In the letter dated March 19, Craig Fravel, executive vice-chairman of 1\/ST Racing & Gaming, told the CHRB in no uncertain terms that their decision would have serious repercussions on racing in California.<\/p>\n
An analysis of alternative uses for Santa Anita and San Luis Rey will be undertaken in short order [if racing is allocated to the north],\u201d<\/strong> Fravel wrote. \u201cThe current financial model and required capital expense make no sense and the consolidation of operations as discussed last year and at the January Board meeting is the only alternative that has been presented.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe letter was worded so strongly because a bill working its way through the state legislature would divert simulcast money from Northern California to Southern California in the event there is no racing in the North.<\/p>\n
The Stronach Group intends to contribute to the paucity of racing in Northern California by closing down its Bay Area racetrack, Golden Gate Fields, in June.<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s not clear whether Stronach was serious about closing down Santa Anita, or was employing some strategic brinksmanship. Either way, the strategy blew up in its face.<\/p>\n
Landslide Decision <\/strong><\/h2>\nA vote that was by no means assured to go against its interests \u2013 to grant racing dates for a 10-week meeting at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton this fall \u2013 ultimately became a unanimous decision in favor of Northern California.<\/p>\n
It seems the CHRB isn’t to be threatened, as its six board members let Fravel know during Friday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Thomas Hudnut complained Fravel was unfairly trying to set up the CHRB as \u201cdeterminant for [Santa Anita] to go out of business.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cBecause if you go out of business, it\u2019s because of mismanagement, not because of this board,\u201d he emphasized, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.<\/em><\/p>\nCommissioner Damascus Castellanos said the letter \u201cbothered him\u201d and was \u201cnot cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we have the north against the south, and I received a lot of calls,\u201d Castellanos said. \u201cI\u2019m not upset because of the calls. I\u2019m upset because I don\u2019t do well with bullies \u2026 The bottom line is we need to work together. We need to figure out how to keep racing in California. Not just Northern, not just Southern, but in California.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week, the owner of Southern California\u2019s Santa Anita Racetrack threatened to close the famous venue if the state Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted to grant racing dates for a meeting in Northern California. On Friday, the CHRB went ahead and approved the dates anyway. It was a \u201cstunning rebuke\u201d to Santa Anita\u2019s owner, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":315313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,61,13592,86433],"tags":[90329,90331,90330,90327,90328],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Stronach Group Threat to Close Down Santa Anita Blows Up<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n