Report: Owner renews effort to revive Northern Calif. racing

Ten months after the last Thoroughbred race was run in Northern California, a prominent horseman reportedly is pitching state regulators with a new idea to resurrect the sport there, even at a track that has held unsanctioned races.

George Schmitt, a leading breeder and owner, told Daily Racing Form he will ask the California Horse Racing Board next month to authorize a schedule for as many as five county-fair tracks starting in May. One of those venues would be in Tehama County, which hosts the annual Red Bluff Roundup rodeo and some exhibition horse races.

Schmitt proposes to race at Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, Ferndale, Fresno and Red Bluff, where the footprint of an existing track would have to be rushed up to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority standards.

“I’m not worried about the money right now,” Schmitt told DRF’s Steve Andersen. “We have put together a program.”

Racing dates for 2026 already were awarded this month to Santa Anita, Del Mar and Los Alamitos, mirroring the Southern California schedule that has been in place this year. The main difference is the Breeders’ Cup, which is at Del Mar next week and scheduled in 2026 for Keeneland in Kentucky.

Schmitt has tried and failed to resurrect Northern California racing since a first-time fall meet limped through its trial season at Pleasanton last year. Southern California interests who have the backing of most of the CHRB do not want to share the state’s advanced-deposit wagering and simulcast revenue, which only would happen on days when there are live races in the north.