Tom Bachman

On Monday, the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) board voted unanimously (with one abstention) to rescind a proposed Golden State Racing meet spanning the first half of next year, essentially leaving Northern California without Thoroughbred racing in 2025 outside of the annual suite of summer fair meets. This means that the Northern Californian horsemen and women have had little time to respond and adapt to a proposal by the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and 1/ST Racing and Gaming--a business entity under The Stronach Group (TSG) umbrella--to maintain a...

Ahead of a critical California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting Thursday to decide essentially whether or not to give Northern California stakeholders a fighting chance to build a circuit in the void left by the imminent closure of Golden Gate Fields, 1/ST Racing and Gaming set out their stall Tuesday in a letter to the regulator urging them to decline race dates to the North. In a proposal to the state regulator, the California Association of Racing Fairs (CARF) outlined a 10-week meeting this year that would run from Oct....

The precarious, up-in-the-air future of California racing and whether or not the state can continue to support two geographic year-round circuits was made no clearer after Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting. The 3 1/2-hour session was dominated by discussion of competing North-versus-South plans that both tried to carve a sustainable path forward while underscoring the dire circumstances that face the industry with the June 9 closure of Golden Gate Fields looming like an unavoidable asteroid. Although the CHRB concluded the meeting--which featured testimony that was at times emotional,...

Behind the scenes there is a battle taking place for the future of racing in Northern California. Approximately 30 million dollars is at the center of the battle, the projected net revenue from wagering derived in the north. The projection is derived from past revenues generated annually through Thoroughbred simulcast, ADW and live racing wagering in the north. Under current law, these funds must remain in the north, for the benefit of the north--both for horsemen and any race meet that continues to offer Thoroughbred racing in the future. The...

The Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings Sale returns for its second renewal Monday, moving from its 2019 location in Pomona to Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress for the one-day 2020 edition. The first of 298 catalogued yearlings is scheduled to go through the sales ring at 12 p.m. PT. With a backdrop of continued uncertainty swirling around the global pandemic and its impact on the economy, consignors are approaching the one-day auction with caution. "There is a whole lot up in the air, that's all I can say," said Tom...