'23 Dates for Northern California Edge Closer to Finalization

A 2023 race dates template for the Northern California circuit came closer to being finalized at Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting, with commissioners unanimously voting to largely mirror the framework of the 2022 schedule.

The lone exception was that the board held off on a decision on whether Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair) would once again have to run its second of two weeks of racing at the end of August against overlapping competition from the commercial licensee Golden Gate Fields.

That part of the vote was parsed out and will instead be taken up by the CHRB at the December meeting, leaving time for those two license applicants to possibly reach a compromise so commissioners don't have to impose one.

A separate lengthy discussion during the nearly 3 1/2-hour meeting involved whether Sacramento (the state fair at Cal Expo) would retain its contiguous three-week block of dates during July, or if Santa Rosa (Sonoma County Fair) would instead be allowed to expand its own August block from two weeks to three.

Commissioners ultimately decided that issue by voting to leave Cal Expo's three-week slot intact, based partially on the Sacramento track's stated commitment to try night racing this year. Lights are already installed and used at that oval for harness racing.

“We are going to actively pursue looking at night racing,” said Larry Swartzlander, the executive director California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF). “Night racing could be very lucrative financially,” he added, from the perspective of Sacramento not having to go up against major earlier-slotted simulcast signals like Saratoga and Del Mar.

However, the board did indicate that in 2024, that sought-after third week could get awarded to Santa Rosa, which offers the appeal of being the only NorCal fairs meet that has a turf course. Exactly how that third week would be carved out of the current schedule would have to be decided next year.

“We know the horsemen would much rather be in Santa Rosa than here in Sacramento,” said Rebecca Bartling, Sonoma County Fair's chief executive officer. “The weather's much better. We also feel that the purses would be much stronger.”

Alan Balch, the executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT), was among those who advocated for Santa Rosa to get a third week of racing in 2024, but said, “where it comes from and how it's structured is something else again, because you have so many competing factors to deal with.”

CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales said that at this time, the board couldn't technically make a promise to Santa Rosa that commissioners would vote in 2023 for a three-week meet there in 2024. But he did want it on record that the board would strive to “strike a balance” on the issue.

“It's been a very difficult last couple of years for all parties involved,” Gonzales said, alluding to the pandemic. “And it's very clear stakeholders love Santa Rosa, us included.”

Gonzales then called on CHRB staffers and its legal team to come up with “a motion that can kind of hold us to the [Santa Rosa] commitment, but without making, you know, an outright promise.”

Bartling then respectfully interjected: “Isn't a commitment a promise? Or a promise a commitment?”

The CHRB then proceeded to vote on the NorCal dates, minus the Ferndale/Golden Gate impasse that had already been kicked back to the December meeting. But commissioners apparently acted without realizing no actual motion had been verbalized and/or read into the record. Nor were the actual race dates for any of the other NorCal tracks specifically referenced during the meeting prior to the voting roll call.

After the meeting, TDN contacted CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten, who said that the commissioners had intended to vote upon the slate of dates that were printed in the meeting packet, with the non-binding commitment that Santa Rosa would get three-week consideration for 2024.

So the 2023 schedule reads as follows (the dates are awarded in blocks to determine simulcast host status and do not reflect the actual schedule of race dates):

Golden Gate-Dec. 22, 2022 to June 13, 2023

Pleasanton-June 14 to July 11

Cal Expo-July 12 to Aug. 1

Santa Rosa-Aug. 2 to Aug. 15

Ferndale-Aug. 16 to 29 (potential week overlap with Golden Gate TBD)

Golden Gate-Aug. 23 to Oct. 3 (potential week overlap with Ferndale TBD)

Fresno-Oct. 4 to 17

Golden Gate-Oct. 18 to Dec. 19

Regarding the Ferndale/Golden Gate standoff, several stakeholders discussed the main issues.

Jim Morgan, the legal counsel for the Humboldt County Fair, pointed out that Ferndale needs two weeks of live racing and simulcasting revenues with host status just to survive.

Morgan also explained that, unlike Golden Gate's commercial meet that he believes primarily serves as an exported simulcast product, Ferndale draws bigger live crowds that grow on-track interest in the sport, and its meet better dovetails with neighboring Oregon's fairs season, meaning those horses often ship to and stay in California, bolstering the field sizes at other tracks.

“We're talking one week. Golden Gate has all of the rest of the year,” Morgan said. “The county can't keep paying us a grant every year to stay alive, and [the continued overlap] would kill off this venue. And I don't believe, percentage-wise, that one week's revenue for Golden Gate Fields makes a big difference in their livelihood or outcome. But it makes a world of difference for Humboldt County Fair. We should not be penalized because we're smaller.”

Balch, of the CTT, weighed in with support for Golden Gate keeping its week of racing and host status instead of having Ferndale get it.

“I think it's extremely important to remember that Golden Gate Fields is the anchor and the fundamental foundation for fair racing in Northern California, because Golden Gate is the track that keeps the industry going on a year-round basis,” Balch said, adding that  “there's always been tension in balancing the interests of Golden Gate with the fairs.”

Craig Fravel, chief executive officer at 1/ST Racing, spoke on behalf of Golden Gate. Under questioning from commissioners, he conceded that his organization would likely “be supportive” of an idea that got brought up whereby Ferndale got its unopposed second week of live racing while Golden Gate retained simulcast host status during the same time.

“Everyone keeps expecting us to stay open for training while meets are taking place at fairs, [so] being compensated for [that expense] would certainly be something that we would welcome, and [having] a break in the calendar is not a negative for us,” Fravel said.

Swartzlander, of CARF, urged everyone to look at the overall picture.

“We all have to understand that racing in Northern California is a continuum,” Swartzlander said. “Like any major sports, we have our AAA, AA and A teams. [The smaller entities] support the Del Mars and the Santa Anitas. We need to keep the fairs in strength, and we support what goes on in all racing.”

The CHRB had already finalized the Southern California racing schedule at its September meeting.