Concerned about the long-term prospects of racing in Northern California, several leading trainers are planning to move their stables away from the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, the venue that most recently conducted racing in that part of the state. No official announcement has been made by Alameda County Fair officials or the California Authority of Racing Fairs regarding a summer meeting at Pleasanton, but there is widespread belief in the racing community that racing will not be conducted there later this year, and that the stable area will be ordered vacated in late March. On Dec. 31, the racing community was notified by officials that training could cease at Pleasanton on March 25 if the number of horses based at the track is fewer than 500 in late February. At the beginning of January, there were approximately 700 horses at Pleasanton, a figure that has dwindled to slightly more than 500, according to a person familiar with the inventory. Executives with the Alameda County Fair, the California Authority of Racing Fairs, and the California Horse Racing Board did not immediately return phone calls, text messages, or emails on Friday morning to discuss the prospects of ongoing training or racing at Pleasanton this summer. Pleasanton became the base for Northern California training after the permanent closure of Golden Gate Fields in June. Last fall, Pleasanton ran a 13-week meeting to replace dates previously run at Golden Gate. The Pleasanton meeting had lower-than-expected handle, and a proposed winter-spring meeting was abandoned in favor of an ongoing plan to run a small number of races daily at Santa Anita for Northern California-based horses. :: Santa Anita Clocker Reports are available every race day. Access now. The potential loss of a summer race meeting at Pleasanton would be a devastating blow to the Northern California fair circuit, which includes meetings in Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Ferndale, and Fresno and runs through mid-October. On Friday, several trainers said that they do not expect training to continue past late March in Pleasanton and are making contingency plans to move horses to Southern California or Washington. The Emerald Downs meeting near Seattle does not start until April 27, but the track will open its stables in late February. Officials with Emerald Downs visited Pleasanton this week to recruit horses. Trainer Tim McCanna has 14 horses at Santa Anita and said he is considering moving an additional 10 to 15 to Southern California, with venues such as Los Alamitos or the San Luis Rey Downs training center as options for stabling. Santa Anita’s stable area is largely at capacity at 1,685, not including stalls for ponies. “We can’t get enough stalls at Santa Anita,” McCanna said. McCanna said he was one of several horsemen who spoke at a meeting of Alameda County Fair officials earlier this week, urging executives to support racing. Despite that effort, McCanna said the continuation of training at Pleasanton is doubtful. The lack of comments from executives is a particular concern, he said. “The rumor is we’re out of there on March 25,” McCanna said. “The worst thing is they haven’t said anything. Let us know. We’ve got guys with families and gallop boys with families. The tough thing is not knowing.” McCanna said he plans to send up to 10 runners to Emerald Downs, where he has raced in the past. “I have a few horses that are likely to run there,” he said. “I may send a few more there. There are horses at Pleasanton that won’t do” in Southern California. George Schmitt, a prominent owner and breeder in Northern California, expressed hope on Friday that racing would continue at Pleasanton. He was among the racing proponents to speak at Tuesday’s meeting, where he vowed to fight to force Alameda County Fair to run a meeting this summer. “We ain’t done yet,” he said. Amid the uncertainty, trainers are thinking of the best places to base their stables in coming months. Bill McLean, who has 10 horses at Santa Anita, said having a second operation at San Luis Rey Downs is a viable option. It’s a move the longtime Northern California-based trainer never expected to make. “It’s all kind of rough right now,” he said. “You never thought it would be this bad.” Other trainers, such as Steve Sherman, said they plan to decide on plans in the coming weeks. Sherman said he is likely to have a greater presence in Southern California. Isidro Tamayo has stables at three venues – Pleasanton, Santa Anita and Turf Paradise – and hopes to expand his presence at Santa Anita. “I’ve been spreading,” he said. “I have a barn at Santa Anita and a barn in Phoenix. When Seattle opens up, we’ll take horses there. We’ll have 15 at Santa Anita.” Tamayo grew up watching racing in Northern California. “I think it’s fading away,” he said. “It’s very sad, very depressing. People are devastated. I can’t see people sticking around until June.” Blaine Wright said on Friday that he will have as many as 40 horses this summer at Emerald Downs, where he's among the leading trainers. A much smaller group of his horses will be based in Southern California. “It’s pretty bleak and pretty disappointing for our horsemen here,” he said of Pleasanton. “For the most part, guys are trying to hang in there the best they can.” Wright currently has five horses at Santa Anita, a figure that will double in coming weeks. “They found some more stalls for me,” he said. “I’m hoping to stay there and compete.” Northern California is unlikely to be part of his plans for racing this year. “I don’t think the fairs will go,” Wright said. “I can’t see people sticking around that long. I think people will head to Seattle or other places where they’re assured the race meeting is open.” With fewer horses at Pleasanton on a daily basis, trainer Andy Mathis said the venue is “turning into a heck of a training center” with “light traffic on the track.” Dark humor aside, the concern over long-term racing in Northern California has led him to restructure his stable. He has 10 horses at Santa Anita and 20 at Pleasanton in various stages of readiness. “We’re making a small move on Monday, with some horses going to Santa Anita,” he said. “I’ve got some horses that are close to running and those are the ones I’m sending down." Being competitive in Southern California is a concern, though. “If the horse ships from Pleasanton and runs bad at Santa Anita, don’t you have to ship them somewhere else?” he said. “I think that we’ll send other horses to other trainers at Turf Paradise. I’m not bringing horses in. It’s going to be a gradual slide down for my horse population. “I’m transitioning into a better group of horses instead of the cheaper horses. It’s Santa Anita or bust. It’s a different situation for each person. Should I go to Santa Anita or should I go someplace else?” O.J. Jauregui has 10 stalls at Santa Anita, with the hope of gaining more stalls. Similar to many of his colleagues, Jauregui has culled some runners from his stable. Without racing in Northern California, many stables have horses that are not competitive at Santa Anita. “We’re in a bad spot,” Jauregui said. “We have a certain type of horses. I don’t want to be a 30-1 guy. “A lot of trainers feel lost. We have to figure out all the issues, and hopefully for the best.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.