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After Delays and Discord, Turf Paradise Approved For Meet

Turf Paradise got unanimous 3-0 approval from the Arizona Racing Commission on Thursday to open its backstretch by the end of the month in anticipation of an 84-date, Jan. 4-May 1 racing season.

The meet will mark the first Thoroughbred racing in Arizona since Mar. 14, when Turf Paradise ended its spring season prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August, Turf Paradise withdrew its dates request for a traditional 2020-21 autumn-to-spring meet, citing liability concerns related to COVID-19. In between, the Arizona Downs summer meet never ran because local health officials would not extend permission to reopen under pandemic conditions.

“On the 19th of this month the horsemen arrive to get their stalls ready. On the 25th, which is the day before Thanksgiving, the horses are scheduled to arrive,” said Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia, who added that he does not anticipate any horse population problems that would keep the track from sustaining a five-day (Monday-Friday) race week.

Leroy Gessmann, who serves as both the AZHBPA executive director and the National HBPA president, said that “[Wednesday] we toured the backside, and it was probably the best condition I’ve seen Turf Paradise since I’ve been here for 12 years. There is still work to be done, but it’s in the process. We’re all very excited about the meet and anxious to get started.”

The newfound spirit of cooperation between the AZHBPA and Turf Paradise stands in sharp contrast to the acrimony-tinged AZRC meeting Sept. 10, at which members of the state’s racing community railed at Turf Paradise and accused track management of allowing the property to fall into disrepair and not making an honest effort to conduct racing.

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Turf Paradise 2021 Winter/Spring Meet Edges Closer to Reality

With both Turf Paradise and Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) representatives telling the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) Thursday that they are now close to agreeing on a contract for an 84-date, Jan. 2-May 1 race meet, AZRC chairman Rory Goree indicated that the commission stands ready to approve the dates request, which has already been submitted to the board but was not placed on the agenda for a vote at the Oct. 8 video meeting.

Approval could come via a special AZRC session that might get scheduled before the next monthly commission meeting Nov. 12.

“The primary question is ‘Can we be ready?'” Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia asked rhetorically during his presentation before the commissioners. “Yes. I know exactly what has to be done, and I have the staff here to get it done before the horses get here on Dec. 2.”

Leroy Gessmann, who serves as both the AZHBPA executive director and the National HBPA president, also expressed optimism. “We’re hoping soon some things will be resolved,” he said. “Hopefully we’re close, and we get this wrapped up soon.”

Goree said he was well aware that Turf Paradise management wanted the 2021 winter/spring dates request to be voted on during Thursday’s meeting, but he explained commissioners didn’t want to be put in a position of voting on any race meet until a contract has been inked.

“Yes, I did see the dates come before us to be put on the agenda,” Goree said. “[But] we don’t want them on the agenda until we know we have an agreement between [Turf Paradise] and the HBPA. Then that way we know we’re approving something that everyone’s finally in agreement on,”

Added Francia: “It will come as no surprise I’d like to request a special session as soon as possible once those dates are ready to go before the commission, because I’m running out of time. It’s not on my side right now.”

The newfound spirit of cooperation between the AZHBPA and Turf Paradise stands in sharp contrast to the acrimony-tinged AZRC meeting on Sept. 10, at which members of the state’s racing community railed at Turf Paradise management and desperately implored the AZRC to take some form of action so that live racing can get back up and running in Arizona-even if that meant transferring Turf Paradise’s customary block of dates to competitor Arizona Downs.

Turf Paradise ended its spring meet prematurely Mar. 14 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation. In August, Turf Paradise withdrew its dates request for a traditional 2020-21 autumn-to-spring meet, citing liability concerns related to COVID-19. In between, the Arizona Downs summer meet never ran because local health officials would not extend permission to reopen under pandemic conditions.

Beyond the pandemic, a prolonged fight over off-track betting (OTB) privileges, simulcast signals, and how the horsemen’s purse money can be used has been batted back and forth in the courts, in the press, and during commission meetings, clouding the future of the state’s two commercial tracks.

Francia said Turf Paradise would have a two-phase approach to getting the idle plant ready for reopening. The barn area, frontside, main dirt track, and turf course all need to be put back in order. Simultaneously, all of those common areas need to be refurbished with COVID-19 safeguards in place, like those at every other track in the nation that has resumed racing during the pandemic.

One bone of AZHBPA contention that has consistently come up since Turf Paradise shut down seven months ago is that track management has allegedly sold off equipment that is essential to operating a race meet. Goree asked Francia directly what impact that might have on safely operating the facility.

“No impact whatsoever,” Francia said, although he did not detail what actually has been sold. “That equipment has nothing to do with the essential [things needed] to run a race meet. Francia then listed examples-tractors, harrows, water trucks, ambulances-of equipment that remains “on-site here at Turf. None of the essential equipment has been sold.”

Francia continued, focusing on the negotiations: “We are very close to working out all terms of agreement. We will probably continue our discussions after this commission meeting to try to finalize the last few minor things that are sticking points. But we’ve made a lot of progress, and I’m quite confident that we’re going to get this completed.”

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Turf Paradise Submits Proposal For 84-Day Winter Meet — With Conditions

The standoff between Arizona horsemen and Turf Paradise continues to evolve. A letter published by Thoroughbred Daily News last week from Turf Paradise states the track will seek live race dates from Jan. 2 to May 1, 2021, 84 cards total, at the next racing commission meeting on Oct. 8.

In return, the track expects the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) to refund the $2.1 million the organization took from the Turf Paradise horsemen's account after AZHBPA asserted it was the rightful owner of the money.

AZHBPA is also asked to approve both imports and exports of the Turf Paradise signal through the end of the proposed meet.

A spokesman for AHBPA told the TDN the second request is not a dealbreaker, but the first one could be problematic. The horsemen's group believes it controls money allocated to the horsemen's purse account, according to a prior arbitrated settlement. The track believes the money should be controlled by a group of horsemen who run specifically at Turf Paradise, not the statewide horsemen's group.

The Paulick Report's Ray Paulick provided his perspective on the ongoing disputes between the state's primary track and its horsemen's group in this op/ed last week.

Read more about the latest developments at Thoroughbred Daily News

The post Turf Paradise Submits Proposal For 84-Day Winter Meet — With Conditions appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Details in Ongoing Standoff Between AZHBPA and Turf Paradise

The latest missive in an ongoing game of epistolary ping-pong between the Arizona horsemen and Turf Paradise management has seen the track re-affirm their proposal to stage a race-meet this winter.

“Turf Paradise has submitted live race dates for an 84-day winter meet–Jan. 2 thru May 1, 2021–to the Racing Commission for their approval at the Oct. 8 meeting,” wrote Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia in a letter addressed to the horsemen Thursday.

But again, the proposal comes with caveats. The first is a previously stated desire: That the $2.1 million the Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) moved from the Turf Paradise horseman’s account into its own account be returned.

As per the letter: “With the $2.1 million back in the account and the projected $1 million generated in purse accumulation between now and Dec. 31 plus the purse monies that will be generated during the proposed live race meet, Turf will be able to offer the horsemen a 25% increase (from $80,000 to $100,000 daily) for this proposed meet. Surely the AZHBPA would not object to that?”

“He [Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms] is trying to get the horsemen wound up with offering them more money,” said AZHBPA president, Bob Hutton, in response to the latest overture from Turf Paradise. “It’s not his purse account. It’s not his signal.”

The second condition is that the AZHBPA approves both exports and imports of the Turf Paradise signal through May 31, 2021. “Those approvals are essential in order to continue generating money into the purse account, and we simply cannot conduct a live race meet with the AZHBPA constantly threatening to withdraw those approvals,” the letter states.

That demand is not a “deal killer,” said Hutton, who explained that the issue would be a matter for the AZHBPA board to decide. “That’s a reasonable request…I’m concerned with the horsemen, not how much money he makes.”

When it comes to purse funds, Turf Paradise management argue that these monies contractually belong to the horsemen that race at Turf Paradise specifically. The horsemen, however, argue that they ultimately wield control over the purse account, as per a prior arbitrated settlement. In a letter last week to Turf Paradise, AZHBPA stated that the purse monies are available for whichever Arizona track stages a live meet.

Details of Turf Paradise’s initial letter to the horsemen last week can be read here, and the AZHBPA’s subsequent response can be read here.

This latest letter also states that the AZHBPA is “willing” to make only weekly payments to the horsemen’s bookkeeper, in the event Turf Paradise hosts a live meet. “As an example, if a horseman wants to withdraw money from his/her account under Mr. Hutton’s plans, they would have to wait a week until the funds are deposited,” the letter states.

According to Hutton, the way the way the AZHBPA proposes to manage the purse strings in the event Turf Paradise conducts a live meet this winter wouldn’t have any effect on the speed at which horsemen are remunerated.

“It’s not going to make a difference,” Hutton said. “It’s like a payroll being due on the fifteenth, and so you fund the payroll account on the fifth. That’s what we’re saying. We’ll fund it.”

According to Francia, the AZHBPA’s proposal misunderstands the role of the horsemen’s bookkeeper, which he describes as a “bank” that fields daily activities.

“That suggestion would not work,” Francia said. “There’s much more that goes on with a horseman’s bookkeeper than just being a repository for purse money. There’s daily activity going on between the bookkeeper and the horsemen.”

And while Francia described the ongoing negotiations as “positive,” he urged haste for a resolution, saying that a live race-meet at Turf Paradise would require six weeks of preparations.

“We have all the essential materials to run a live race meet,” Francia said, in response to suggestions that the track had sold various items necessary to conduct a meet. At the end of the day, “I remain optimistic,” he added. “That’s the best I can say.”

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