Sacramento has momentum coming into meet
Coming off a solid Alameda County Fair meeting in Pleasanton, the California Authority of Racing Fairs summer season opens an 11-day race meeting Friday at the California State Fair in Sacramento.
The meeting in the past has provided a challenge for CARF racing secretary Tom Doutrich, but he hopes the Alameda County Fair meet has created some positive momentum.
“Our numbers looked good [at Pleasanton],” he said. “I’m happy with the entries for day one,” which averaged seven Thoroughbred runners per race.
Although some of Northern California’s better runners are heading south to Del Mar, Doutrich calls the horse population “strong.”
“It’s hard to get some of the better races to go with over 100 horses heading to Del Mar, but we have more horses available to us,” he said.
The opening-day feature is a first-level allowance race with an optional $40,000 claiming tag that could turn into a prep for the meet’s lone stakes, the $50,000-added California Governor’s Cup Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares scheduled for July 20.
CARF executive director Larry Swartzlander notes the opening-day card is better than last year’s.
He says Doutrich and his office staff “know how to put races together and put races in certain positions to improve the handle. We think this will carry over to Sacramento.”
Swartzlander believes that carryovers that can be extended to each CARF meeting will also help make the meeting attractive to bettors.
There is a $171,904 pick-six carryover and a $29,805 carryover for the Super Hi 5.
Sacramento is a long trip for trainers based in the San Francisco Bay Area and the meet also must deal with hot weather, but CARF provides over $40,000 in trainer incentives, including $500 for trainers running five horses during the meet and $1,000 for those running 10 horses. Out-of-state trainers get $150 for their first three runners.
“Weather can be a problem if temperatures are over 100, but we appreciate the number of trainers who do support us,” said Doutrich, who will host a pair of barbecues for horsemen.
