The California Horse Racing Board of March 16 sets a race date for late August for the Humboldt County Fair and Golden Gate Fieldsthis resulted in conflicting schedules and financial arrangements.
There has been overlap in the past and after Thursday’s vote it will happen again.
Ferndale Raceway, Calif., is allotted August 16-29 while Golden Gate Fields receives August 23-October 23, overlapping a week.
It has been suggested that it might be possible to compromise that tracks alternate years with having a overlapping week and then not overlapping the following year. But vice president Oscar Gonzales’ idea appears to be one that will be revisited next year when all other board members have voted on the plan set out for this year.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a lot of enthusiasm in two weeks of uncompetitiveness for Ferndale and I myself would like to consider two weeks of racing in Ferndale with the second week covered by the Golden Gate, this is really what it is. part of the original proposal a few months ago,” said board member Tom Hudnut. “And that’s also what we did last year. I would consider it a compromise solution in this case.”
The board also discussed its extreme weather policy as it relates to surfaces and the return to races and training. The recent weather problems faced by Southern California have made this topic all the more relevant. It was decided that bringing up this topic could lead to discussion of potential changes that could be made as soon as next month.
CHRB’s chief medical officer, Jeff Blea, said the failure of horses to train on a sealed track creates various problems for horses and riders. Currently, horses cannot participate in high-speed training on the track for at least 24 hours after inclement weather.
Blea said there is a desire to revise the policy to limit training after that 24-hour break to running only. After that, activities allowed for the next 24 hours will be at the discretion of the track supervisor in conjunction with himself and the California Purebred Trainers to allow for gallop and possibly windsurfing. The decision will largely depend on how much water has accumulated, he notes.
“We felt the track was safe to practice on, but we felt the safety issue was to reduce the amount of shock and bone, to remodel events that would occur during the gallop and just,” Blea said. limited to running”.
This won’t affect racing policy, but this potential modification would apply to racetracks.
Meanwhile, CHRB chief executive Scott Chaney said the year-to-date processing figures are down in part due to above-average rainfall the state receives. Daytime race rates decreased by 11% and night race rates decreased by 15%, for a total reduction of 12%.
Chaney also noted that the CHRB is continuing to plan the launch of the Safety and Integrity Authority’s Drug Control and Anti-Doping and Drug Control program during the Horse Racing on March 27. CHRB coordinated with Horseracing’s Welfare & Integrity Unit and track to establish pilot barn staff training programs.
“For the most part, I don’t think licensees will experience a major shift when it comes to post-race and out-of-competition testing with one exception,” Chaney said. “It’s important to note that any adverse analysis that results in a positive post-race result will result in disqualification. This includes therapeutics and what we can currently categorize. into fourth and fifth.”
The board also decided to stop pursuing a legislative proposal to amend the welfare and health funding mechanisms for runners and manual workers to bring financial stability to the programs. there. This is supported by the Jockeys’ Guild, who feel that as long as they have assurance from the industry that they will help should there be an unexpected need for support.
