aiden butler | Horse Racing Free Tips

1ST/Racing Will Request 2024 Racing Dates

The Stronach Group's 1/ST Racing, the owner/operator of Golden Gate Fields, will request racing dates for the northern California Thoroughbred facility for the first half of 2024, the organization announced Saturday. The request will extend the previously announced closing of the facility at the end of 2023 until June 30, 2024.

The decision to request dates falls on the heels of the passage of AB 1074, which authorizes the reallocation of purse and commission revenues generated in the Northern zone of California to support racing in the Southern and Central zones should there be unallocated weeks in future years. The bill will not be law until signed by Governor Newsom.

“We are pleased we could work out a solution with our industry stakeholders to be able to keep Golden Gate Fields open for an additional and final meet,” Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer of 1/ST Racing & Gaming, said.

The Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Authority of Racing Fairs, California Thoroughbred Trainers and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association urged an extension in the interest of developing a statewide transition plan after 1/ST Racing in July announced their plan to shutter Golden Gate Fields and focus on Santa Anita Park and improving racing in Southern California.

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Experts Say Difficult Winter Could Be To Blame For Woes With Laurel Track Surface

Thursday's announcement that live racing would be not be held at Laurel Park until further notice, with this weekend's races cancelled and future racing moved to Pimlico Race Course, stemmed from concerns about the safety of the racetrack surface. Officials from the Maryland horse community appeared on a teleconference meeting to discuss the issues with the surface, which Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory's Dr. Mick Peterson believes may originate from a tough winter in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The entire track cushion will be rehabilitated in the coming weeks, with a timeline that is expected to take less than three weeks as light training (no workouts) continues over the Laurel Park main track. Meanwhile, horses will be able to ship to Pimlico for workouts using the Maryland Jockey Club shuttle.

Training tomorrow will be held from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with no break. Only jogging and galloping will be allowed at this time.

“From a race track operator's perspective, we have a couple of responsibilities,” said Aiden Butler, Chief Operating Officer, 1/ST RACING. “The most important one is to make sure that the sanctity and the safety of the racetrack is the best it can be at all times. Varying degrees of weather and varying degrees of protocols mean that it's not always as optimum as we would like … When we got the heads up last week that the track was not performing quite as well as we'd like it to, we immediately rallied and put a team together.

“We decided that for Maryland to be as good as it can be, there was only one approach, and it's one that's a heck of a lot of work, and unfortunately going to be a heck of a lot of inconvenience for everyone on this call. But there really is no other way. Maryland has the opportunity to be as good a racing jurisdiction and as good a racing surface as any in the country, and we're not going to get there if the track isn't as good as it can be.”

A total of four equine fatalities, one during racing and three during morning training, have occurred at Laurel this year, Stronach Group chief veterinary officer Dr. Dionne Benson told the Paulick Report. The four fatalities resulted from different types of injuries and occurred at different locations on the racetrack, Benson said, adding that the numbers are very similar to this time last year. One morning fatality occurred in February, the racing fatality on March 7, one morning fatality during March, and one morning fatality over the past week.

“The bigger issue was that we weren't happy with how the track came out of winter,” Benson explained.

The general consensus was that the issues with the track surface have been a concern for the past two weeks.

“I don't want to focus on how we got to this point,” said Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association President Tim Keefe. “I would like to focus on how to avoid it in the future.”

Butler continued the conversation by adding that he'll be on the grounds in Maryland over the next several weeks and is looking forward to speaking with horsemen, both formally and informally, about how to open a more direct dialog so similar issues can be avoided in the future.

“We definitely want to be proactive on this, not reactive,” said Peterson, adding that the MJC has implemented the some of the RSTL's improvements over the past couple years, including an on-site weather station and other rapid-response testing abilities.

Peterson went on to explain that the issues with the Laurel Park track cushion stemmed from several factors.

“Winter racing on a dirt track is challenging, and it's clear that in the Mid-Atlantic region, some years are more challenging than others,” Peterson said, “especially with these years where the freeze/thaw cycle leads to a lot of salt usage. The other challenge, and this is not unique to the Mid-Atlantic tracks, is getting consistent materials in the quantity required for racetrack maintenance.

“The key is not only meeting the immediate needs, but in changing the operation mode for the Maryland Jockey Club.”

1/ST RACING's Senior Track Superintendent Dennis Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club's Track Superintendent Chris Bosley have located a supplier and began the project on Friday, stripping material off the track. Moore has experience mixing the material on site for consistency, and will be confirming the process along the way with additional samples sent to the RSTL and Peterson.

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CHRB: Medical Director Issues Heat-Stress Memo, Santa Anita Approved To Delay Meet Start

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Thursday, August 20. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzales chaired the meeting, joined by Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director, helped open the meeting with a discussion of the current heat wave in California and its effect on racehorses. Dr. Arthur explained that temperatures alone do not determine whether it is safe for horses to compete. He described the Heat Stress Index (HSI) as a more accurate method. He sent a memo this week to horsemen, track management, stewards, and veterinarians reminding them of how to use HSI and when to undertake heat-stress mitigation steps. That memo is posted on the CHRB website under Racing Safety.
The Board approved the license application for the Los Angeles Turf Club (LATC) to conduct a race meet at Santa Anita Park, with racing commencing Saturday, September 19, through Sunday, October 25. Aiden Butler, director of racing at Santa Anita, said although racing concludes September 7 at Del Mar, Santa Anita will be delaying the start of its meet by more than a week to give horses a rest and to ensure that all COVID-19 protocols are in place.
Concerning that meet at Santa Anita, the Board approved an agreement between LATC and the Thoroughbred Owners of California authorizing the racing secretary to set conditions on races, which will include limitations on Lasix and intra-articular medications.
Vice Chair Gonzales and Commissioner Mitchell reported on their Wednesday teleconference meeting of the Race Dates Committee. They indicated there is general agreement among stakeholders for 2021 date allocations, aside from a week here and there. If there is no agreement on those weeks, the committee will make a recommendation in the best interests of the racing industry at the September 24 meeting.
The Board authorized an exemption for fire clearance approval at Los Alamitos and an extension for such approval at San Luis Rey Downs training center based on evidence that both had clearances from local fire authorities, so the allowances only pertained to additional regulatory requirements.
The Board approved for 45-day public notice a proposed regulation establishing rules for public participation at meetings, which largely reflect the procedures that currently are in place, including limiting unsolicited speakers to two minutes each on agenda items.
The Board approved a requirement for practicing veterinarians to use an electronic on-line form prescribed by the Board when submitting their required veterinarian reports to the Official Veterinarian.
The Board approved an emergency amendment to better align CHRB drug classifications with those of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
The Board approved the re-election of three directors to the board of the California Thoroughbred Horsemen's Foundation: Angie Carmona, Dr. Victor Levine, and Eric Sindler.
The Board authorized Fasig-Tipton Co. to conduct a horse auction sale at Fairplex Park on October 19.

Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

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