CHRB approves changes to Southern California Thoroughbred racing calendar

The California Horse Racing Board voted Thursday to change the 2016 Thoroughbred racing calendar in Southern California to give Los Alamitos a three-week meeting in April and extend the Santa Anita spring-summer meeting from late June to mid-July.

The decision leaves Santa Anita with two distinctively separate seasons in the first half of the year – a winter-spring meeting from Dec. 26 of this year through April 10 and a spring-summer meeting from May 5 to July 10. The Los Alamitos spring meeting would run from April 14 to May 1. Santa Anita would operate for the first two weekends of July, dates run at Los Alamitos in 2014 and this year.

The second half of the calendar is largely the same as this year, with a Del Mar summer meeting running from July 14 or 15 to Sept. 5. Del Mar officials said Thursday their summer meeting could open on Friday, July 15, next summer.

Later in the year, the Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos would run from Sept. 8-25, followed by the Santa Anita autumn meeting from Sept. 29 to Nov. 6, the Del Mar autumn meeting from Nov. 10 to Dec. 4, and the Los Alamitos fall meeting from Dec. 8-18.

The Santa Anita autumn meeting includes the Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 4-5.

The dates allotted to each track at Thursday’s meeting began and ended slightly earlier and later than those dates to include simulcasting rights on non-racing days.

The ratified dates were different than a proposal presented by board members George Krikorian and Chuck Winner, who comprise the racing board’s dates committee.

They presented a calendar with a three-week meeting at Los Alamitos in April, a two-week meeting there in July, and for Santa Anita to begin its autumn meeting in September, taking the place of the Los Alamitos September dates.

Shortly after that proposal was accepted by the racing board, a revised calendar that was eventually finalized was proposed and approved by a vote of 6-1. Krikorian, chairman of the dates committee, opposed the plan.

Initially, racing board officials were presented with a variety of proposed calendars that varied from no changes from the 2014 or 2015 calendars, to a calendar that included a brief spring meeting at Del Mar. Del Mar officials told the racing board that was not possible in 2016.

Winner, chairman of the racing board, said a leading factor in the decision to divide the Santa Anita meetings was to allow for renovation of the main track and for the turf course to have a springtime rest.

The revised calendar was supported by the Thoroughbred Owners of California. The California Thoroughbred Trainers association did not take an official position.

Winner and Krikorian emphasized that the 2016 dates were for one year only and would be studied before 2017 dates were awarded.

The issue of offtrack stabling throughout the state was repeatedly mentioned during conversations about racing dates. Scott Daruty, representing Santa Anita, said the track would be willing to dedicate money to a fund for offtrack stabling in the region, or expand the training center at San Luis Rey Downs by 300 to 500 stalls. No specific plans were announced.

Racing dates in Northern California will be largely similar to 2014.

Golden Gate Fields will run its winter-spring meeting from Dec. 26 to June 12, followed by the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meeting from June 16 to July 4, the Cal-Expo in Sacramento meeting from July 7-24, and the Santa Rosa meeting from July 28 to Aug. 14.

The Humboldt County Fair meeting in Ferndale will run from Aug. 19-28, while Golden Gate Fields will have a summer meeting from Aug. 19 to Sept. 20. In later months, Stockton will run a fair meeting from Sept. 22 to Oct. 4, followed by a meeting at Fresno from Oct. 6-16, and the Golden Gate Fields autumn meeting from Oct. 20 to Dec. 18.

The Northern California dates discussed at the meeting were slightly different to include simulcasting rights.

In other developments, the racing board tabled a proposal for third-party administration of Lasix after a heated and lengthy discussion regarding various ways to implement the proposal, such as terms and costs for hiring veterinarians and whether existing veterinarians could continue to administer the medication but with greater oversight from authorities.

A discussion on a proposal to conduct races for horses that have not been administered Lasix within 24 hours of post time was tabled for another meeting.