Building a bridge between major meets no easy task

CYPRESS, Calif. – The first two weeks of July would seem an ideal time to run a Thoroughbred meeting in Southern California. School is out, the Fourth of July weekend looms, and the weather is fine.

But in early July, the countdown is underway for the start of the Del Mar meeting on July 16, and that threatens to overshadow the eight-day Los Alamitos summer meeting, which begins Thursday.

Los Alamitos officials face the challenge of convincing owners and trainers to stop and run horses on their way from Santa Anita to Del Mar as well as the challenge of drawing the attention of fans eager to spend time at the San Diego beachside track.

Their measure of success will be found in data such as average field size and mutuel handle. Last year, the two-week July meeting averaged 6.99 runners per race, a figure that rose to 7.73 runners at the September Los Alamitos meeting and to 7.46 runners there last December. Last year was the first time Los Alamitos held daytime Thoroughbred racing following the closure of Hollywood Park at the end of 2013.

One goal this month is to increase field size from last summer.

“We’re selling horse racing,” said Los Alamitos Thoroughbred general manager Brad McKinzie. “If you put short fields out there, you’re putting out a bad product.”

Thursday’s opening-day program gives the meet a promising start, with 75 horses entered in eight races. There are five additional horses on also-eligible lists. The first race has five runners, but the remaining seven have nine to 12 starters.

Now, racing officials have to replicate that seven more times before the July 12 closing day. The final days will be the most difficult to draw runners, with many stables in the process of relocating from Santa Anita and Los Alamitos to Del Mar.

“That last week will be tough,” McKinzie said. “You can’t get around it.”

Aside from the looming presence of Del Mar, Los Alamitos does not have a turf course, which limits the pool of available horses. Racing secretary Bob Moreno has stressed conditional-claiming races and starter allowances in an effort to attract runners who may not fit races at Del Mar as well.

Los Alamitos has increased the purses of maiden special weight races for all ages from $42,000 last year to $50,000 for the July meeting,

Moreno said last weekend that the 2014 race meetings were a learning experience.

“I think we know more about what we’re getting into,” he said.

So do bettors. The average daily all-sources handle at last year’s summer meet was $5,070,966, which was lower than projections and led to a purse overpayment of approximately $500,000. In an effort to increase handle, post time for the first race has been moved from 2 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Pacific to position Los Alamitos away from the popular Belmont Park simulcasts. When racing at Belmont ends for the day, McKinzie said, Los Alamitos ranks first or second nationally in simulcast revenue.

The meeting will have four stakes, down from seven last summer. The stakes schedule is led by the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby on Saturday. The purse has been reduced from $500,000 to $350,000 because of the 2014 purse overpayment. Stakes winners Gimme Da Lute and Kentuckian are expected to be leading contenders.