Report: 3 resign from California owners' group over dates plan

Three members of the Thoroughbred Owners of California board of directors resigned their positions Friday after the organization co-signed a proposal that would concentrate racing in Southern California.

Owners Lindsay LaRoche, Ed Moger and Johnny Taboada submitted their resignation in a letter reported and published by Thoroughbred Daily News on Sunday. "It has become clear that the TOC under its current leadership does not represent the interest of Northern California owners," the letter said.

"On January 5th a letter from the TOC and the Southern California racetrack operators was sent to the CHRB requesting the allocation of race dates for late 2024 and 2025. Of course, these race date allocations would pre-empt the opportunity for a racing circuit in the North. The key point here is that this letter was written without our knowledge and despite the fact that the entire board met two days prior," the letter said.

TOC president and CEO Bill Nader said the board members were informed earlier this month that the organization would submit a letter to the CHRB ahead of its Thursday board meeting, according to the TDN report. And he said the letter would outline plans to consolidate racing operations in the South as a contingency “in the event the North does not put forward a viable plan that gains CHRB approval.”

The Jan. 5 letter, published in the meeting packet for the California Horse Racing Board meeting scheduled for Thursday, states an intent to present a racing dates plan "to create opportunity in the Southern Zone during the unoccupied GGF dates," and "includes the introduction of required legislation to allow Los Alamitos the stability to offer new races, aimed at accommodating horses currently racing in the North. Also included is a transition component to provide financial incentives for those moving from the North to the South."

The proposed legislative change for Los Alamitos would allow more extensive nighttime racing for Thoroughbreds, lifting the provision restricting nighttime Thoroughbred races to 4 1/2-furlong races for $5,000 claimers and below or $8,000 maiden claimers. Other parts of the plan to try to make racing in southern California more appealing to northern stables include relocation allowances as well as lowering the claiming floor at Santa Anita and Del Mar.

The agenda for Thursday's meeting includes an item of "discussion and action by the board regarding the allocation of Northern California racing dates for racing year 2024." But the packet does not contain a concrete proposal for dates in the fall and winter, which have not been assigned yet.