More horses points to strong meet at Santa Rosa

An increase in the number of horses on the grounds has fueled optimism for Thursday’s opener of the 11-day Sonoma County Fair race meeting in Santa Rosa., Calif. The meet runs through Sunday, Aug. 14.

Santa Rosa has long been the crown jewel of the Northern California fairs racing circuit. Santa Rosa opted to pull out of the California Authority of Racing Fairs in 2013 with mixed results. It found itself squeezed out of one week of racing in conjunction with its actual fair but still produced better handle numbers than the state fair in Sacramento, which precedes it on the summer schedule.

Racing secretary Bob Moreno said Santa Rosa has 20 percent more horses on the grounds this year than last year.

Santa Rosa has an advantage over other fair sites because it has a turf course. Five of its seven stakes races are run on turf. Each of the meet’s stakes is worth $50,000.

Fillies and mares are in the spotlight during the first weekend of the meet, with the Wine Country Stakes on Saturday and the Luther Burbank Handicap on Sunday. The Robert Dupret Derby will be run Aug. 6, and the Joseph T. Grace Handicap on Aug. 7. The five-furlong Jess Jackson Owners’ Handicap on Aug. 13 allows owners to assign how much weight their horses carry.

A pair of 2-year-old stakes will be run on closing day, the Wine Country Debutante and the Cavonnier Juvenile, both at six furlongs on dirt.

Thirty turf races are scheduled in the condition book for the meet, with the possibility of additional turf races being added. Moreno must be careful not to overuse the turf early so that it can be used to full advantage on the final three days of the meeting, when racing is run following the fair’s closure.

“They’ve done a lot of work on the turf course, and it held up well last year,” said Moreno.

Santa Rosa races Thursdays through Sundays for the first two weeks of the meet and Friday through Sunday for the final week.

Michael Wrona, the track announcer at Santa Anita, will again call the races.

Stacy Lapham is the track’s new director of racing.