ARCADIA, Calif. – The California Horse Racing Board voted against proposed 2026 county fair race meetings in Red Bluff and Ferndale on Thursday, a severe setback in the effort to revive racing in the northern part of the state. The Tehama County Fair in Red Bluff requested a four-week meeting in May; the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale sought to race four weeks in August. On Thursday, the racing board voted 4-2 to reject both proposals. There has been no racing in Northern California since the conclusion of an autumn meeting in Pleasanton in December 2024. Golden Gate Fields, the hub of racing in Northern California, closed permanently in June 2024. Thursday’s meeting was not originally on the regulatory agency’s 2026 calendar but was called specifically to discuss the Northern California fair proposals. Much of Thursday’s discussion regarding the Red Bluff and Ferndale meetings focused on keeping a single racing circuit in the state, based at Del Mar, Los Alamitos, and Santa Anita in Southern California. In the last year, revenue from simulcasting and account wagering throughout the state has been directed to purses at Southern California venues, resulting in higher overnight purses. The tracks have shared in that revenue. Previously, part of that money was devoted to purses in Northern California. Officials with horsemen’s organizations and Southern California tracks argued against the county fair proposals Thursday, stating that the resumption of racing at those venues would lead to a decrease in purses levels at Del Mar, Los Alamitos, and Santa Anita in the south at a time when those tracks struggle to offer competitive purses compared to other states that have ancillary forms of gaming. California tracks do not have other forms of gaming, such as slot machines or casinos, to boost purses. Red Bluff was seeking a racing license after running unofficial races at times in its past. The venue, located north of Sacramento, failed an inspection by racing board staff in late January because of incomplete construction. The venue lacked a receiving barn, jockeys’ room, facilities for racing officials, and needed significant work on its half-mile racetrack, including installation of rails, the racing board was told Thursday. Red Bluff and Ferndale did not have signed agreements with the Thoroughbred Owners of California or California Thoroughbred Trainers association. Representatives of those organizations spoke in opposition of both county fair proposals, seeking to retain a single-circuit format in the state. “We would also love to see racing return to the north someday,” TOC president Bill Nader said, reading from prepared remarks. “It needs to happen when the time is right – a sound business case, a feasibility study, proper funding, and an organization structure. That day is not today.” Nader cited the lack of an existing population of race-ready horses in Northern California as another concern. Since the conclusion of racing in Northern California in December 2024, stables from that part of the state have relocated to Southern California or other states. Nader also spoke about the need to protect purse levels at Southern California tracks. “We would all agree that these are the most difficult and challenging times,” he said. “This is a time when the California racing industry – not Southern California, not Northern California – is fighting desperately to remain relevant and stable.” Racing board vice chairman Oscar Gonzales and commissioner Brenda Davis voted in favor of allocating dates to Red Bluff and Ferndale. In a discussion before a vote on the Red Bluff proposal, Gonzales argued the venue should have a chance to race. “We need more racing and not less racing,” he said. Racing board chairman Greg Ferraro and commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, and Peter Stern voted against the proposals. “I’m sorry, but we can’t let you go forward,” Ferraro said, looking toward a small contingent of fair officials from Red Bluff. Ferndale held racing as recently as 2024 and sought a license application for a 2025 meeting three times last year, only to be rejected by the board. Humboldt officials argued that a race meeting at Ferndale this summer would bring some participants back to California to race. “We are not comparing ourselves to Del Mar or Santa Anita,” said Andy Titus, president of the Humboldt County Fair. “They’re major leagues and we’re minor leagues. All we ask for is the opportunity to give us the dates.” The board members voted in the same manner against Ferndale as they did on the Red Bluff proposal. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.