Oak Tree at Pleasanton meet will feature six Thoroughbred stakes

Tom Doutrich, the racing secretary for the California Authority of Racing Fairs, has released the first condition book for the 12-day Oak Tree at Pleasanton meet that will be held June 18 through July 5. The meet will include six Thoroughbred stakes and more than $1.7 million in purses and bonuses for trainers.

“The horse population is down because a lot of horses have gone to Seattle, but the trainer population is holding,” said Doutrich. “We have some good, young trainers such as Jonathan Wong, Joshua Stein, and Marcia Stortz. The trainer population is as important as the horse population.”

While he tries to recruit horses to come to Northern California for the fairs, Doutrich said he’s doing all he can to “get locals to engage.” He’s hopeful that Oak Tree at Pleasanton will have a good meet, noting that it will be running horses on Fathers’ Day as well as Fourth of July weekend.

“We offer a balanced program,” said Doutrich, pointing to purses at lower levels for maiden allowance runners and first-level allowance races. “Our strength is balance. We try to keep things basic and maximize opportunities for the horse population we have.”