PLEASANTON, CA — Roughly 5,000 residents and workers of the Alameda County Fairgrounds may need to move by next month, according to reports.

The California Authority of Racing Fairs confirmed Jan. 30 that it will end all Golden State Racing stabling and training operations in Northern California, including at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. That means that many of the staff, who lived in an RV park on the grounds, may have to vacate by March 25. Workers who stay on the site beyond that date could face fines due to wastewater runoff the state has deemed unsafe, according to the Bay Area News Group.

At an emotional meeting of the Alameda County Fairgrounds, workers talked of the pain of having to quickly uproot their families in the middle of the school year.

“A lot of those students are immigrants, they’re already at a disadvantage,” said a tearful speaker, according to the Bay Area News Group. “I feel very strongly about you guys displacing so many people in today’s social environment. It’s high tension everywhere, and this is another thing adding to it.”

Many of the workers have been there for decades, often working with the same horses.
“The horses help me like therapy. And the good people too. I work for good people,” trainer Nicholas Hernandez, who’s been working with horses for 45 years, told ABC7. The horses also need to move by March 25 too, and are currently being dispersed around the country. Last winter, over 900 horses lived on site. Now roughly 350 remain, according to ABC7.

State Assemblywoman Liz Ortega wrote a draft letter to the State Water Quality Control Board asking for it to allow at least 499 horses to remain at the stables to avoid the harmful effects of displacement. Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert, who attended the fairgrounds board meeting, co-signed the letter.