As they have for the past several months, post-Hollywood Park racing plans will dominate the agenda for the California Horse Racing Board when it meets Sept. 19 at the Sheraton Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona beginning at 9:30 a.m. PDT.
Board members and industry stakeholders are close to finalizing a proposal for year-round off-track stabling and training once Betfair Hollywood Park closes for good. The Inglewood track is scheduled to shutter for racing at the conclusion of its upcoming autumn meet Dec. 22. It plans to remain open for stabling until at least the end of January 2014 before embarking on a large-scale development project that will result in the demolishment of the 75-year-old racing facility.
Chuck Winner, the CHRB's assistant chairman, said, "We are working on it feverishly," when asked about the status of training plans once Hollywood is no longer in the picture. He declined to discuss specifics, saying negotiations are at a critical stage, but is hopeful he will have a plan to present to the board for approval Thursday.
Representatives from the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Thoroughbred Trainers, Santa Anita Park, Del Mar, Los Alamitos Race Course, San Luis Rey Downs training center, and Fairplex Park have been taking part in the ongoing discussions.
Also on the agenda is a request from Los Alamitos to be allocated two Thoroughbred meets totaling five weeks each in 2014-15. The nighttime Quarter Horse track is proposing expansion of its current track to one mile for Thoroughbred racing consisting of two weeks in early July and three weeks in December.
The board expects to hear from Hollywood representatives as they seek approval for their application to conduct the final meet, which is to begin Nov. 6.
Also on the agenda is finalizing race date requests for Northern California in 2014-15.
In addition to the regular monthly meeting of the board, two committee meetings are also scheduled Sept. 18 at the Sheraton Fairplex Conference Center. The Medication and Track Safety Committee will meet at 2 p.m. and will be followed immediately by a meeting of the Jockey and Driver Welfare Committee.
The public is invited to attend all of the meetings, which will be held at 601 W. McKinley Ave., in Pomona, adjacent to the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. The agendas and supporting packages of materials for these meetings are available at the CHRB website, www.chrb.ca.gov.
An audio-only Webcast of the main board meeting can also be accessed Thursday through the "Webcasts" link on the CHRB website.
