Turf Paradise

Representatives of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) and the management of Turf Paradise in north Phoenix have signed an agreement that will allow for 84 days of live racing at the track beginning Jan. 1, 2020 and running through May 4, 2021. The Arizona Racing Commission was to meet in special session Oct. 30 to approve the dates after a disagreement in the wording of the agreement between the two parties led to a 24-hour delay in submitting the plan to the ARC. The Commission will also...

With both Turf Paradise and Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) representatives telling the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) Thursday that they are now close to agreeing on a contract for an 84-date, Jan. 2-May 1 race meet, AZRC chairman Rory Goree indicated that the commission stands ready to approve the dates request, which has already been submitted to the board but was not placed on the agenda for a vote at the Oct. 8 video meeting. Approval could come via a special AZRC session that might get scheduled before...

The latest missive in an ongoing game of epistolary ping-pong between the Arizona horsemen and Turf Paradise management has seen the track re-affirm their proposal to stage a race-meet this winter. "Turf Paradise has submitted live race dates for an 84-day winter meet--Jan. 2 thru May 1, 2021--to the Racing Commission for their approval at the Oct. 8 meeting," wrote Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia in a letter addressed to the horsemen Thursday. But again, the proposal comes with caveats. The first is a previously stated desire: That the...

The Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) would be amenable to Turf Paradise's latest proposal to conduct a live 2020-21 race meet as long as certain conditions of their own are met, according to a letter written by AZHBPA president Bob Hutton dated Friday and obtained by the TDN. "Because we are the heart and soul of horse racing in Arizona, we offer you all we have to help make Turf Paradise the venue for racing it can be and once was," Hutton wrote, pointing to the horsemen's horses,...

Turf Paradise is proposing to host a live meet next year that will run Jan. 2 through May 1, according to a letter from Turf Paradise general manager, Vince Francia, to the Arizona horsemen dated Thursday. Turf Paradise had previously announced that it had cancelled its 2020-2021 race meet due to health fears associated with operating a live meet during a global pandemic. For the proposed meet to go ahead, however, Turf Paradise management listed in the letter a number of caveats, namely that $2.1 million of disputed purse account...

At the six-month mark of the shutdown of live racing in Arizona that is the result of both the pandemic and a prolonged fight over off-track betting (OTB) privileges, the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) has reportedly secured some of the disputed money from the horsemen's account that had been controlled by Turf Paradise and placed it into a trust to pay purses if and when racing resumes elsewhere. This news was shared in the form of a widely circulated email that made the rounds on social media...

Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting opened with the chairman Rory Goree asking stakeholders to "refrain from discussing anything" related to a controversial appeal over who controls purse account money that is scheduled for the October meeting. And it ended with Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms apologizing for the frustration the state's Thoroughbred community feels over his decision not to incur liability by running a 2020-21 meet during a pandemic. In between those brief, book-ended statements that define the currently closed status of racing in Arizona, commissioners heard a slew...

At the Arizona Racing Commission meeting last month, representatives from the state's flagship racetrack, Turf Paradise, announced that they wouldn't be running their scheduled 2020-2021 race meet between November and May, blaming a variety of factors including health concerns due to the global pandemic, and economic question marks surrounding the operations of Off Track Betting (OTBs) facilities. That decision has sown seeds of confusion and doubt among many involved in the state's racing industry--a scenario complicated by ongoing friction between the horsemen and Turf Paradise management. "Definitely a huge impact,"...

Ongoing tensions between the management of Turf Paradise and Arizona-based horsemen is placing the upcoming 2020-2021 meet under a cloud of uncertainty. Last week, Turf Paradise released a press release detailing plans to push back its opening day from Oct. 17 to Friday, Nov. 27. The revised dates meant an overall reduction in live race days from 133 to 110. "We are working with AZHBPA [Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association] president Bob Hutton as to a date when the horses can begin to arrive in the stable area," said...

This is the fourth installment in a series highlighting racetrack photographers. Around 1960, a funeral director decided he'd had enough of the cold Chicago winters, so he uprooted his family to Phoenix to ply his trade in a warmer clime. Upon arrival, Jack Coady, Sr. learned his Illinois mortician's certification didn't match Arizona's requirements, so he set out to look for another line of work. He liked photography and caught on with the Arizona Republic newspaper. On one of his very first assignments, he was sent to shoot the races...

Turf Paradise has rescheduled its opening day to Friday, Nov. 27. Originally the 133-day live meet had been scheduled to run from Oct. 17-May 1, 2021. The new schedule will run from Nov. 27-May 1, for 110 live race days. "We are hoping that by opening later the Coronavirus situation will settle down in Arizona," said track general manager Vincent Francia. "Regardless we will have health protocols in place when the meet opens." Francia added, "We are working with AZHBPA president Bob Hutton as to a date when the horses...

Turf Paradise Race Course has announced its plans for a 133-day live race meet to start Oct. 30 and to run through May 5, 2021. Racing will be conducted primarily on a five-day a week schedule, Saturday-Wednesday. Live racing will also be conducted on the following Fridays: Opening Day, Oct. 30; first day of Breeders' Cup, Nov. 6; the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27 and Kentucky Oaks day, Apr. 30. Post time will be 12:40 p.m.