by Cynthia McFarland

South Florida-based trainers have long relied on the two-year-old sales at Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. to build and restock their stables. The current standoff between Calder Race Course-based horsemen and track owner Churchill Downs Inc., however, changed the way some trainers are shopping at the OBSC June sale of two-year-olds and horses of racing age, which concludes Wednesday.

The Calder  meet, which opened April 21, has been marked by disputes regarding division of advanced-deposit-wagering money and future slot-machine revenue. Florida horsemen have blocked Churchill from sending its signal out for out-of-state simulcasting, while Churchill responded with a 30% purse cut due to decreased mutuel handle.
 
“There is absolutely no question that because there’s no contract in effect and because purses are at an all-time low, it’s not only affecting people who train at Calder, but also the owners who buy horses and the sales that sell horses,” said trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. “It’s a trickle-down effect. If one person doesn’t go to the sale, it has an indirect affect on me because that’s one less horse to fill an entry in a race I might run in.”

Plesa said he hopes to buy one horse on Wednesday.

“It’s made me scale back in buying horses. Money I would have spent on two-year-olds, I’m spending some of that claiming older horses,” Plesa said. “I’m fortunate because I have a division of horses up in New Jersey. But New Jersey is not a two-year-old oriented place. Their two-year-old racing is nowhere near what Calder is.”

Following a recent meeting between the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and Churchill Downs Inc. officials, some trainers are hopeful that a resolution will be reached soon. The Florida HBPA currently is unable to comment due to a gag order.

“I do think the Calder situation will somewhat affect this sale, but because this is the last two-year-old sale of the year down here, maybe it won’t affect things as much as it did in April [at the OBSC spring sale of two-year-olds in training],” said trainer Bill Kaplan, who buys regularly at OBSC training sales.

“I think it affected me in April because a lot of my owners wanted to wait and see … There’s some optimism for a resolution soon, but you never know until it gets signed.”

Trainer Kathleen O’Connell said the impasse has had a serious impact on the Florida racing and breeding industry.

“People are worried about what’s going on. It affects everyone—breeders, trainers, owners,” O’Connell said. “Usually, I’m up here buying for four owners. This year I’m buying for one.

“Obviously, the purses in Florida were sub par with the rest of the country when this thing started. Everyone needs to pull together because it affects us all.”

Cynthia McFarland is a Florida-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent