The talented daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) has posted a pair of two-furlong breezes for trainer Richard Mandella over Santa Anita's all-weather surface this month, most recently stopping the timer in :23.80 (1/1) Apr. 10.

How are the initial reports so far?

“Really good,” Spendthrift Farm's General Manager Ned Toffey replied. “You know Richard. We certainly weren't gonna put any pressure and Richard is a guy who's gonna give them all the time they need. She's gotten a chance to heal up. She just needed time. There was a fracture of the splint bone on the hind leg. It wasn't anything too dramatic, but just needed plenty of time. She got that and hopefully is ready to move forward now.”

He continued, “He's breezed her twice now and has been very happy with what he's seen so far. He simply said that, 'she's eager to do more,' which I think is a great sign. Obviously, it will be a bit before she's ready to run, but we know she's in good hands. It's enough to be excited about her 3-year-old year.”

Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19. She ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. She set the pace and tired to finish a disappointing seventh, beaten 8 1/4 lengths, behind champion Just F Y I (Justify) while making her two-turn debut in the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Nov. 3.

“We're still at a point where we're gonna just continue to let her dictate to us,” Toffey said. “She's certainly a filly who's shown enough that she can be anything. Obviously, we'd love to see her land in the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year, she's the kind of filly that could put you there. Richard will listen to her and let her tell us when she's ready to roll. Hopefully, she stays sound and we can have the kind of year that you would hope that a filly like that can give you.”

Tamara is the fourth foal from the aforementioned four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner Beholder. Beholder's colt by Curlin, now two, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale last summer. Beholder has also produced 2023 GIII Senorita S. heroine Teena Ella (War Front). She had a filly by Jackie's Warrior Feb. 13, and, according to Toffey, is currently in foal to Gun Runner for the 2025 season.

She's here, and she's perfect Beholder foaled a gorgeous Jackie's Warrior filly in the early morning hours on February 13th, which also happens to be her sire's birthday. pic.twitter.com/fKF3FhLHxV

— Spendthrift Farm (@spendthriftfarm) February 14, 2024

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For Hernandez, a 32-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, this was his fifth riding title at Santa Anita. He finished with 53 wins from 245 mounts and also led all jockeys in earnings with $3,683,348.

“I just want to say thank you to everybody for all the support,” Hernandez said. “All the owners, trainers and all the people on the backside. The grooms, the gallop boys, because they do a lot of hard work over there and I only do the easy part. I'm really happy and I'm going to try to keep working hard.”

O'Neill won the trainer's title with 30 wins from 163 starts. He finished one win ahead of Mark Glatt. This was O'Neill's ninth Santa Anita trainer's title and first since the 2021 Autumn Meet.

“It is all the result of just great owners, great horses, great staff and a lot of luck,” said O'Neill. “I'm just grateful to be at the Great Race Place. I'm grateful to work alongside a lot of great men and women that have the same passion that I do. I'm just happy to work alongside horses. It is truly an honor.”

Hronis Racing narrowly won the owner's title with 11 wins at the Classic Meet, one more than Reddam Racing.

Racing resumes at Santa Anita Apr. 19 with the start of the Hollywood Meet.H

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The last-out winner of the GIII Sunland Derby, the homebred was beaten for speed and settled just off the pace in fourth as Tapalo (Tapiture) set the pace from Imagination and E J Won the Cup (Omaha Beach). Content to allow those up front to do the dirty work as they went a good gallop, Stronghold was held together on the turn by Antonio Fresu, who went for his mount in earnest at the quarter pole and split horses in upper stretch. As E J Won the Cup and Tapalo began to back out of it, Imagination and Stronghold were left to settle it, and though neither gave an inch, Stronghold surged by in the shadow of the wire.

“We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby,” winning trainer Phil D'Amato said. “We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here. I think this was a great education for him, and a nice test that he's going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.”

The win was the first at Grade I level in America for Antonio Fresu.

“I loved the way Phil D'Amato was training him the last couple of works,” the Italian said. “The horse was getting so much confidence and he was getting so much better than before. Today he proved to be a very good horse. Still, when he hit the front, he didn't want to stay alone, he was waiting for some company. He got the job done and I want to dedicate this to my friend that passed away. I felt like he was there with me today. Stefano Cherchi was an amazing guy and I want to dedicate this to him.”

A maiden winner at second asking going Churchill's one-turn mile Oct. 1, Stronghold was a distant runner-up to 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) in the GIII Bob Hope S. at Del Mar Nov. 19 before just getting reeled in late by Wynstock (Solomini) in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 16. Sent to the Land of Enchantment for his sophomore debut, Stronghold proved too strong for his rivals at Sunland Park, taking that track's repositioned Derby by 2 1/2 widening lengths Feb. 18.

Pedigree Notes:

Hill 'n' Dale's Ghostzapper, the veteran son of Awesome Again out of Broodmare of the Year Baby Zip, may be among the elder statesmen in Kentucky's sire ranks, but he still cranks out top horses, among them 55 graded winners and 100 black-type winners worldwide. While Stronghold marks his only stakes winner of 2024 to date, Ghostzapper's other best runners most recently have included 2022-23 Eclipse champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive, 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year Moira, 2021 G1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide, and triple Grade I winner Guarana. No fewer than nine of Ghostzapper's stakes winners are out of Distorted Humor mares, with GISWs Guarana and Molly Morgan, as well as 2023 GSWs Rhyme Schemes and Two Ghosts, all bred on the same cross as Stronghold, who is the first stakes winner for Distorted Humor's son Jimmy Creed as a broodmare sire. Jimmy Creed stands at Spendthrift.

Stronghold is a fourth-generation homebred for the Waller family. Eric and Sharon Waller lost his dam, Spectator, after she foaled Stronghold–her only produce–in 2021. They had sold her dam, the unraced Diva's Tribute, to Richard Barton Enterprises in 2015 at Keeneland November for just $4,700. After Spectator won the 2017 GII Sorrento S. and placed twice in Grade Is, Diva's Tribute went through Keeneland's ring again in 2022 and hammered for $175,000 to Calvin Nguyen. She produced a Maxfield filly last year for Nguyen and partner Joey Tran before being bred to Idol for 2024. –Jill Williams

#3 STRONGHOLD ($6.40) holds strong, getting the best of favored Imagination on the wire to win the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1)!

The Eric and Sharon Waller homebred was ridden by @Antonio1Fresu for trainer @PhilDamato11. Congratulations to the connections! pic.twitter.com/P8YzIqeQ75

— TVG (@TVG) April 6, 2024

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA DERBY-GI, $751,500, Santa Anita, 4-6, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.98, ft.
1–STRONGHOLD, 124, c, 3, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Spectator (GSW & MGISP, $323,551),
                                by Jimmy Creed
                2nd Dam: Diva's Tribute, by Henny Hughes
                3rd Dam: Swiss Diva, by Swiss Yodeler
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Eric & Sharon Waller (KY); T-Philip
D'Amato; J-Antonio Fresu. $450,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-3-0,
$827,200. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Imagination, 124, c, 3, Into Mischief–Magical Feeling,
by Empire Maker. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($1,050,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Robert E.
Masterson, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan and
Tom J. Ryan; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Bob
Baffert. $150,000.
3–E J Won the Cup, 124, c, 3, Omaha Beach–Firsthand Report,
by Blame. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1
BLACK TYPE. ($150,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $95,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-Superfecta King Stable (Margolis); B-Hoolie Racing
Stable, LLC (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $90,000.
Margins: NK, 3 1/4, 4HF. Odds: 2.20, 1.00, 23.40.
Also Ran: Curlin's Kaos, Tapalo, Wynstock, Mc Vay, Tessuto.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Kentucky Oaks points were on the line in the Santa Anita Oaks and were offered on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10; however, both Nothing Like You and Kinza are ineligible to earn points as Baffert's horses continue to be prohibited from racing at Churchill Downs.

Winning jockey Frankie Dettori captured his fifth consecutive race of the day in the Santa Anita Oaks, which was carded as the sixth race Saturday. After finishing sixth in Race 1, Dettori gave a master class by winning Races 2-6, but he didn't stop there, taking Race 7 after the Oaks to make it six in a row. He didn't have a mount in Race 8 and finished third in Race 9, the GIII Monrovia S., and second in Race 10, the GI Santa Anita Derby. While six consecutive wins might be a career highlight for most riders, it's just another day in the iconic career of Dettori, who has been a household name since his “Magnificent Seven” in 1996, when he won all seven races on the Ascot card, including the GI Queen Elizabeth II S.

Dettori and Nothing Like You broke from the rail in the Santa Anita Oaks, immediately settling into a comfortable rhythm while a joint third as Kinza tallied early fractions of :23.42 and :46.88 up front with Kopion glued to her flank. Shuffled back to fourth at the top of the stretch, Dettori continued to bide his time until room opened on the rail and he shot through with Nothing Like You in the blink of an eye. Dettori stayed busy on the bay until the last sixteenth, when it was clear the pair would be uncatchable. They covered the 1 1 1/6 miles in 1:43.21.

“I was fully loaded at the quarter pole,” said Dettori. “I just needed a little bit of room and she took off. What can you say about Baffert? He's a genius. We have a good working relationship. He trains them and I ride them.”

Baffert added, “Without the horse, the jockey doesn't matter, but Dettori kept this filly as clean as possible… Unfortunately, when you use Dettori, you can't blame it on the jockey. He's just a phenom. He is world class and has brought his talent to every stage. He's just that good, but you have to give him the horse. And he had the horse to do it.”

Dettori first rode Nothing Like You in the Feb. 10 GIII Las Virgenes S., a race in which she was fourth behind Kinza and Kopion. Dettori specifically said the filly did not appreciate the kickback that day and he took care of keep her out of it Saturday. She had previously won three in a row, including the Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar in November and the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos in December.

Pedigree Notes:

The bedrock of the modern Spendthrift goes down to Malibu Moon, who died in 2021 of an apparent heart attack at age 24. Nothing Like You is one of 55 graded winners and 138 black-type winners for the son of A.P. Indy, but only the third for 2006 GI Santa Anita Derby winner Brother Derek as a broodmare sire. The latter was last reported to be standing in Saudi Arabia.

It's a pretty safe bet to surmise not too many Hastings Racecourse runners find their foals winning graded stakes at Santa Anita, but Nothing Like You's dam, Miss Derek, was a three-time stakes winner at Hastings in Canada. Wolverton Mountain Farm, co-breeder of the Oaks winner, picked her up for $30,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in 2015. She produced Aqueduct's 2018 Tepin S. winner South of France (Quality Road) as her first foal, while Nothing Like You is her most recent produce. John Rogitz, part of Nothing Like You's ownership group, picked up the Oaks winner for $190,000 at the 2023 OBS April sale after she worked a furlong in :10.

#1 NOTHING LIKE YOU ($16.40) runs away from her competitors in the $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2). Bob Baffert trains this three-year-old filly by Malibu Moon. This is the fifth consecutive win of the day for @FrankieDettori! pic.twitter.com/mZVz2jB0UT

— TVG (@TVG) April 6, 2024

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA OAKS-GII, $300,000, Santa Anita, 4-6, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.21, ft.
1–NOTHING LIKE YOU, 124, f, 3, by Malibu Moon
                1st Dam: Miss Derek (MSW-Can, SP-USA, $159,610),
                                by Brother Derek
                2nd Dam: Quick Text, by Tiznow
                3rd Dam: Super Seniorita, by El Baba
($67,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $20,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $190,000
2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John
Rogitz; B-Notch Hill Farm, Wolverton Mountain Farm &
Spendthrift Stallions, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Lanfranco
Dettori. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-0, $423,160.
*1/2 to South of France (Quality Road), SW, $156,005. Werk
Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kinza, 124, f, 3, Carpe Diem–Secret Wonder, by Quality Road.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($17,000 Wlg '21 FTNMIX; $30,000 Ylg '22
OBSOCT; $350,000 2yo '23 EASMAY). O-Michael Lund
Petersen; B-JD Business Ventures LLC, Brushy Hill Stable &
Carpe Diem Syndicate (NY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Corposo, 124, f, 3, Vino Rosso–Manki, by Arch. 1ST BLACK
TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Madaket Stables LLC and
Slam Dunk Racing; B-Nick Cosato (KY); T-Peter Eurton.
$36,000.
Margins: 7HF, HF, 8. Odds: 7.20, 0.50, 12.30.
Also Ran: Kopion, Ifuaintfirsturlast.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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GI Toyota Blue Grass S. – In a race billed as a showdown between the re-opposing GII Remsen S. one-two Dornoch (Good Magic) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), don't look past likely third choice Just a Touch (Justify). The highly regarded bay ran to the hype with a powerful debut score for trainer Brad Cox over the promising $1.7-million KEESEP graduate Gun Party (Curlin) (he returned with another very good second-place finish Mar. 16) on debut sprinting in the Fair Grounds slop Jan. 27. He was well-backed at the windows again for his second career start and lost little in defeat finishing second as the favorite over another saturated surface in a deep renewal of the GIII Gotham S. Mar. 2. Just a Touch will finally get a chance to showcase his ability on a fast surface and has every right to take another step forward stretching out to two turns for the first time as well. He should be able to sit a perfect trip just off Dornoch and have the jump on the stretch-running Sierra Leone, who is the horse to beat off his impressive come-from-behind win in the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17. Selection: #6 Just a Touch (7-2).

GII Wood Memorial S. – No knocks on the 7-5 morning-line favorite and impressive Gotham winner Deterministic (Liam's Map), but I prefer the fellow unbeaten Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso) here. Like the aforementioned Just a Touch, Tuscan Sky has raced only on wet, sealed tracks in his first two starts. The gray finished up like a real good thing after a bit of an interesting journey (led early, dropped back to third on the far turn and leveled off beautifully in stretch to win going away) sprinting on debut at the Big A Jan. 13. He backed up that effort with another fantastic performance–albeit in a three-horse field–with a two-length decision over sharp next-out Hot Springs S. winner Nash (Medaglia d'Oro) (good for a 95 Beyer) while making his two-turn debut on the Risen Star undercard. Tuscan Sky tuned up for this with a four-furlong bullet in :48 3/5 (1/20) for seven-time Wood Memorial-winning trainer Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs Mar. 30. Tuscan Sky's young sire Vino Rosso won this same race in 2018. Selection: #9 Tuscan Sky (4-1).

GI Santa Anita Derby – It's difficult to make a case against Imagination (Into Mischief), who will be the much-deserved Santa Anita Derby favorite. The $1.05-million KEESEP yearling has run well in all five of his career starts and has taken a nice step forward in his last two. He gave highly regarded Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Maymun (Frosted) all he could handle while finishing second in an optional claimer Feb. 11, then dug in gamely to secure a career high in the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 3. Should be well-spotted beneath Frankie Dettori either on or just off the lead. Selection: #4 Imagination (8-5).

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“Our Advisory Committee has the experience and willingness to galvanize horse racing fans and make our sport economically viable,” said Executive Director of CARF Larry Swartzlander. “This is the beginning of an exciting era for Northern California horse racing.”

The committee consists of the following seven members: Justin Oldfield, George Schmitt, Johnny Taboada, Rob Smolich, Blaine Wright, Jamey Thomas and Gloria Haley.

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You cannot actually visit his home–Ashland–because the structure that stands on the Clay Estate just south of downtown Lexington is not original to “The Great Compromiser” and his time. However, interpretations of Clay-related objects enliven the tour.

Ashland in name was imported as a stakes race when Keeneland opened in 1936. Some familiar female runners who graced the winner's circle at the old Keene Farm include Myrtlewood, Bewitch and Doubledogdare, and more recent fillies like Inside Information, Take Charge Lady and a personal favorite of mine, Bushfire.

As Keeneland kicks off racing on Friday, the GI Central Bank Ashland S. boasts a showdown with 3-year-old fillies looking to deposit 100 points into their Kentucky Oaks account.

For starters, the top three finishers from the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies are present, including winner Just F Y I (Justify). The champion 2-year-old filly almost made the races this spring to kick start her 2024, but trainer Bill Mott was forced to wait until Keeneland.

Also Ashland bound is Jody's Pride (American Pharoah), who was second to Just F Y I at Santa Anita, and last month won the Busher S. at Aqueduct. She will be joined by the third-place finisher from the Juvenile Fillies, Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}), who also has not made a start this year for trainer Todd Pletcher. The filly returns to the site of her win in the GI Alcibiades S. last fall.

Impel | Coady Photography

In an effort to put her own stamp on an Oaks run, 'TDN Rising Star' Impel (Quality Road) will look to keep her record unblemished. Under Brad Cox's tutelage, the Juddmonte homebred  broke her maiden at Fair Grounds Jan. 1 and then posted an 8 1/2-length score and a 91-Beyer against optional claimers at Oaklawn Mar. 3.

Finally, Candied's stablemate Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief) justifiably earned her 'TDN Rising Star' when she broke her maiden by 9 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct last fall before returning to finish third in the GII Davona Dale S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2. Halina's Forte (Mitole) will seek to raise her game for Rigney Racing, as she attempts to capitalize on her first black-type win in the Ruthless S. at the 'Big A' Feb. 17.

Keeneland's Friday slate includes the GIII Transylvania S., which draws 12, plus a pair of also-eligibles. The field for the 3-year-old turf route includes Musical Act (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), the first of several overseas arrivals in Kentucky for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby.

With a packed stakes schedule, plus everything from the baby races to lower daily double takeout, these are just some of the storylines on tap at Keeneland. As for past April meet leaders, Jockey Tyler Gaffalione recorded 21 victories to secure his second consecutive spring meet riding title in 2023, while last year conditioner Wesley Ward earned his sixth consecutive training honor and ninth total.

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The aim of the partnership is to create links between historic races in the UK and high-profile U.S. turf races over two different distances. The winner of the May 4 $200,000 GII Charles Whittingham S. at Santa Anita will gain an automatic berth and travel incentive to run in the £750,000 G1 Coral-Eclipse over the same 10-furlong distance at Sandown Park on July 6. Whichever horse wins the Eclipse, will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the $750,000 GII California Crown John Henry Turf at Santa Anita on Sept. 28.

Turf Sprinters are also catered to in the new partnership, with the May 18 $100,000 Listed Jim McKay S. at Pimlico over five furlongs receiving a berth and travel money in the £600,000 G1 My Pension Expert July Cup over six furlongs at Newmarket on July 6. The July Cup winner will receive an automatic entry in the $750,000 GII California Crown Eddie D Turf Sprint over 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita, the same day as the John Henry Turf.

Aidan Butler, President of 1/ST, said, “A special thank you to our friends at The Jockey Club on launching this innovative partnership. We look forward to welcoming in competitors to the inaugural California Crown at Santa Anita Park this autumn.

“This partnership with The Jockey Club is part of our wider global strategy for improving international interest and top-class participation in the world's biggest races–as evidenced by a similar alliance we have with Royal Ascot, via our Royal Palm juvenile series at Gulfstream Park, which delivered Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), the winner of the prestigious [G2] Queen Mary S., in its inaugural year.”

Matt Woolston, The Jockey Club's assistant racing and international director, added, “We are delighted to announce this great new initiative today and I would like to thank everyone at 1/ST for helping to make it happen.

“By pairing two of the UK's most famous and prestigious Group 1 contests in the summer with a quartet of valuable North American turf contests in the spring and autumn, we feel we have the perfect race schedule for transatlantic runners.

“In addition, British and other European trainers now have the chance of an incentivised trip to North America in the autumn for races at Santa Anita's exciting new California Crown meeting.

“We feel we have highlighted a race schedule that incentivises runners to travel across the Atlantic.”

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The Big 3 Pick 3, which will be hosted by Aqueduct, will be offered with a $3 minimum and mandatory payout. The Big 3 Pick 3 will appear as a separate wager/track on wagering machines or online account: Big 3 Pick 3.

All three races are contested at nine furlongs and offer 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers.

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“It really put a bad taste in the mouths of board members,” Ferraro said.

Beforehand, Ferraro had anticipated punting a decision on the North's race dates to the following meeting, he said, adding how Belinda Stronach, chairwoman, CEO and president of 1/ST, had called him the day before to “lobby” her position.

Ultimately, however, “the two things that came out to me [from the meeting] was just how much animosity there is towards The Stronach Group in California,” Ferraro said. “And that the letter was the thing that really killed them.”

The granting to the North a 10-week meet–to run at Pleasanton from Oct. 10 to Dec. 15 at the conclusion of this summer's fair meets–heralds quite the dramatic reordering of the operational and political furniture in California racing.

“It might be the most momentous decision the board has made in its history,” said Ferraro. But now the dust has settled somewhat on last week's board's decision, what's next?

“What we have to do now is get the racetrack operators in one room, sit down with them and say, 'okay look, this is the direction we need to go. You can either go voluntarily or the board will force you.' Remember, we control the dates,” said Ferraro.

“Let's sit down and see what we can work out with the calendar for the next year or two, three, to transition to a one circuit,” Ferraro added (more on that single circuit in a bit).

When asked to discuss the situation with a 1/ST representative, company spokesperson Tiffani Steer wrote in an email, “Craig Fravel's comments at the CHRB meeting stand.”

Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) president and CEO Bill Nader said for him, the key takeaway from the meeting was the concretizing of important details.

“We all have something now we can measure–I think that's good for the North and it's good for the South,” said Nader. “Trying to define viability or sustainability is difficult when some of it's based on speculation.”

With the vote in, “now [the CARF] have got to go back and address the outstanding points that were raised in the meeting,” said Nader. “We're moving forward, but there's still pieces of the puzzle that need to come together.”

Golden Gate | Vassar Photography

PLANS FOR PLEASANTON

The ambitious plan outlined by the California Association of Racing Fairs (CARF) for its 26-day, 208-race season at Pleasanton presents stakeholders in the North with a set of logistical and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome between now and then, pending CHRB approval of the track's license application at its Aug. 15 meeting.

Upon such approval, the meet is scheduled to run under the auspices of Golden State Racing, a moniker given to differentiate it from CARF's stable of summer fair meets. All told, there will be eight stakes worth a combined $550,000, with some $3.6 million designated for overnight purses. CARF executive director Larry Swartzlander said that these are “not firm numbers yet.”

Among some of the undertakings at Pleasanton these next few months is the installation of some 284 additional auxiliary stalls at a projected maximum cost of $1.5 million, said Swartzlander, with the aim of facilitating around 840 horses.

There are ongoing negotiations with the operators of the golf course situated within Pleasanton's infield to determine how the two entities will coexist. CARF's plan is for no golfing during racing, to limit public use during training hours, and to allow the First Tee community program–a youth golf program–limited access to the infield.

State regulators will likely require a “Notice of Intent” for coverage under an industrial stormwater permit, to be filed before June 2, along with other environmental compliance issues to contend with.

When it comes to discretionary spending number crunching, CARF has stated it has $900,000 in cash reserves, access to a line of credit of up to $4 million from Alameda County Fairgrounds, and that it will arrange for further “lending, grants and donations” as the cost of capital requirements become clearer.

Swartzlander said that an engineer is scheduled to visit Pleasanton in July to assess the facility for a proposed turf course and to provide a cost estimate. At the board meeting, Swartzlander pinned a rough $7 million price tag to that venture.

Currently, once Golden Gate Fields closes its doors on June 9, Santa Rosa will be the only Northern California track with a turf course.

According to Ferraro, several key questions surrounding the issues of everyday operations–“who's running the show”–the agreement with the golf course operators, and that of financial viability remain unanswered, despite the additional details offered up by CARF last Thursday.

“The horse racing board is preparing them a list of questions that we want answered when they come back in August,” said Ferraro. “Staff is working on them right now.”

According to Jerome Hoban, CEO at Alameda County Fairgrounds, the next steps for Pleasanton and CARF concern installing the auxiliary stabling, negotiating a “purse schedule” with the TOC, and developing a licensing agreement “so that it's satisfactory with the CHRB.”

“We're also developing a marketing plan for this meet and beyond,” said Hoban, calling their approach “more robust” than that in place at Golden Gate Fields. “This is not a one-meet endeavour. The confidence that has to be given to the horsemen is that we have found them a home for good.”

A key obstacle that CARF must negotiate is Pleasanton's lesser name recognition compared to Golden Gate. As an example, the DRF recently reported how the New York Racing Association anticipates a 20% decline in betting revenues due to the temporary closure of Belmont Park and the comparative weakness of the Aqueduct “brand.”

It will take time for the simulcasting handle to “pick up on who Golden State Racing is,” admitted Hoban. “I do think we could have a dip in handle because of brand recognition,” he added. “But if there's any team that could turn that around, it's going to be us.”

One of the areas that the board zeroed in on for scrutiny were the possible financial costs and logistical hurdles of complying with state environmental regulations.

“We're always concerned about environmental compliance, but we're a 265-acre property that is used to dealing with these things. This is not new business to us,” said Hoban.

“I think that some of the things that Del Mar, Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields have had to deal with, they are in a different situation with their manure management programs, with their proximity to the ocean and the bay. I think our facility is already well ahead of those facilities in regards these topics,” said Hoban.

According to owner-breeder Justin Oldfield, part of a working group that drafted CARF's plan, the most pressing thing for all California stakeholders, North and South, is to nail down an outside source of income for purses, which would take a Herculean lift in California's tough political environment.

“There are things we haven't explored thoroughly before, like historical horse racing machines,” said Oldfield. But if realizing outside purse revenues “truly is our number one challenge,” that would require a unified industry front, he added.

“I don't know of a single person on our horsemen's working group or anywhere else that would disagree with that,” Oldfield said.

As for horsemen and women in the North, the mood at Golden Gate Fields since the vote has equated to one big “sigh of relief,” said trainer Blaine Wright.

“I think people are really going to do their darndest to make this a go, keep the horses supplied and make this a reality for us,” said Wright. “I've already had some phone calls from [former owners] who haven't been supporting Golden Gate saying that, 'hey, we're planning on claiming a horse or two for you up there, help make a go of it.' And that's awesome.”

Del Mar | Horsephotos

PURSE CUTS

What the CHRB's decision last Thursday doesn't do is remove the tough economics, especially in the South.

Multi-million purse deficits are fed by shrinking handle totals–wagering on California racing was down by around 5% in the first two months of 2024. At the heart of these equations are field sizes.

During the first 35 days of racing during Santa Anita's current meet (317 races), field sizes averaged out to 7.02 runners. At a comparable stage last year (after 31 days of racing and 282 individual races), the average field size was 7.54 runners. That said, the average field size at a comparable stage in 2022 (after 37 days racing and 328 races) was 6.90.

Interestingly, the 25% purse cuts at Golden Gate appear to have helped claw back a substantial amount of the track's $3.1 million purse deficit. According to data reviewed by the TDN, Golden Gate had recouped over $1.2 million of its purse account over-payment by the middle of March.

Nader said the next step is to come to a decision about purses for Santa Anita's remaining Spring meet by the beginning of April, in time for the next condition book.

A decision about Del Mar's purses will come out “shortly thereafter,” said Nader. “They're anxious to put out their schedule for the summer,” he added.

One notable impact from Golden Gate's closure is the schism that has opened up between interests in the North and South. Earlier this year, three Northern TOC members resigned in protest to what they saw as the organization's Southern-centric approach to the problem. These feelings clearly persist.

“What's the future of the TOC? I think they've lost some credibility,” said Tom Clark, the owner and manager of Rancho San Miguel, a mainstay of the state's breeding industry. “I think we need to strongly examine how the organization's currently structured, and what their mandate is.”

“We're doing all we can to give them comfort that we're here, that we're a resource, and that we accept and hear their views,” said Nader, when asked about the organization's approach to mending bridges.

“That doesn't mean we always agree,” said Nader. “But in the end, we have to land on what's best for California going forward. And we can't isolate this to a specific region, whether it's North or South. It's got to be a big-picture outlook of longer-term vision.

“And that's why getting actual data to accurately assess the benchmarks CARF put forward in its draft license application could be a good thing in the end,” Nader added. “Northern California is asking for a chance and the TOC is saying any business plan needs to be viable and sustainable. This is where we can find alignment.”

However, “if the numbers come out [at Pleasanton's meet] and it's far below expectations or below expectations, you'd need to find a way to pivot to meet the backup model,” Nader said.

What would that back-up model look like? “The backup would be to use the different assets in Southern California, meaning Los Alamitos, Santa Anita and Del Mar,” said Nader.

While stakeholders have raised questions over the years about 1/ST's financial commitment to its Californian assets–in particular, deferred maintenance at Santa Anita and Golden Gate's backsides–the company has still made and promised several costly investments in recent years.

This includes a new Tapeta training track, new turf chute at Santa Anita, and in state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging technologies. Earlier this year, 1/ST announced the California Crown at Santa Anita, revamping the card on G1 Awesome Again S. day, in homage to the Pegasus World Cup.

With that in mind, how seriously does Nader take Fravel's threat to sell Santa Anita?

“The key thing I think was when Fravel said Belinda is still very keen to continue racing there, and she's turned down many offers before,” said Nader.

“The one thing you'd say, the transparency of putting the industry on notice, in some regard, that's a good thing,” Nader added. “I'd rather have them say it than not say it and sell it in the middle of the night.”

THE BREEDERS

Conspicuous in their absence at the last CHRB meeting was a representative from Los Alamitos.

When asked if 1/ST's letter had any bearing on his nonattendance, Los Alamitos vice president Jack Liebau said, “at the board, I think there was a perception that a threat was being made, and I don't think it was well received. Los Alamitos and 'Doc' [Ed] Allred [Los Alamitos owner] perceived of that threat and decided it would not be a party to it.”

In recent months as discussions circulated on a consolidated circuit in the South, Liebau has discussed a possible legislative fix to expand the menu of Thoroughbred races offered at Los Alamitos. Currently outside of their scheduled Thoroughbred meets, Los Alamitos is limited to staging Thoroughbred races capped at 4 1/2 furlongs and at a $5,000 claiming price.

This proposal had followed the passing of key legislation last September, which means that when Golden Gate Fields no longer operates after June this year, proceeds from simulcast wagering in the Northern half of the state will be funneled south when the North doesn't conduct any live racing.

The idea of a legislative fix to expand the menu of Thoroughbred races on offer at Los Alamitos has been put on the “back-burner,” said Liebau. But he also stressed how Los Alamitos was never an active advocate but rather a “passive observer” of efforts like the proposed legislation.

“Doctor Allred has always said that Los Al would do whatever it can do to improve racing and to accommodate all the different interests. But when you get down to it, Los Al is really something of a bystander. It's happy to help, but certainly doesn't view itself as pushing that legislation,” said Liebau.

In discussions with various California stakeholders, the firm stance the CHRB took on Northern dates prompted several breeders holding off on breeding plans until the last moment to press the trigger.

“It was very important that we had something positive to announce to basically keep giving people a reason to breed,” said California Thoroughbred Breeders Association president, Doug Burge, who added that total reports of mares bred won't arrive until the fall.

Clark said he was unaware of such a trend. “It's not like people called me up, saying 'oh boy, with the vote last week, I guess I'm going ahead to breed,'” he said.

However, “one breeder I know, his mare had just foaled and he had to make a decision. He said, 'Yeah, now I feel a lot better about going ahead and breeding again,'” Clark added.

And what of Ferraro's idea for a single circuit in the state? That would look like year-round racing with meets North and South, but no over-lap with one-other, he said.

“Long-term, I think it's the only way California racing can survive,” said Ferraro. “We simply don't have enough horses or enough fan support to continue with this two-circuit racing.”

When asked about this proposition, Liebau voiced his reservations. “It's very difficult to react to a comment made by the chairman of the board, but I think the time passed on that long ago,” said Liebau.

The finances involved with keeping facilities operational in today's economic climate are massive, said Liebau. Indeed, Santa Anita has apparently incurred operating losses of more than $31 million over the last five years. Interestingly, during the latest CHRB meeting, Fravel offered up the company's books for the state regulator to examine.

“Frank Stronach always thought you needed to run year-round and every day because it's very difficult to keep a track like Santa Anita going if it's shut down half the year,” said Liebau.

As for Pleasanton, Liebau pointed to a couple potential positives.

One is that large purses don't necessarily correlate to larger fields. That, “and I suspect the horses in the North have more starts than horses in the South,” Liebau said, adding however that he hasn't crunched those numbers.

“The people in the North deserve to be given the chance to succeed or fail,” said Liebau. “But they have a long difficult road ahead of them.”

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