CHRB grants Los Alamitos five weeks of racing in 2020

CYPRESS, Calif. – Los Alamitos was granted an additional week of Thoroughbred racing in December 2020 at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting after discussions between officials of Southern California racetracks and the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

Los Alamitos was allotted four weeks of racing for 2020 at the racing’s board meeting in August – June 25 to July 5, and Dec. 3-13. The December meeting will now include an additional week of racing, through Dec. 20.

The additional week at Los Alamitos was finalized late Thursday morning following discussions between officials with the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Los Alamitos, and Santa Anita.

“The TOC will support accommodating the request for one of the dark weeks in December” for Los Alamitos, said Greg Avioli, the TOC president.

At the August meeting, the racing board issued a 2020 schedule that had a gap of nearly two weeks following the conclusion of the Los Alamitos meeting on Dec. 13 to the start of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting on Dec. 26. The gap would provide Santa Anita with a chance to gain revenue from simulcasting for its purse account.

Aidan Butler, the acting executive director of California racetracks for The Stronach Group, Santa Anita’s parent company, told the racing board his track supported the additional week going to Los Alamitos in December even though Santa Anita will not receive approximately $800,000 to $900,000 in simulcast revenue for purses and track commissions during that time.

Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred told the racing board that the additional week of racing will support the track’s night program of Quarter Horse and lower-level Thoroughbred racing that is reliant on the afternoon Thoroughbred cards in Southern California to support simulcasting at night. Without the lead-in from daytime programs, Allred said the state’s network of simulcast locations may not open to provide betting on the evening cards.

Allred was asked by racing board commissioner Fred Maas if he would discontinue Quarter Horse racing if the track was not granted additional dates for Thoroughbred racing. Allred reacted quickly and forcefully.

“I will die before we end Quarter Horse racing and that may be what happens,” Allred said.

The board voted 5-1 to grant Los Alamitos the additional week. Recently appointed commissioner Wendy Mitchell voted against the proposal, while another new commissioner, Oscar Gonzales, abstained. Mitchell and Gonzales were appointed to the board earlier this month.

In earlier discussions by racing board regarding December dates at Los Alamitos, Gonzales offered a motion to table the matter for 30 days for further discussion. He and Mitchell were the only commissioners to support the motion. The other five commissioners – Dennis Alfieri, Madeline Auerbach, Greg Ferraro, Alex Solis, and Maas – did not support the motion presented by Gonzales.

Auerbach is the racing board’s vice-chairperson and conducted the meeting. Former chairman Chuck Winner is no longer on the board after his term expired in the summer.

The five-week schedule at Los Alamitos in 2020 is three weeks fewer than what Los Alamitos is conducting this year and has held annually since 2014. The track ran a three-week meeting in late June and early July and is hosting a three-week Los Angeles County Fair meeting that ends on Sunday. There will be two weeks of racing in December.

In 2020, the summer meeting will be run under the track’s license, while the December meeting will be run via the Los Angeles County Fair’s license.

Los Alamitos officials argued at the dates committee, and in front of the entire board in early afternoon, for a restoration of eight weeks of racing in 2020, with the county fair meeting conducted during its traditional time span in September.

The request was not granted. In September 2020, Santa Anita will begin its autumn meeting on Sept. 11 and run through the month before concluding on Oct. 25.