Wendy Mitchell

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...

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,...

Southern California's racing calendar for 2024 will nearly mirror this year's dates template, with the exception of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club being awarded a fifth week at its fall meet to dovetail with that track's hosting of the Nov. 1-2 Breeders' Cup. But several California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) commissioners who voted in favor of next year's SoCal schedule at the Aug. 17 monthly meeting made it clear those dates allocations were not to be considered a "rubber stamp" approval that couldn't change at some point in the future. That...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday approved a 2023 schedule for the Southern California circuit that largely mirrors this year's version. A final vote on the Northern California schedule was put off until the CHRB's October meeting. But one new idea floated for the NorCal circuit during the Sep. 15 meeting could involve the Cal Expo state fair meet running either twilight or night programs next year. Concerns over dangerously high temperatures during July, when Cal Expo is expected to receive its three-week block of dates, were cited...

As part of a mandate that flows from the governor on down to the commissioners he has appointed to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), the "lens of equity" may soon be focused squarely on the state's jockey colony. Fear not, California riders: This initiative means the owners of male horses that you pilot to victory in certain graded stakes might soon be compelled to award you a one-time breeding right if that winner goes on to become a stallion. That's a practice that was once a "gentleman's agreement" type...

In a session Thursday, the California State Senate voted to reappoint commissioner Wendy Mitchell to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB). Mitchell was reappointed by a vote of 23-7, needing 21 votes to succeed. Thursday's vote follows Mitchell's prior failed bid for reappointment earlier in the month, when, after a period of extensive lobbying on the senate floor, she lost the vote on a 17-20 denial. Mitchell has served on the CHRB since 2019 and has been principal of WM Consulting Inc. since 2006. Prior to her tenure on the...

In a vote Monday, California State Senators decided against reappointing commissioner Wendy Mitchell to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), as first reported in the Los Angeles Times. According to the Times, Mitchell was headed for confirmation early Monday afternoon, but after a period of extensive lobbying on the senate floor, she subsequently lost the vote on a 17-20 denial. Mitchell has served on the CHRB since 2019 and has been principal of WM Consulting Inc. since 2006. Prior to her tenure on the CHRB, Mitchell served on the California...

Brenda Davis, 65 has been appointed to the California Horse Racing Board and Wendy Mitchell, 49, has been reappointed. Davis has been principal at the Brenda Davis Law Group since 2007. She was managing counsel at the California Farm Bureau Federation from 1999 to 2007. Mitchell has served the CHRB since 2019. Mitchell has been principal of WM Consulting Inc. since 2006. She served on the California Coastal Commission from 2011 to 2016 and the Los Angeles South Valley Area Planning Commission from 2009 to 2011. Both positions requires Senate...

For the second straight month, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has postponed voting on a motion pertaining to the exact specifications of whips that jockeys and exercise riders would be allowed to use. After 35 minutes of input from jockeys and the public at Thursday's monthly meeting in Sacramento, the board made a unanimous 4-0 vote to table the measure. Several CHRB members cited a desire to seek broader input that they hoped would help fine-tune the proposed amendments to CHRB Rule 1685. That was the same reasoning given...