Santa Anita not on its feet yet
The end of 2010 promised Santa Anita Park of a new start as it had acquired a new dirt track. The state of California gave a special allowance to Santa Anita, as by law, all tracks are required to have a synthetic surface. However,
due to various reasons, Santa Anita was allowed this privilege and after installation, the track cleared all safety and security checks and it was consequently given a go-ahead.
All the enthusiasm about the dirt track became the cause of several optimistic speculations. Santa Anita had advertised a 25% increase in the purses this season, but the original figure is nowhere near the mark yet. Santa Anita
has an overall handle of 17%. Similarly, the field sizes have not experienced any significant increase; rather, they are disappointingly low.
As of now, Santa Anita has seen 12 days of racing out of its scheduled 76 days. The racetrack may experience an improvement in the prospects, but after examining the situation thoroughly, this notion seems a bit far-fetched.
However, a number of factors have been cited as the cause of Santa Anita’s present condition. According to some people, the adverse weather conditions that have gripped the whole country have led to a decrease in the betting figures.
Moreover, frost, snow and rain have made betters uncertain and insecure about their betting decisions. Therefore, some have thought it prudent not to make any bet at all.
A second, more concrete reason is the boycott that is going on in the state of California. The boycott is being conducted by the horseplayers against racing in California. The stimulant of this boycott was a new bill that has recently
been passed. According to the said bill, the takeout on some particular bets has increased by as much as 3%. Consequently, a number of bettors have gone shy of indulging in betting.
Roger Way, who is the representative of the Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA), had the following words to say about the boycott that is being conducted, “We don't want to boycott. We don't want to harm California
racing permanently. We don't want to harm the little guy who works at the track, or the tellers or anything. It's the decision makers who we're after, and they're making wrong decisions and causing this game very much distress."
The boycott has taken place in order to pressurize the California Horse Racing Board as well as the Thoroughbred Owners of California into taking steps that would be favourable to betting conditions in California. According to
Way, the CHRB and the TOC both have not been cooperative when attempts were made previously to have a meeting in which the HANA could discuss their problems. Way also added that those two organizations do not think that a collaboration of horse players would
be in their interests.
Keith Brackpool, the chairman of CHRB gave a recent statement in which he indicated that a meeting with HANA may be possible in the future. According to Brackpool, “The California Horse Racing Board appreciates input from HANA
and other fans. In fact, the CHRB has an obligation to listen to the public at large. At the same time, we understand that at least one race track has met with HANA and will continue to do so. The CHRB encourages such dialogue."
However, nothing is certain in the future. The horse racing industry in California only have a few glimmers of hope that may have difficulty materializing if things go on like this. Unfortunately, Santa Anita will also have to
follow the same fate.
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