GOLDEN GLIMPSES #53 GOLDEN GLIMPSES #53 LESS IS MORE AS SANTA ANITA LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
Anyone who knows which end of a horse eats knows there is too much racing.
Cliff Goodrich knows it. And Santa Anita's president is doing something about it the day after Christmas, when the Arcadia track begins its 60th season, an 86-day meet that runs through April 21.
"Other than Santa Anita Handicap Day, Santa Anita Derby Day and the holiday week, we'll go with nine races a day, but once we kick into the meet after the first of the year, we'll run eight during the week and nine on weekends almost without exception," Goodrich said.
"That's a reduction of about 38 races or some five percent, which should give us another half-a-horse a race or so. If we can average around nine horses a race, we know that's what the fans want."
Okay, so it's not a throwback to the Camptown Races. But it is a start. Question is, will other major tracks follow Santa Anita's lead as the Golden State bids for racing resurgence?
"When we decided on fewer races, our concern was, it probably wasn't going to make a lot of difference if we were the only ones," Goodrich said. "It so happens, the California Horse Racing Board, especially the dates committee led by (CHRB chairman) Ralph Scurfield and (vice-chairman) Don Valpredo, independently feel the same way, that there needs to be a reduction in racing events.
"So once our license was approved on Dec. 6, those that followed us, and it happened to be Golden Gate and Bay Meadows, had restrictions put on them as to the number of races they could run during their meetings. The board is taking a very pro-active role in this, and while Santa Anita more or less did it voluntarily, it looks like others who are less excited about the program are going to be dragged along anyway.
"This will certainly help save the horse inventory, and on paper, should make race cards easier to put together, with more horses in each race," Goodrich continued. "But that remains to be seen. It's just a theory right now. However, (General Manager) Peter Tunney at Golden Gate already has had some success with fewer races. They are pleased with the results. In fact, that was one of things that got us thinking about it."
Down the road, Goodrich sees the industry riding on a state of the art electronic highway.
"I envision strong focus on the Internet. There will be a great deal of communication needed, because there will be those who want to send their signal into every state, regardless of the implications on the track in that state. Others may seek a formula that benefits everyone.
"Then there's inter-active wagering, where bets can be made via telephone and/or television. I think that trails the Internet, to some degree, and I think this will happen in the next five years.
"They're absolutely necessarily if this sport has a chance in the future, because the world is going to be doing inter-active electronics, and if we're not part of that package, we're going to be left in the dust, just like we were 30 years ago when we chose not to get on TV."
That bodes well for the future, but will it stifle on-track attendance, which has continued to plummet alarmingly with the advent of satellite wagering? Goodrich wasn't necessarily buying that.
"In virtually every other sport, attendance in stadiums or arenas has not been negatively impacted because of TV exposure of that sport. I don't think there's a sport out there whose attendance at the venue has been hurt because of television, so why should racing be any different?"
Whatever unfolds in the 21st century, Santa Anita has at least taken a proper first step towards racing's salvation. And, to its unwelcome relief, it has one less concern this meet.
Santa Anita does not have to worry about Holy Bull or Cigar making it to the Big 'Cap.
Talks between the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association and California race tracks regarding simulcasting of races from the tracks to Nevada casinos moved off dead-center Friday, but no agreement was reached on the impasse, which has been in effect through the recent 36-day meet at Hollywood Park and which is likely to continue into the 86-day Santa Anita meet which begins Thursday.
"I would say we had a good meeting," Santa Anita president Cliff Goodrich said of a three-hour session that took place at Santa Anita. "Nothing was solved, but we really didn't expect it to be. However, there was a nice exchange of views and it was an education for both sides.
"There was clearly a willingness to work it out on some basis, but we haven't broken the code yet, so there's still some work to do."
Nevada race books did not carry the race signal throughout the Hollywood Park meet which ended Dec. 22, and barring an 11th-hour settlement, will not have it when Santa Anita opens.
At the heart of the dispute is the percentage the NPA pays for the simulcast of the races, on which wagers are taken by Nevada's race books, and the duration of the contract. The California Horse Racing Board, on behalf of the tracks, recently established a minimum 4.2 percent of handle to be paid to the Southern California tracks, and 3.7 to the Northern California tracks.
Nevada's race books had been paying 3.5 and three percent, respectively.
Among those participating in the meeting, either in person or by telephone, were representatives of the tracks; the NPA; and the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC).
"There was no future meeting date set," Goodrich said, "but that doesn't mean we won't be in touch with each other. This is one of those things that is going to take a creative solution of sorts. Hopefully, somebody will come up with it, whether it's them or us, we really don't care. I think it can be said that both sides want to work this out, and it's just a question of coming up with the right answers."
Asked of the stalemate would be resolved before the meet starts, Goodrich said that was "very unlikely. It's a day-to-day thing we'll keep working on, and I'm sure it will be solved. It's just difficult to say when, but both sides want to solve it."
THE HOMESTRETCH: We hear Wayne Lukas has 100 2-year-olds in his bursting barn, none of which cost less than $200,000. And the under-bidder on Paying Dues, second in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, was none other than Mr. Lukas, whose last bid at the Keeneland September sales was $30,000, allowing Cliff Sise Jr. to take the horse at what has turned out to be a bargain $31,000 . . . Jenine Sahadi was livid with the stewards after the Hollywood Turf Cup. She felt an inquiry was due after Corey Black, aboard her 30-1 pace-setter Wings Bash, had to steady in mid stretch when Chris McCarron blitzed by on 11-1 winner Running Flame. The stewards viewed the incident as "marginal," noting Wings Bash, who faded to sixth, was a beaten horse . . . Now it dawns on me why Walter Greenman "changed his mind" last minute and ran the filly Admise to a third-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile Dahlia Handicap instead of the Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles, a distance to which she is much better suited. Running Flame and Admise are both owned by Gary Biszantz, and perhaps they felt Admise had little chance against the French import, who went on to win by two lengths. Running Flame is trained by Mike Puype, Greenman's former assistant . . . Corey Nakatani shot a nine-over par 80 at Primm Valley Golf Course. Nakatani noted: "Fast greens." . . . Chris Antley, who has not ridden in 10 weeks, is alive and well, reports his agent, Tony Matos. "His weight was up to 118 and he felt burned out. Fortunately, he's well off and can afford to take this much time." Will it be difficult for Antman to re-establish himself? "No," said Matos. "He's a great rider." . . . Father Wally Dollase kidded his 26-year-old son, Craig, after the young trainer saddled three straight winners: "I told him don't do that again."
The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/)
