From CHRB
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 22, 2024) — The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, Thomas Hudnut, and Wendy Mitchell.
The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link, accessed through the Media Room tab. In brief:
- After industry stakeholders failed to agree on a formula for financing the CHRB budget ($18,223,000 for fiscal-year 2024-25), the Board imposed a formula that complies with state statutes, while giving some relief to smaller racing operations. In short, all tracks will pay the costs of their own stewards and official veterinarians, as well as equine drug testing for their meets, but the major Southern California racetracks will shoulder a large share of other CHRB expenses, such as investigators, licensing personnel, and headquarters operations.
Two things brought this matter to a head. First, the Southern California thoroughbred tracks said they would no longer voluntarily shoulder a disproportionate share of the CHRB budget. Second, the closure of Golden Gate Fields and the loss of its contribution to the CHRB budget required a reevaluation of the formula.
Given the compromise decided by the Board, no racetrack got exactly what it wanted. The racing commissioners were somewhat sympathetic to the smaller operations, such as northern fairs, which was why they reached a compromise solution. But they held firm on assigning certain costs in compliance with statutes, which require each racetrack to pay for its own stewards, official veterinarians, and drug testing.
CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney summarized the outcome with the comment, “In my view, the Board was able to strike a good balance of equity, legal compliance, and ameliorating what could have been an even bigger financial imposition on NorCal thoroughbreds and night racing associations. My guess is that no association was over the moon with the decision, and for a regulator, that is generally a fair, appropriate outcome.”
Chaney also said, “I would be remiss in not recognizing the permanent closure of Golden Gate fields a little less than two weeks ago. Horses first ran at Golden Gate in 1941, and many owners, trainers, jockeys, racing officials, and horses both launched their careers at the Albany track and raced at the storied facility. We have appreciated Golden Gate Fields’ commitment to safety and will miss its presence on the California horseracing landscape.
- Scott Daruty, president of Elite Turf Club, and Bill Nader, president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), led an informative, one-hour discussion of computer-assisted wagering (CAW), providing details about how it works, its impact on wagering in California, and methods of regulating it. Several commissioners asked penetrating questions. Vice Chair Gonzales said the CHRB would be sending follow-up questions to Elite and the TOC and asked the public to direct any questions on this subject to CHRB Public Inquiries <information@chrb.ca.gov>
- The Board approved the license application for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to operate a race meet that will run from July 20 through September 8. DMTC President Josh Rubinstein noted that for the first time in Del Mar history, the meet will open on a Saturday, July 20, due to the later completion of the San Diego County Fair on July 7. A minimum amount of time between the close of the fair and the opening of racing is required to make the track surfaces safe for horses and riders.
- The Board also approved three license applications for fair meets, two of which added at least one more week to their schedules, using weeks that became available after the closure of Golden Gate Fields. The California Exposition and State Fair will operate a meet at Cal Expo from July 12 through July 28; the Sonoma County Fair meet will operate from August 2 through August 18; the Humboldt County Fair will operate a meet in Ferndale from August 23 through September 8, and will sponsor a fourth week of racing in Fresno.
- The Board authorized three horse sales: the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association sale at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton on August 13, the Fasig-Tipton sale at Fairplex in Pomona on September 24, and the Los Alamitos Equine Sale at Los Alamitos on October 5 and 6.
- The Board approved two new mini-satellite wagering operations: Gaslamp Tavern in San Diego and McBears Social Club in El Cerrito. With the closure of Golden Gate, the El Cerrito location is particularly important because El Cerrito is just north of Golden Gate and will give bettors in that area an alternative to traveling further to the nearest other wagering facilities in Santa Rosa, Pleasanton, or San Mateo.
- Chaney reported that “nearly six full months into the calendar, I am compelled to point out to the Board that fatalities are the rise as compared to last year, which were also greater than 2022. While compared to 2019, the five-year picture remains very good, the more recent numbers are slightly concerning. Racing and training musculoskeletal-related fatalities, which are the best parameter of regulatory effectiveness, are up from 16 last year to 22 this year through this morning. Non-musculoskeletal fatalities are even, meaning overall there are six more than at this point last calendar year. This is a reminder that all stakeholders must redouble their efforts to protect equine athletes and that our work as a Board is never done. To that end, two new rules will go into effect on July 1. First, CHRB rule 1866.3 requires that an attending veterinarian perform diagnostic imaging within seven days of injecting a corticosteroid into a high motion joint (knees and fetlocks). The CHRB views restrictions on intra-articular injections, particularly those involving corticosteroids and/or high motion joints, as critical to the promotion of animal welfare. Second, CHRB rule 1846.5 creates a regulatory requirement for owners and trainers to report equine fatalities within 72 hours of a horse leaving a CHRB regulated facility. Such monitoring and reporting has been a practice of ours for some time, but in less than two weeks it becomes a requirement.”
In closing, Chaney said he “would like to congratulate Commissioner Mitchell on her appointment to the California Medical Board. She is certainly willing to take on some of the tougher appointments in California state government. And the California Horse Racing Board is fortunate that she has served over the last 5 years. Both the Board and stakeholders have learned to appreciate her direct analysis, her insight, and her perspective. And I personally have valued her counsel, good humor, and friendship.”