthanized. The jockeys went to NYRA and expressed concerns about the condition of the turf course, so NYRA played it safe and took the rest of the day's race off of the grass.

For safety reasons, that was probably the right call, but it left a bitter taste in the mouth's of many a bettor. They had little chance to adjust their plays and/or cancel their bets. The Pick 5 turned into a daily double, one that paid $25.

TO NYRA's credit, CEO and President Dave O'Rourke came out publicly later in the week, apologized and said that NYRA “dropped the ball.” As a concession to the bettors, NYRA seeded Saturday's Late Pick 5 with $100,000. Tracks executives usually run and hide when something goes wrong like this. That O'Rourke was accessible and accountable was admirable.

It should also be noted that he was left to apologize for some things that were not NYRA's fault. Yes, NYRA should have gotten the word out more quickly regarding the surface changes. But it had no control over some other issues. It wanted the Pick 5 to be canceled, which absolutely would have been the right call, and asked the stewards to allow them to refund all Pick 5 wagers. But state racing regulations don't allow for that to happen. Instead, the off-the-turf races were considered “all” races when it came to the Pick 5. NYRA also asked the stewards to delay the sixth race for a few minutes, which would have given players a chance to regroup and, if they wanted to, cancel their tickets. The stewards again said no.

The rules need to be changed so that a horizontal wager can be canceled whenever a situation likes this comes up. And, if it will help matters, there's no reason why a race can't be delayed to help the player adjust their bets.

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The company, which operates Pimlico Race Course, has confirmed to the TDN that it is giving strong consideration to moving the date of the GI Preakness S. so that it is run four weeks after the GI Kentucky Derby.

“We have discussed it internally and believe it's in the best interests of horses and horse safety to move the race four weeks after the Kentucky Derby,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer of 1/ST Racing & Gaming. “This would give horses more time to recover between races to be able to run in the Preakness. Horse safety is more important than tradition. NYRA is aware and considering how this would impact the Belmont. Stay tuned.”

Butler said there would be no further comment at this time.

Should the date of the Preakness get changed, the next move will be up to NYRA, which hosts the GI Belmont. If the Preakness is moved to four weeks after the Derby that would mean that, unless NYRA also shifts the date of the Belmont, the Belmont would be run just one week after the Preakness. That may be exactly what happens.

“NYRA has concerns about fundamental changes to the structure of the Triple Crown. We have no plans to move the date of the Belmont Stakes,” said NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna.

The current structure of the Triple Crown works far better for the Belmont than it does for the Preakness. With five weeks between the Derby and Belmont, a number of trainers pass the Preakness and go next in the Belmont.

Traditionally, the Triple Crown is run over a five-week period, with two weeks between the Derby and the Preakness and three weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont. While that may be a long-standing tradition, it has clearly become an impediment to drawing horses to the Preakness because modern trainers are very reluctant to run their horses back within two weeks. In 2022, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) skipped the Preakness and waited for the Belmont. This year, Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) was the only horse from the Derby to run back in the Preakness.

These developments have led to added support for changing the spacing of the races. Just last month, Tom Rooney, the president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, penned an editorial calling for the races be spread further apart. “The time has come in Thoroughbred racing for our own change, to modernize the timeline of the Triple Crown,” he wrote.

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The plan–shared via Zoom during a press briefing lasting about 30 minutes–appeared large on big-ticket promises though short on specifics in other key areas, including the broader industry impacts from the closure of Golden Gate Fields.

The following details were divulged in the form of a press release:

• Over $1 million to support the relocation of horses, trainers, jockeys, backstretch employees and caregivers from Golden Gate Fields to Santa Anita Park as part of the consolidation of racing in Southern California, and to support the California breeding program.
• A $4.5 million, brand-new all-weather synthetic track that will replace the existing training track at Santa Anita Park. This change will not only allow for the seamless transition of horses used to running on the synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields but will serve to improve the overall safety environment at Santa Anita Park.
• A commitment to fund a portion of 2024 heath care premiums for Golden Gate Field employees.
• The creation of a job board accessible to backside employees to support the transition to Santa Anita Park.
• An investment of $500,000+ (over two years) toward building a state-of-the-art equine pool for hydrotherapy and horse exerciser, accessible to trainers at Santa Anita Park, that will help horses more easily recover from injury.
• $23.2 million toward a backside barn improvement program.
• In addition to returning a fourth day of weekly racing to Santa Anita Park resulting in 26 extra race days, 1/ST RACING will invest $2.5 million into building a turf chute at the track.

During the course of the press conference, CEO of 1/ST Racing and Gaming Aidan Butler and Craig Fravel, executive vice-chairman of 1/ST Racing and Gaming, expanded upon some of these details.

The biggest ticket item concerns the $23 million toward backstretch improvements. “The initial piece of work is to replace every single roof and outer extremity of the barns,” said Butler.

“This is a huge undertaking. We have 2,000 stalls on the backside of Santa Anita. To quickly carve into that answer, there's not a lot of room at Santa Anita to add extra stalls. But the job when completed should have a very modern-looking and -feeling backside.

“The larger plan which we'll touch upon at a different time is that we have future proofed what would happen if we needed more stalls. Some would argue that's a great problem to have. We do have quite a few answers for that, but nothing that would be wise to announce today,” said Butler.

When asked to expand upon what he meant by cutting edge, Butler described it as an overarching theme, meaning “we're going to try to be best in class and cutting edge in everything we do.”

TSG aims to begin work on the synthetic replacement to the training track at the end of the fall meet in November. “The hope…would be to get this ready and operational by opening day,” said Butler.

The new one-turn turf chute at Santa Anita would start in the north parking lot, said Butler, who explained that the idea sprung from the growing inventory of turf horses in Southern California.

“We appreciate and understand that the ecosystem currently in California is quite turf heavy from a racehorse perspective, so, adding new turf options and turf distances and starts is going to be hugely beneficial,” said Butler.

As to the economics behind these proposals, Fravel appeared to leave the door open to the possibility that proceeds from simulcasting handle in Northern California could be diverted south.

“We will be meeting with other stakeholders and looking at gaps in the calendar and looking at how we can reconfigure the economics of California racing,” said Fravel.

In its initial statement, TSG explained that a key “goal” of the consolidation was to increase field sizes at Santa Anita and add “another day of racing to the weekly racing calendar at Santa Anita Park, come January 2024.”

When asked how long Santa Anita could remain financially viable if that extra day of racing doesn't materialize, both Fravel and Butler described the proposed investments as spurs of economic activity.

“I think with an influx of horses from the north, along with the positive impact these changes would have, we have a very realistic chance of making that happen,” said Fravel, who said contingency plans were in place in case the four-day race week didn't materialize, but declined to say what they were.

In answer to concerns that the horses in Northern California will become swamped in the Southern California circuit at the entry box, Butler discussed bringing staff from Golden Gate Fields to help smooth the acclimatization process.

“I think the intent over time is that it will become one population,” said Butler. “We've had some experience in other parts of the country where we can, during bigger meets, run higher quality from a purse perspective, and then middle tier racing on the same card.”

The paddock at Santa Anita | Benoit

Butler added: “There is another Thursday. Really the intent is to not completely load that day up with horses from Golden Gate, but to mix them across the whole four days' racing.”

In tune with Butler's comments, Fravel discussed the possibility for the “creative” carding of races with an expanded horse population.

“We fully expect that we'll be able to write condition books, racing conditions, be creative in terms of making sure that, not only the current population at Golden Gate has a place to run, but also that we'll be able to support additional racing hopefully at Los Alamitos,” Fravel said.

In terms of a totally reconstituted Southern California racing product, Butler raised the possibility of additional 'Ship & Win' incentives.

“There are lots of plans in the works to not only attract international runners, but keep up the good work that's been done,” said Butler.

As for the Golden Gate diaspora, the number of trainers and horses that can be accommodated at Santa Anita and San Luis Rey Downs is limited, admitted Butler–a restriction dictated by limited stall space in Southern California, he added.

“We're going to give every trainer and every horse as much as we can to get down here,” said Butler, pointing to the proposed industry support fund.

“Not only a stipend per horse that comes down, but also stipends for jockeys to try to integrate down in the south. There is a separate piece that covers the trainers themselves, humans as they're moving around, and their employees,” Butler added.

After the meeting concluded, TDN asked if the relocation funds would also be used to help those trainers, backstretch staff and horses who are unable to relocate south to Santa Anita or San Luis Rey Downs.

“Yes, if there is any left,” wrote a TSG spokesperson.

One enormous question stemming from TSG's plans is how the closure of Golden Gate Fields will impact the state breeding industry, which has been contracting for years.

As a sign of just how integral Cal-breds remain to the state racing product, however, during Santa Anita's recently concluded six-month meet, Cal-breds made up about 37% of all individual starts, according to DRF chart data. Cal-bred races constituted more than 20% of the overall races.

At Golden Gate Fields, Cal-breds made up nearly 70% of all starts last year, according to DRF chart data–a number that had grown from 60% of all starts at the track in 2013.

TSG has proposed hosting the annual Cal-bred sale at Santa Anita. When asked if TSG has run the numbers on the impacts on the state breeding industry from the closure of Golden Gate fields, Fravel admitted the company had not made such calculations, but pointed toward the additional funds earmarked for the breeding industry.

“We have had breeders who have said to us they're very encouraged with the prospects for Santa Anita, and increased purse money that should be available to them,” said Fravel.

“We're going to sit down with the leadership of the CTBA [California Thoroughbred Breeders Association]. They have some ideas in terms of how they can promote additional breeding, and support the existing program,” Fravel added.

In Friday's press releases, TSG wove in remarks from the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and from prominent California breeder Terry Lovingier.

“While we continue to work diligently on what the north might look like in 2024, today's announcement answers important short-term questions about the future of California racing and Santa Anita Park,” said Bill Nader, TOC president and CEO. “This represents both an investment and a commitment by Belinda Stronach and her team to not only stabilize but likely improve California racing for stakeholders, horsemen/women, backstretch workers and the betting public. These initiatives will provide a much better environment for our horses and make our overall racing stronger for the immediate future.”

“With these renovations and the commitment to California-bred racing, I see the opportunities for Cal-breds greatly increasing and providing more value for those horses because of it. I'm going to breed more mares to take advantage of it. This is going to benefit the entire industry in the state,” said Lovingier.

“We're a racing company,” said Fravel during Friday's press conference. “We love racing, and we want it to succeed. Hopefully the breeders will share that optimism with us.”

“We are confident that this comprehensive package of important measures will not only bolster the racing, training, owner and fan experience at Santa Anita Park, 'The Great Race Place', but also support Northern California stakeholders through a challenging transition period, and lead the way with state and industrywide changes that will result in a healthier, competitive and sustainable future for Thoroughbred racing in Southern California,” said Belinda Stronach, TSG chairwoman, CEO and president.

On Thursday, news broke that Stronach has been in talks over the last year to become an investor in the Sacramento Republic Football Club.

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Michael Behrens, the founder and CEO of MyRacehorse, told TDN that his company was looking to add investors with the passing of B. Wayne Hughes. Hughes, who owned Spendthrift Farm, was an early supporter of MyRacehorse and an investor in the company. MyRacehorse continues to own horses in partnership with Spendthrift but the farm itself is not an investor in the company.

“I've been talking to people globally now that we're in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the U.S., and have put together a nice collection of investors, led by 1/ST,” Behrens said. “We raised $7 million collectively. This is the next chapter in our journey and validation that people see what we've done in democratizing ownership and getting more and more people involved is working. 1/ST has been a big supporter since day one. With 1/ST's commitment to innovation, this made a lot of sense and I was happy they decided to come in.”

1/ST will not have an ownership stake in any of MyRacehorse's horses and will have no influence over any decisions that are made regarding a horse's career or racing schedule, said Behrens.

“1/ST's mission to introduce and engage the next generation of fans and owners in innovative and entertaining new ways aligns perfectly with the MyRacehorse concept,” said Aidan Butler,
Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST RACING & GAMING. “The ability to become an owner of a Thoroughbred racehorse and to be part of an ownership experience that until now has been inaccessible for many, is truly exciting. We have seen firsthand the success of MyRacehorse and we look forward to helping scale this platform across racing, wagering and beyond.”

“The majority of this investment will go toward the building out the framework of the technology to continue to provide better technology for mass ownership for horse racing and set us up for expansion into other sports,” Behrens said. “It's 1/ST. There will be a lot of interesting collaborations around the on-track experiences and gaming through their ADW. They own all the assets that are symbiotic with ownership and I think that you will see an evolution of the product and the ownership experience.”

Behrens said MyRacehorse will team with 1/ST to provide on-track experiences and perks available to MyRacehorse customers and that new initiatives will be announced in the months ahead.

“(1/ST CEO) Aidan (Butler) and the whole team at 1/ST have always been big supporters and have always helped us to provide the best possible experience,” Behrens said. “With this partnership there are a bunch of things in play that we will be announcing over the next months and quarters that will be incremental to the ownership experience. We will plan on larger and larger events now that we have the partnership solidified. The race-day experience you will see right away will evolve at those tracks.”

The funding will also be used to allow MyRacehorse to expand its stable of horses, Behrens said. Launched in Los Angeles in 2018, MyRacehorse offers prospective owners the chance to buy into a racehorse for as little as $100. Hughes was one of the investors in the seed-round funding, and became an active partner, campaigning the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in partnership with MyRacehorse, among others.

“In our first chapter we have served nearly 100,000 users and the app has enabled us to fractionalize more than $50 million in racehorse offerings,” said Behrens. “We see this partnership and investment as the start of new chapter–one of significant scale and growth. Just the fact that we are well capitalized and have raised $7 million, that gives us access to not only having liquidity in the company but also being able to get more money through credit lines to buy more horses. Luckily, we've been in a position where the majority of our horses sell out relatively quickly. We've been trying to balance our growth. When Wayne first came in, we went from buying a handful of horses to dozens of horses. I would expect another step change. We went from being very modest founder-funded to being able to capitalize with our partnership with Spendthrift. It was a major step change. I see this as another move. We now have the ability to go out there and meet demand.”

The platform currently boasts more than 50,000 active owners and 100 active horses who have won over 160 races worldwide, with earnings in excess of $20 million. MyRacehorse is
predominantly focused in the United States and Australia and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

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