California Horse Racing Board denies Ferndale, Fresno dates

At a meeting Thursday, the California Horse Racing Board voted against a pair of proposals for Northern California racing dates. These included a proposal for a meeting at Ferndale and another for dates at Fresno. The failure of these proposals likely means there will be no racing in Northern California.

Both proposals failed by votes of 4-3. Commissioners who voted against them included CHRB chair Gregorry Ferraro, Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos and Thomas Hudnut. Commissioners who voted for the Northern California meetings included vice chair Oscar Gonzales, Brenda Washington Davis and Peter Stern. The vote was previously reported by T. D. Thornton of Thoroughbred Daily News.

It was the third straight month that the board had voted against proposals for racing in Northern California. In April, the board voted against a meeting at Pleasanton. There were not enough votes to cement a decision either way about a Ferndale meet in April, though the board voted down an August-September meet there at the May meeting.

The denied Fresno dates request covered seven live racing days in September and October, with opening day Sept. 19 and closing day Oct. 1. The Ferndale request that was denied was for six live racing days in October, spread across three weekends, with opening day on Oct. 11 and closing day Oct. 26.

After the closing of Golden Gate Fields in 2024 by owner The Stronach Group, there has been a push to consolidate racing in southern California. A fall 2024 meeting at Pleasanton drew disappointing handle, and since then there has not been another meeting approved for northern California.

The issues and arguments both for and against the proposed northern meets were largely unchanged from previous discussions. Proponents believed those race meets would attract horses from Washington and other nearby states, and most importantly, possibly bring back horses that were forced to leave after the closure of Golden Gate Fields and the Pleasanton stabling and training center. Opponents argued that those predictions were not realistic and that racing programs in Ferndale and Fresno would be a financial disaster that would drain off resources from a rebounding circuit in Southern California.

In casting his negative vote, Commissioner Hudnut summed up the prevailing attitude of a majority of the board with the comment, “I just want to assure you that there isn't a commissioner up here who wouldn't like to see racing in the north, at the fairs, and in the south. At the moment, we have a problem with the viability of horse racing in this state, regardless of where it is (and) in the final analysis, it's not about horses. Unfortunately, it's about money.”

Vice chair Gonzales, a passionate supporter of northern racing, responded by saying, “I appreciate what you're saying, (but) I just think this board decided Ferndale didn't matter again.”

Commissioner Alfieri held out that hope that given time for a possible change in circumstances, the board might reconsider any proposals for race meets in the north.