NEWS

Industry News

Most Popular Stories

Most E-mailed Stories

Stronach seeks 140 dates for Santa Anita

Posted: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 5:51 PM

by Jeff Lowe

Frank Stronach has requested permission from the California Horse Racing Board for MI Developments Inc.'s two California racetracks, Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita Park, to each be allowed to race a minimum of 140 dates.

Echoing a call for less regulation that was a major theme in Stronach’s CHRB meeting appearance last month, the MI Developments chairman said the company should have the opportunity to devise its own schedule.

“We must be allowed to run those race days when we think we can get the most customers,” Stronach said in the letter dated July 1. (To read Stronach's full letter to the CHRB, click here.)

Santa Anita was allotted 83 dates in the 2009-’10 meet from December 26 to April 18. The track also has been leased to the Oak Tree Racing Association from September 29 to October 31 this fall, but MI Developments has indicated that it wants to discontinue its relationship with Oak Tree after this year.

Santa Anita could be a candidate to pick up live dates from Hollywood Park, which has been earmarked for development, but Hollywood’s development plans are uncertain because of the struggling economy.

“Naturally we do not seek any special status and believe that any other track should be able to compete for the same customers,” Stronach said. “We have no concerns if other tracks receive the same arrangement as MI Developments.”

Golden Gate ran 115 dates from December 26 to June 13 and is scheduled to host 27 dates from August 25 to October 3 and 45 dates from October 20 to December 19.

Stronach also reiterated his desire to offer exotic wagers with large guaranteed payouts. He referred to a quadruple quadfecta in the CHRB meeting.

“If we can come to an arrangement whereby we are permitted to race 140 days per year at each of our two California racetracks and have an exotic wagering platform, we would be willing to invest more money in California horse racing,” Stronach said.

CHRB Chairman Keith Brackpool told the Pasadena Star-News that legal counsel from the board and MI Developments are working on provisions that would satisfy the company’s insistence on confidentiality.

Santa Anita also is undergoing repairs to its troubled synthetic surface. MI Developments is considering a surface that would have a subsurface irrigation system to pump moisture into the track from underneath.

Santa Anita President George Haines told the Pasadena newspaper that MI Developments would test the system at Portland Meadows, which will have live racing from October 4 through next March. Stronach previously said he hoped to test the system at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida this winter.

Haines said the earliest the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita could be replaced is by the start of the winter-spring meet on December 26.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer