Fairplex: A quick look at California's fair racing circuit

The seven venues that make up the fair racing circuit in California:

Stockton (San Joaquin Fair)
2011 dates: June 16-19
Inaugural year: 1934
Length of track: 1 mile
Average daily purse: $62,400
Idaho Gem, the first cloned mule, won a race on June 21, 2006

Pleasanton (Alameda County Fair)
2011 dates: June 23-July 10
Inaugural year: 1939
Length of track: 1 mile
Average daily purse: $103,667
Slew the Man won this year’s Alamedan Handicap as Bold Chieftain, first millionaire to ever run at the track, finished second.

Sacramento (Cal Expo)
2011 dates: July 14-24
Inaugural year: 1968
Length of track: 1 mile
Average daily purse: $83,950
The track also has a year-round harness meet

Santa Rosa (Sonoma County Fair)
2011 dates: July 27-Aug. 14
Inaugural year: 1936
Length of track: About 1 mile (132.6 feet short of a mile)
Average daily purse: $114,433
On Aug. 14, 2010, Russell Baze became the first North American jockey to win 11,000 races when he won with the Richard Mandella-trained Separate Forest.

Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair)
2011 dates: Aug. 12-21, 2011
Inaugural year: 1935
Length of track: 4 furlongs
Average daily purse: $40,925
One of the ongoing stakes is the Cream City Mule Handicap, which has been won by Black Ruby, one of the most famous of the racing mules.

Pomona (Los Angeles County Fair at Fairplex Park)
2011 dates: Sept. 9-25
Inaugural year: 1922; parimutuels, 1933
Length of track: 5 furlongs
Average daily purse: $206,667
Jockey Martin Pedroza won 7 races twice, on Sept. 5 and 7, 2008.

Fresno (The Big Fresno Fair)
2011 dates: Oct. 6-16
Inaugural year: 1935
Length of track: 1 mile
Average daily purse: $84,400
In 1963, jockey Marty Heath, who was a Native American, won with 7 of 9 mounts.

*2010 average daily purse