With the imminent closure of the Alameda County Fairgrounds’ horse stables in the next month, trainers like Ruby Thomas are getting ready to pack up and leave after recently receiving their eviction notices.

As a lifelong trainer, Thomas told the Weekly that in her 75 years she has never seen anything like what she is currently seeing at the fairgrounds — a total mismanagement of funds and decision-making from organizations that led to the cancellation of horse racing in Pleasanton this year.

“They’re causing a lot of heartache for a lot of people, myself included,” Thomas said.

Back in January, the California Association of Racing Fairs announced it was not going to pursue any horse racing meets this year.

More commonly known as CARF, it is a joint-powers authority that conducts business activity with fair associations and also represents the horse racing industry.

Since CARF’s announcement, Thomas had to lay off two people who worked with her and has had to reduce the number of horses she trains from 12 down to six.

But now, the Alameda County Fairgrounds announced it would need to end horse training and stabling altogether on March 25. Thomas said she has to pack everything up and be fully out by March 28.

During an emotional Feb. 11 Alameda County Ad Hoc Agricultural Fair Association Committee meeting, former CARF board chair and current CEO of the fairgrounds Jerome Hoban tried to explain how CARF rallied to try to put together the year of racing following the closing of Golden Gate Fields — the horse racing track in Berkeley that had typically hosted these horse meets — late last year.

Hoban said it was their intention to make Pleasanton the new hub for horse racing in Northern California. But in the end, he said the economics of horse racing — and the fact that CARF was losing money to the point where it needed a reorganization — led them to where they are now.

“None of us want horse racing to go away,” John Smith, vice president of the fairgrounds’ board of directors, said during the Feb. 11 meeting. “We’re faced with a situation where we can’t afford it or we’re going to bankrupt ourselves.”

But it’s not just the horses and their trainers who have to leave the fairgrounds by March 25 — it’s families as well who live in the RV park at the county fairgrounds.

According to the Alameda County Fairgrounds, there are about 120 people and 45 RVs on the Fairgrounds involved with horse racing — other guests who stay in the RV park are not included in that number.

In the statement, the fairgrounds said the RV park — which is not a permanent residence — currently accommodates about “45 recreational vehicles associated with horse racing, along with other public guests.”

The statement claimed that no evictions have been considered and that the RV Park will remain open to all guests as a public facility.

“According to the Fairgrounds, there have been no eviction letters sent out,” Liz Rosinski, who handles public relations for the fairgrounds, told the Weekly. “I believe there was a clean up letter that was sent out regarding the stable closure, so it’s possible that is what they are referring to.”

However, that’s not what Thomas told the Weekly.

“They gave us eviction notices,” she said referring to herself and other horse trainers like herself.

During the Feb. 11 meeting, several public speakers pleaded with committee members to give them more time before having to move. Many said the roughly one month’s notice to vacate was too soon and that families who have children going to school would be negatively affected by the sudden notice to evict.

Many speakers at that meeting also said they felt blindsided by the news that they were getting evicted and said there was a lack of communication from the fairgrounds and from CARF. 

“We recognize that the closure of the stables will impact some families, and we remain committed to working with the County and other support services to assist them during this transition,” the fairgrounds stated.

Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert also went over how the fairground’s wastewater was found out of compliance with local discharge regulations and that the runoff water with high levels of pollution is another reason why people are being evicted.

“The wastewater has been determined to be out of compliance with the discharge regulations so we can’t discharge water,” Haubert said. “At some point, I believe, there is meant to be a solution for this, but we don’t have it yet.”

According to Haubert’s chief of staff, Shawn Wilson, the supervisor has been working since the meeting to find solutions to make sure employees and workers do not get displaced on March 25.

“The supervisor understands there is a water compliance issue with the State Water Quality Control Board and he has asked the state legislature to assist in any capacity that they can, the last thing we want to see is that impoverished kids and families are displaced and removed from school,” Wilson said.

One possible solution that was tossed around at the Feb. 11 meeting came from a local horse trainer, George Schmitt, who offered the county fair $2 million to cover solely the operating costs to keep the grounds and stables open for horses. He noted during the meeting that this could go toward races that run only on the weekends, which seemed like a great idea to trainers like Thomas.

“We’re willing to compromise,” she said. 

“If the fair runs, believe me I’ll be back,” Thomas added. “This is home — for all of us — but we all have to leave.”

Wilson said Schmitt’s proposal currently stands and that Haubert shared the plan with the county. But he said there doesn’t seem to be any plans to move forward with it as of yet.

“At this point, with time being of the essence, the Alameda County Fair Board of Directors would need to accept George Schmitt’s proposal by virtue of a ‘yes’ vote by the Fair Board of Directors,” Wilson said. “But we do not set the agenda for those meetings and we are not sure if the executive director of the Alameda County Fairgrounds has or will place this on any future agendas.”