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CHRB Sets ’24 NorCal Schedule, but GGF’s Closure Remains ‘Elephant in the Room’

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday approved a calendar that fleshed out the Northern California racing schedule through mid-September 2024. But the initiative still left race-date gaps late in the year that must be addressed both for next season and the future as stakeholders and regulators attempt to realign the circuit in the wake of news that Golden Gate Fields will not be part of the racing landscape beyond next June.

Back on July 16, 1/ST Racing, which owns both Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields, announced that Golden Gate would cease racing at the end of 2023. That timetable was later revamped by 1/ST Racing, which earlier this month announced that it would keep NorCal's last remaining commercial track open through mid-June of 2024 in an effort to provide stability for a circuit that will soon have to rely on extended fairs racing to remain viable.

Prior to the CHRB's 7-0 vote on Sept. 21 to approve 2024 dates for the work-in-progress circuit, Scott Chaney, the board's executive director, explained that even though a measure of short-term certainty would be achieved, at some near-future point everyone involved in the process would have to deal with the “elephant in the room” that will arrive in the form of Golden Gate not opening on Sept. 11, 2024, for its traditional autumn meet.

Chaney outlined two likely post-Golden Gate scenarios: That entities wanting to conduct new race meets will “find a home for dates and make more of a year-round racing calendar,” or the NorCal circuit will morph into “a really great fair season each summer, and [then try] to take care of those horses that might not have a place to run in Southern California” while NorCal racing goes dark, perhaps for months at a time.

“So I think that's what's facing the industry going forward,” Chaney said. “We've kind of kicked the can down the road a little bit, and I really appreciate [the six-month Golden Gate extension]. But the hard decisions, we've really just forestalled them for a few more months.”

Chaney also underscored that any entity wishing to fill the NorCal dates void would be advised to get its act together sooner rather than later, “because we have humans and horses that we have to think about come the end of fair racing next year.”

Chaney read into the record the schedule the commissioners approved. At least for right now, it will look like this for 2023-24:

“Golden Gate Fields from late December through June; followed by the normal four weeks of Alameda County Fair; followed by the normal three weeks at Cal Expo; followed by Santa Rosa, who is requesting and is interested in an additional third week, and then followed by Ferndale, who also is interested in a third week,” Chaney said.

“So that takes us through Sept. 10,” Chaney said. “The one remaining fair would be Fresno, and they are requesting the first two weeks of October. So that leaves the last few weeks of September, and then mid-October through December, unallocated.”

Larry Swartzlander, the executive director of California Authority of Racing Fairs, told the board prior to the vote that, “We would like to see the dates awarded for the fall period, but at this point we don't have a definite location.”

CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales tried to strike a positive tone by pointing out that while not perfect, the NorCal situation is not as bleak as it looked two months ago when the bombshell Golden Gate news first dropped.

“We definitely want to reassure Northern California horsemen, breeders and owners in particular, that racing will continue; that this board is going to do everything that we can,” Gonzales said, alluding to the work that still needs to be done.

Bill Nader, the president and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), pledged his organization's support for NorCal, and he said the TOC recognized the important role the circuit plays in the state's overall racing.

But Nader did express concern about a third week of racing at Ferndale, which he said averaged only 5.12 starters per race over two weeks this summer.

“So to stretch it to three weeks, from the TOC point of view…I just think it might be one step too far,” Nader said, adding that keeping the Ferndale meet at two weeks, at least for now, “would make better sense.”

Swartzlander defended Ferndale based on its small-track aesthetics trumping the low number of starters.

“When you talk about the number of horses, last year we had 5.02, which was less than we had this year,” Swartzlander said. “Every year Ferndale is basically in that category. You know, I can't applaud it or say negatively against it. It is what it is. And if you've been up there–great fans; have a good time–it's just a good atmosphere. And I believe with the third week, and also you change the playing field in Northern California, [we] expect to have better support.”

Gonzales pointed out that by allocating dates on Thursday, the CHRB wasn't outright approving a three-week license for Ferndale. That decision to grant actual licensure will happen closer to the race meet's start, which is standard procedure for the CHRB. Gonzales said if veterinarians and other CHRB staffers at that time present evidence that three weeks at Ferndale would be too much of a strain or a stress on horses, the board will address the issue.

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Ferndale Grandstand Deemed Unsafe For August Meet

The operators of the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale, California, are scrambling for a solution after just finding out this week that an earthquake from six months ago so badly damaged the grandstand at the half-mile racetrack that county officials now won't permit the structure to be occupied for the six-day race meet Aug. 18-20 and 25-27.

Larry Swartzlander, who serves as both the executive director California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) and the director of racing for Ferndale, told the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) during Thursday's meeting that plans are already underway to bring the grandstand up to code while also securing the use of tents as a backup so the races won't have to be scrapped.

“The county has said that the grandstand was not safe to conduct racing at the August meet,” Swartzlander said. “What has occurred since then? You know, the position of Humboldt and CARF is very clear: We will race.

“The [fair's] board, I've talked to the president and the vice-chair [Thursday] morning,” Swartzlander said. “We've already identified a contractor that will do the work, and they're having a meeting later [Thursday] with the county to put the details together. And it will be completed by Aug. 1.

“I've already got my staff working on a contingency if it would happen that we couldn't use the grandstand, [and] everything could be moved to another location [on the property], so I don't see that as a concern.”

Swartzlander did not go into greater detail about the damage and the costs to repair it, and the CHRB did not press him on those issues prior to moving ahead and unanimously approving the track's license to conduct the meet. The board did, however, instruct Swartzlander to keep the CHRB informed on the status of the repair work.

Published reports this week in two publications that cover Humboldt County filled in some of the blanks that didn't get addressed at the June 29 CHRB meeting.

The Lost Coast Outpost reported June 28 that “an engineering firm surveyed the damage at the fairgrounds following the Dec. 20 earthquake, and found that though the stands can hold the weight of the people expected to sit upon it, it would likely crumble in the event of an earthquake.”

Quoting from a recently released county report on the damage, the Lost Coast Outpost stated, “the structural engineering inspection determined that the building currently appears adequate to support vertical loads, but not lateral (seismic) loads of the type that need to be taken into account for occupant safety. Even though there is a limited window of time where the structure might be occupied, the risk of doing nothing and allowing occupation is not acceptable.”

That story further estimated a $1-million cost for a short-term fix just to enable the fair to conduct its races with people in stands shored up by bracing, while a more permanent repair would take longer to complete and would cost in the neighborhood of $2.3 million.

The North Coast Journal reported June 27 that, “The announcement of the price tag was met with palpable dismay by the board. The association currently has $628,317 in its accounts [and that the] state Office of Emergency Services would only reimburse for either the temporary fix or the permanent one, but not for both.”

It's also an open question right now as to whether the association (which runs the fair) or the county (which owns the property) is responsible for making the call on the extent of the repairs and initially paying for them before applying for whatever emergency reimbursements might be available.

The county fair itself would be allowed to operate without fixing the stands, so long as they were cordoned off. But without the revenue from racing, the fair association is facing a losing financial proposition.

“Our structural engineer says that the risk of an earthquake during that period of time is very low, but if there were to be one during the fair, it would be catastrophic,” Tom Mattson, the Humboldt County director of public works, was quoted in the North Coast Journal as saying at a public meeting.

When asked at that meeting which entity would make the call on the extent of the repair work, Mattson said, “That's a political decision, not my decision.”

Asked to provide his recommendation, Mattson said, “My recommendation would be to do the long-term fix.”

Ferndale's survival as California's northernmost county fair racing outpost has faced multiple stressors over the past year.

Back on Nov. 15, 2022, police arrested the fair association's bookkeeper on charges of embezzlement, and the fair association's general manager and three long-time directors also stepped down around the same time. The North Coast Journal reported in this week's story that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is now handling the case.

In March, the CHRB ruled that the 2023 Ferndale meet would once again have to run its second of two weeks of racing against overlapping competition from the commercial licensee Golden Gate Fields. Ferndale representatives have repeatedly told the CHRB in recent years that a second week of un-overlapped racing is required for any racing there to be viable. They have also noted that the fair plays an important role in supporting lower-level racing in the state, and have pointed out that Ferndale routinely outdraws Golden Gate in attendance.

Beyond this week's unexpected news about the grandstand being declared unfit for occupancy, the North Coast Journal additionally reported that the stands “have also been vandalized recently, with people breaking monitors and leaving broken glass behind.”

Just prior to the CHRB vote to green-light the August meet, CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales told Swartzlander, “I do know you guys can improvise so that if the grandstands are not able to be used, [there are] other areas of the premises [where] patrons can be at in a safe manner. But we have to really rely on the county's expertise, and we always put safety first…

“I remain a supporter of Humboldt racing, so we'll be looking forward to getting the 'all clear' sign if that's the case. And if not, the plans that will be made to ensure that people are safe,” Gonzales said.

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Ferndale Loses Fight in CHRB Race Dates Disagreement

Months of contentious jockeying over whether Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair) should run its second of two weeks of racing at the end of August un-overlapped with its Northern California compatriot, Golden Gate Fields (GGF), ended in defeat for the small rural track.

In a 5-1 vote during Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting, the board decided that during the week running Aug. 23 to Aug. 29, Humboldt and GGF would field simultaneous race meets.

Ferndale will run the first of two scheduled weeks of racing this year, from Aug. 16 through Aug. 22, un-overlapped.

In what has been framed as a David versus Goliath fight, proponents of Ferndale had advocated for un-overlapped race dates as a financial lifeline for a small fair track that plays both a vital role in the local economy and provides a unique draw for new players into the sport.

GGF has had in its corner the likes of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT), who argued in support of the San Francisco facility's position as an important economic driver for the state's horse racing industry as a whole.

Given how this same debate has become something of an annual slugfest, CHRB vice chairman Oscar Gonzalez–the sole commissioner to vote in Ferndale's favor after a recent scouting trip to the town–proposed a compromise during the vote tally to help assuage ongoing uncertainty.

“What if we went to a rotation where one year is overlapped the second week, and the other year it goes un-overlapped,” said Gonzalez. “So, essentially, 2023 we would allow for two-weeks of un-overlap. 2024, we go back to the second week being overlapped.”

That proposal, however, garnered no traction–at least for now.

ADW Monies for 2023 HISA Payment

The CHRB voted to use in-state Advanced Deposit Wagering (ADW) monies otherwise earmarked for purses and commissions to cover California's 2023 fee assessment for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which amounts to roughly $1.6 million.

The assessment was originally supposed to be around $6.7 million for the year. But because California has agreed to continue performing many of the duties inherent in the law's drug control program–like the collection and testing of samples–HISA has offered California roughly $5.1 million in credits.

As it currently stands, the HISA law covers only Thoroughbreds and not Quarter Horses. CHRB executive director Scott Chaney confirmed when asked that mixed races at Los Alamitos Racetrack between Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses will not fall under HISA's jurisdiction.

Inclement Weather Policy

The agenda item with arguably the most salience for the horsemen concerned the inclement weather policy the CHRB adopted a couple of years ago in the aftermath of the 2019 Santa Anita welfare crisis, when a rash of fatal breakdowns were attributed to an exceptionally rainy winter, necessitating the track to be frequently sealed.

In short, there remains a perception that horses that work or race immediately after a track is unsealed are at a higher risk of injury–a possible correlation currently being studied by researchers at U.C. Davis.

Right now, once a sealed surface has been opened up, the current policy permits no high-speed workouts for 24 hours, though does allow for everything up to a gallop.

During this winter's volley of storms that have lashed California, the CHRB's inclement weather policy has led to a highly disrupted training and racing schedule for trainers.

“I think it's fair to say that we've received an inordinate amount of rain this year, and so I think it has, shall we say, strained the limits of the inclement weather policy,” admitted Chaney.

According to CHRB equine medical director Jeff Blea, Thursday's meeting provided an opportunity to discuss possible modifications to the policy, with the idea of proposing more concrete rule changes in the future.

Blea outlined a bifurcated proposal whereby for the first 24 hours after a track has been opened up, horses are permitted to jog only.

“The reason for that is, we feel the track is safe for training, but we feel as a matter of safety to reduce the amount of concussion and bone remodeling events that would occur during galloping to limit it to jogging,” said Blea.

According to Blea, for the subsequent 24 hours of the 48-hour period following the opening of a sealed racetrack, horses could be permitted to gallop or breeze as per the discretion of the track superintendent, CTT representation and Blea himself.

“For the second 24 hour of the 48-hour period, we discussed leaving that to jogging only,” said Blea. “But we landed on the conclusion that the determination would be made at the recommendation of the track superintendent in conjunction with myself and the CTT to determine whether the second day after the opening of the seal, we allow jogging or whether we allow them to gallop or even possibly breeze.”

“The decision would depend upon how much water has accumulated in the previous rainstorm, correct?” asked CHRB chairman Greg Ferraro.

“That decision would depend upon how much water occurred during that event, when they were able to get the track sealed, what the track looks like when it's open, how deep they can cut it to ensure there's a safe and consistent base to it,” replied Blea.

Blea confirmed that this policy would apply to both the main track and the training track at Santa Anita. The proposed changes pertain only to training, with no possible modifications to the inclement weather policy proposed at this time for racing.

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Overlap Between Ferndale and Golden Gate Still in Limbo

A dispute that began in October over whether Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair) will once again have to run its second of two weeks of racing at the end of August against overlapping competition from the commercial licensee Golden Gate Fields (GGF) will now likely extend into March.

There are multiple reasons for the impasse. But the two main sticking points that emerged at Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) were:

1) The two tracks, plus stakeholders from the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF), Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), and California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT), couldn't present a unified compromise to the CHRB after being given three months to figure one out.

2) The CHRB itself failed to vote in a solution one way or the other, because two commissioners were absent from the regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

The lone motion that came up for the vote–to give Ferndale the entire two weeks un-overlapped in exchange for financial considerations to GGF that would be determined later–resulted in three yes votes and two nos.

But the results of the vote didn't count because the CHRB can't pass any measure unless at least four commissioners vote on the majority side.

“It looks like the horsemen are probably going to be getting an overdue vacation if we can't fix this,” said a frustrated CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales in the wake of seeing the motion he proposed fail.

Because the CHRB has already canceled its February meeting (and barring the unlikely event of an “emergency” meeting being called for in this case), the earliest the vote on the overlapped or un-overlapped week of dates could come up again is at the Mar. 16 meeting.

Back in October, the CHRB had voted in a 2023 race dates calendar for NorCal that largely mirrored the framework from the 2022 schedule.

The lone exception was that the board held off on a decision on the Ferndale vs. GGF one-week overlap. The two license applicants then requested more time to reach a compromise so commissioners wouldn't have to impose one, but their negotiations ended up not being fruitful.

On the pro-Ferndale side, testimony at CHRB meetings in recent months (and again on Jan. 19) has centered around preserving small-community racing; keeping alive the tradition of the fairs; Ferndale's stated necessity that a second week of un-overlapped racing is required for any racing there to be viable; Ferndale regularly out-drawing GGF in attendance, and the purported roles Ferndale plays in growing new fans and helping lower-level horse outfits survive.

In favor of giving GGF racing during the second week of Ferndale's meet, proponents have cited GGF's allegedly greater importance as the linchpin of NorCal racing, its ability to offer grass racing, and the additional purse money that would flow into the pockets of year-round, higher-level stables.

Commissioners have also taken note of recent upheaval and legal woes involving Ferndale. Back on Nov. 15, police arrested the fair association's bookkeeper on charges of embezzlement, and the fair association's general manager and three long-time directors have also recently stepped down.

A new GM could be in place by the end of the month, Jim Morgan, the legal counsel for the Humboldt County Fair, told the CHRB on Thursday.

“We're not against Golden Gate,” Morgan told commissioners while pleading his case for no overlap and two weeks of racing. But, Morgan added, “they do run in [10] of the 12 months out of the calendar year. So one week to Golden Gate doesn't mean as much as one week to Humboldt…

“We've been perceived as a minor-league venue and there is some truth to that,” Morgan said. “But we're also a gateway venue” that draws new fans, horse owners and horses into California's overall racing ecosystem.

Larry Swartzlander, CARF's executive director, said his organization has tried to broker a deal that gives Ferndale its solo two weeks in exchange for paying purse money to GGF.

“CARF's goal, if we get the second week un-overlapped, [is] obviously we want to raise purses at Humboldt,” Swartzlander said. “We want to make racing better. And we all understand that Humboldt is never going to have the same level of racing of Golden Gate or Pleasanton…

“CARF's position was to offer [$200,000 in purses] to Golden Gate,” Swartzlander said. “Golden Gate's counter is that they would prefer to have [bet] commissions. CARF's position is if we give up commissions [the deal] wouldn't work.”

David Duggan, the general manager and vice president for GGF, told the CHRB that, “I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel for us coming to a suitable arrangement.”

When CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, asked what losing that one week of racing would cost GGF, Duggan replied, “Off the top of my head, mister chairman, it would certainly be north of $250,000 [in commissions].”

Bill Nader, the TOC's president and chief executive officer, said the value of GGF's turf course “shouldn't be understated” during the summer months.

“I think it's important for the viability of Golden Gate, and also for the purse structure, that we go with the overlap of the two weeks, so we support the Golden Gate Fields position,” Nader said.

“We respect Ferndale as a complementary player in the overall landscape of racing in northern California. But in the lead role, maintaining the overlap and giving Golden Gate [that week is] important for the California horse population, for the ability to be able to run on the turf, and also for people who are supporting racing as fans,” Nader said.

“A half-mile track is something that's interesting for a short period of time,” Nader continued. “But it's not the brand that we want to present for California racing, particularly at that time of year.”

Alan Balch, the CTT's executive director, said he agreed with the TOC's position, adding that “more than anywhere else in the state, [NorCal] trainers are also owners. And we look at [being able to race at GGF] as maximizing racing opportunities.”

Commissioner Wendy Mitchell framed the question in terms of serving a constituency.

“Ferndale is a remote, northern California location [in which] there's a community concerned,” Mitchell said. “This is a fair [that] we need to be supporting, because otherwise we're leaving part of our population out in the wilderness…. And I think we need to give them the dates in order for them to [help grow the overall racing product statewide].”

Chairman Ferraro offered a counterpoint.

“The thing, Wendy, is that our constituency is really the horsemen of California. And we're talking about taking hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their purse money to benefit a local fair,” Ferraro said. “That balance has got to be there. Our primary responsibility is to ensure the health and viability of racing in California, so that would concern me.”

Mitchell respectfully voiced disagreement: “I don't think it's just the horsemen that are our constituency. I think we have multiple stakeholders and constituencies here.”

The board batted around the idea of giving the two sides more time to work out a compromise. But Morgan stated that the fair's board would prefer an answer right away.

Morgan explained that Ferndale has to bring aboard a new GM, and that it would be tough to hire a competent person without being able to tell them what the budget and racing-related revenues for 2023 are going to look like. He also added that horsemen in the Pacific Northwest are now already starting to plan where they'll be racing in the summer, and delays and further uncertainty will only harm Ferndale's efforts to recruit them.

Gonzales made a motion to give the two weeks un-overlapped to Ferndale, with the understanding that Ferndale will have to “bridge the gap” financially with GGF before the March CHRB meeting.

But that motion only set off another verbal spiral over exactly what such a money compromise might be valued at. There was also talk that the current clashing offers of purse money versus bet commissions amounted to an “apples to oranges” type of comparison that benefitted nobody.

When the motion came to a vote, commissioners Gonzales, Mitchell and Brenda Washington Davis voted in favor of giving Ferndale its own two weeks without competition.

Commissioners Ferraro and Thomas Hudnut voted no.

Commissioners Dennis Alfieri and Damascus Castellanos were not present.

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