For the first time in four years, the Thoroughbreds are coming back to Cal Expo.
Monday, August 18, 2008
After more than 15 years of uncertainty over its future, Bay Meadows appears headed for its last call. May 11 is the final day of the current spring stand for the oldest continually operating racetrack in California.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The California Horse Racing Board took a major step towards banning supplemental anabolic steroids with the adoption of testing levels for four major substances during its meeting Feb. 28 in Arcadia.
Friday, February 29, 2008
The World Poker Tour has a tournament idea that could be developed for handicappers, the California Horse Racing Board was told Feb. 28.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
In the final race on the final day of the 2007 autumn Hollywood Park meet, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer won the 5,000th race of his career Dec. 22.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Less than two weeks from opening day, construction crews are scrambling to get Santa Anita Park's Cushion Track back in running condition.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
California took a first step toward helping more horses after their racing years with the final approval of a new fund to support the state's equine retirement facilities.
Friday, December 14, 2007
As California continues to wrestle with improving advance deposit wagering, the state welcomed a new provider. TwinSpires.com was awarded an ADW license Oct. 18, making it the fourth company to offer home computer betting on horse racing in the state.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The drunken driver who caused a crash that severed the arm of a groom for Lava Man, the richest claiming horse in Thoroughbred racing history, was sentenced Oct. 4 to five years in state prison.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Hearing complaints from fans and state legislators, the California Horse Racing Board tried to tackle two fronts on how to maintain integrity for the sport: late wagers and board conflicts.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Trying to cure a scheduling headache, the California Horse Racing Board has started planning for the future -- with or without Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park. At an Aug. 10 meeting at Del Mar, the CHRB's dates committee took the first step in piecing together a cohesive three-year calendar.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The California Horse Racing Board has approved a one-year conditional waiver from the state mandate for synthetic surfaces for Bay Meadows.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
The California Horse Racing Board agreed in principle June 19 to a one-year waiver in 2008 from the state's synthetic track mandate for Bay Meadows. But the board can't make it official until its next meeting.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Trying to undo the negative fallout over comments by his company's new CEO, Magna Entertainment founder Frank Stronach pledged $24 million for installation of synthetic racing surfaces at Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields as well as much needed refurbishing of the Santa Anita barn area.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Owners -- along with their trainers -- whose horses have repeated medication violations are subject to tough new penalties under changes given final approval by the California Horse Racing Board April 19.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
One racecourse is apparently closing at the end of the year, a victim of its decision not to install a synthetic racing surface. Then voters rejected the track that would have eventually replaced it. After a tumultuous month for the future of Northern California racing, what happens next?
Sunday, April 22, 2007
With its proposed Dixon Downs racetrack going before the voters of the town of 17,000 on April 17, Magna Entertainment Corp. has offered to turn the track's 14-acre infield into athletic fields open free to community organizations.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
A long-running controversy over toe grabs before the California Horse Racing Board could turn into a referendum on trainer authority.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The California Horse Racing Board has moved forward with its revised equine drug regulations and tougher penalties for offenders.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The fate of Magna Entertainment Corporation's $250 million state-of-the-art racetrack for Northern California will be decided in a special election April 17 by the city of Dixon, a town of 17,500 residents 19 miles west of Sacramento.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The equine herpes virus quarantine continued at three Bay Area tracks Dec. 31 as Northern California horsemen await test results that won't be known until after the New Year's weekend.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Dixon Downs, Magna Entertainment Corp.'s "dream track" for Northern California, got a giant step closer to reality the evening of Oct. 23. But a local group that opposes the project is pushing for a referendum on the project in 2007.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The deceased champion sprinter Lost in the Fog's cancer was much more extensive than originally believed and most likely had been growing for many months. Results of the necropsy, released Oct. 18, showed a gigantic tumor that compromised several of his internal organs.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The owners of the Sacramento Kings and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas - the Maloof brothers - have a new claim to fame: King Palm, who has run second in his last nine races.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Six years after Magna Entertainment Corp. first pitched its idea, Dixon, Calif., city staff officially recommended the approval of Dixon Downs, a $250 million state-of-the-art racetrack and training center proposed for the rural town 20 miles west of Sacramento.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Idaho Gem, the world's first cloned equine, is about to make his racing debut along with his duplicate copy--Idaho Star, another clone created from the same genetic material.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Carthage crashed Lost in the Fog's welcome back party. The former claimer defeated last year's champion sprinter by three lengths Saturday in the $100,000 Oakland
Tribune Golden Gate Fields Sprint.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Swayed by what looks like a speed-packed field, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer announced Saturday that he will enter late-running Cause to Believe in the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Cause to Believe lived up to his name with a come-from-behind victory in Sunday's $250,000 El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) for 3-year-olds at Bay Meadows.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
City officials put their demands on the table Jan. 24 for Dixon Downs, Magna Entertainment's proposed state-of-the-art racetrack and training facility near Sacramento, Calif.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
As expected, the California Horse Racing Board adopted an emergency regulation to reaffirm its authority to add surveillance in stable areas.
Friday, October 07, 2005
How much weight does a horse actually carry in a race? No matter what the program says, nobody seems to know for sure. The California Horse Racing Board hopes an ad hoc committee can help revamp pre-race weigh-in practices.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Thrilling fans and packing stands, Lost in the Fog maintained perfection with his 10th consecutive win, romping to an impressive 7 3/4-length victory before his hometown crowd in Saturday's $100,000 Bay Meadows Speed Handicap.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Adreamisborn continued to show his love for California as the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee got up in the final stride to win Saturday's $125,000 Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. IIIT) on the turf.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Five years after Frank Stronach first pitched his dream of Dixon Downs, Magna Entertainment's model racing and entertainment complex in Northern California reached a significant milestone Sept. 23 with the release of the draft environmental impact report.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Comments made by Sweet Catomine co-owner Marty Wygod after her flop as the odds-on favorite in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) April 9 spurred an investigation into the champion filly's pre-race activities and condition.
Monday, April 11, 2005
At the final session in a series of city-sponsored public workshops March 19, Magna Entertainment presented its updated proposal for Dixon Downs, the $250 million state-of-the-art racetrack and entertainment complex the company wants to build in Dixon, Calif., 20 miles west of Sacramento.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Thoroughbred owners and trainers are willing to forgo racing dates at the State Fair in Sacramento this summer to allow for harness racing, but moving out of Fairplex Park for a new harness meet in Southern California is another matter.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
The California State Fair board plans to swap its Thoroughbred meet this summer for harness racing.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Track operator Capitol Racing, which decided to walk away from its harness meet in Sacramento, is moving on – to Idaho and other breeds.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Four years after it was first proposed, Magna Entertainment's $250 million dream track for Northern California is finally nearing the public hearing stage. A series of meetings on various aspects of the development will be held in 2005, Dixon city officials said at a planning commission meeting Dec. 21.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Ingrid Fermin, an outspoken steward known for her no-nonsense approach, will be the new executive director of the California Horse Racing Board.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Santa Anita Park isn't waiting for a statewide ban to make its stand against "milkshakes." Starting at its upcoming meet that begins Dec. 26, the Arcadia, Calif., track will test every horse in every race for excess bicarbonate in their bloodstreams.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Magna Entertainment Corp. has expressed it intentions to bid on the lease of Cal Expo in Sacramento, Calif., and take over the 10-month-long Standardbred meet.
Friday, September 24, 2004
A proposed tribal mega-casino less than seven miles from Golden Gate Fields spurred a massive lobbying effort from California's $4.5-billion horse racing industry the week of Aug. 23.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Snow Robin, the first Oregon foal sired by Rob 'N Gin, became the 14th white Thoroughbred to be born at Painted Desert Farm in Redmond.
Saturday, January 31, 2004
Taking another step in a lengthy approval process, Magna Entertainment publicly rolled out its detailed plans for Dixon Downs, a $250 million "dream track" prototype for the company's future development.
Friday, October 10, 2003
