Emerald Downs: Attracting new fans a goal as meet opens

The decision by Emerald Downs to move opening day back a few weeks and start the meet on a Sunday paid dividends when 78 horses were entered for the 10-race card, which begins at 2 p.m. Pacific. Compare that with 2017, when just 47 horses started on the seven-race opening-day card.

This is the first time Emerald has started its meet on a Sunday, and having just one day to fill instead of the traditional two made life considerably easier for racing secretary Brett Anderson.

“Just look at the results,” said Anderson. “We have a lot more horses running opening day, and hopefully it bodes well for the rest of the meet.”

Anderson said Emerald soon will have more horses stabled at the track than last year.

“We have a lot more shipping up from Phoenix soon,” he said, referring to horses racing at Turf Paradise.

The 67-day Emerald meet concludes Sept. 23. During the next few weeks, racing will be held Saturdays and Sundays. Beginning May 11, Fridays will be added, with a 6:30 p.m. first post. First post for Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays is 2 p.m. until June 16, when first post for Saturdays will change to 5 p.m.

“We’re constantly looking for what works best for people around here, and we think a 5 o’clock post time will help get more people out,” said track president Phil Ziegler. “If they come at 5, they can stay for dinner, and we will also have bands and entertainment for them after the races.”

Building on the success of last year’s marketing strategy, there will be a lot more than horse racing happening at Emerald.

“There will be some kind of an event every day,” said Ziegler. “Whether it is Family Fun Day or racing exotic animals, we want to get new people to the track. We had over 12,000 people come out to see the corgis last year. It all begins and ends with our live racing product, though.”

The featured race of the meet, the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile, is scheduled for Aug. 12.

A new addition to the stakes schedule is the $100,000 Getaway Stakes on closing day. The purse was provided by an anonymous donor. The Getaway anchors the Northwest Triple, which begins with the $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby on July 29, followed by the Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby at Hastings on Sept. 9. If a horse wins all three races, he will receive a $100,000 bonus.

Blaine Wright will be trying to win the trainer title for the third year in a row. Last year, he won 53 races, including 11 stakes.

“It is going to be tough to top last year,” said Wright. “I don’t have as many cheaper maidens, so I am not likely to win as many races. We have stock, though more quality than quantity.”

Frank Lucarelli will give Wright a run for his money and has a chance to overtake Tim McCanna as the all-time leading trainer at Emerald. With 905 wins at Emerald, Lucarelli needs to win 22 races to pass McCanna.

Lucarelli said last year’s top older horse Mach One Rules likely will make his first start at the meet in the $50,000 Auburn Stakes on May 27.

Rocco Bowen is also going for the hat trick. He dominated the jockey standings for the second year in a row in 2017, winning 126 races at Emerald.

Tom Harris will become the third announcer in track history. He succeeds Matt Dinerman, who has moved to Golden Gate Fields. Dinerman replaced Robert Geller in 2015.