From LA Times
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 1, 2013) – Gov. Jerry Brown approved a number of measures related to horse racing. One bill, by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), could put the Del Mar race track in the running to host the prestigious Breeders’ Cup.
The measure, AB 1074, enables the California Horse Racing Board to divvy up the 2014 and 2015 racing dates previously allocated to Inglewood’s Hollywood Park, which is set to close in December. Del Mar, which has never hosted a Breeders’ Cup, could be poised to snag the 2015 contest. Its allotment for that year includes dates in the late-fall period when the two-day event is traditionally held.
The wooing has already begun. Josh Rubenstein, chief operating officer of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Racing Club, said representatives of the track had their first official meeting with the Breeders’ Cup board in June. This year’s cup will be held Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita. The Arcadia track also will host in 2014.
Acting on a related bill, Brown signed SB 819, which allows parimutuel wagering on non-thoroughbred races on the day that the Breeders’ Cup races are run at the host venue in California. The bill by the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization also allows accounts set aside for promotion and support of the Breeders’ Cup to be used for payment of purses in Breeders’ Cup World Championship races.