The California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) voted unanimously this week not to apply for 2025 racing dates. Coupled with the recent announcements that “Golden State Racing” (GSR) is folding after just one season and that Pleasanton will end its stabling/training in March, this could mean the end of horseracing in the whole of Northern California. In a press release, CARF said:
“After making the difficult decision not to submit future race meet applications, CARF announces that it has directed staff to reorganize operations to focus on addressing current obligations…. This difficult decision was based upon an assessment of financial challenges incurred in the GSR race meet as well as current obstacles facing the horse racing industry.”
And, the predictable reaction. The Humboldt County Fair’s Andy Titus, in BloodHorse:
“There’s a bunch of livelihoods that are on the line here. I mean, what are those people gonna do? If these horses and these people had a spot in Santa Anita, they’d already be there. … How many people’s lives will be affected and touched if horse racing goes away in Northern California? I just think it would be astronomical, and I mean, I think if it goes, guess what? The south is next if the domino of the north falls. The south is right behind it because it’s a broken business model in California.”
No sympathy here, Mr. Titus – and here’s to those dominoes falling…
