Alan Balch

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted 6-0 on Thursday to approve a dates package for the back half of 2024 that will establish the current fairs-meet-only track at Pleasanton as the new crux of a Northern California circuit. The entire state has been trying to come to grips with the looming June 9 closure of Golden Gate Fields, the lone commercial track in the region, and the Mar. 21 vote by the CHRB was viewed as a NorCal racing lifeline by the estimated 250 supporters in attendance. Those very...

Berkeley City Council could vote on an ordinance that, if passed, would essentially lead to the premature closure of Golden Gate Fields and throw into question the near-term future of the Northern California horse colony, workforce and training colony, the latter already buffeted by 25% cuts to the track's purses. The Bay Area racetrack is scheduled to race from Dec. 26 through June 9, 2024, after which the facility is set to close permanently. The proposed ordinance--which makes the claim that confining a horse to its stall for the majority...

Jane Goldstein will be recognized with a special award at the inaugural edition of the Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) at its luncheon Thursday, Sept. 29. The presentation will honor Goldstein for her role as a groundbreaking leader and inspirational example to women in racing. A native of New Orleans, Goldstein had an early introduction to the racetrack through her father, a writer and reporter with the Times-Picayune newspaper. She attended the University of Kentucky and Louisiana State University. Following graduation, she was hired to work in the publicity department...

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has lost the first phase of his legal tussle against the Los Angeles Turf Club and The Stronach Group (TSG) controlled subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, according to a ruling filed Apr. 29 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California. The bifurcated non-jury trial, conducted between Apr. 4 and Apr. 6 this year, focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and the track. In all, Hollendorfer has...

The flag has already been planted midway through Santa Anita's current Winter-Spring meet, and prevailing headwinds are still driven by worries over field size. The following table is an analysis of the average field sizes during the first 15 weeks of the Santa Anita Winter meet--a timeframe excluding Santa Anita Derby weekend--over the past five years. In tandem with the above numbers, total handle for the meet thus far--including last weekend--decreased by 1% between last year and this, a number that comes out to nearly $8 million. That's with one...

Newly minted California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) member, Thomas Hudnot--an education consultant and a former racehorse owner--enjoyed a relatively smooth landing on his first public day on the job, with few of the highly combustible topics on the monthly commission meeting agenda that have lit the touch paper during any number of board meetings these past few years. The meeting, however, did signal a potential brewing storm in the shape of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's scheduled implementation of its racetrack safety rules July 1. CHRB executive director, Scott...