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Last week I focused largely on whether or not horse racing is gone from Pleasanton forever.
I felt like there was no better person to talk with about horse racing in Pleasanton/Northern California than George Schmitt, the patron saint of those who want to believe there’s a chance.
He has almost singlehandedly kept the fight alive while so many others have been quick to pronounce the sport dead on arrival and gone forever.
Of course, these are the same people who have always had all the answers and are never wrong about anything – ever.
Schmitt is the person you need to talk with if you want to hope for the best, and that’s why I took the time to meet him last week for about 90 minutes.
He is also a person who will be candidly honest when it comes to horse racing. When he tells me it’s done, then it’s time to give up hope.
Schmitt’s Bernal Park Racing and the BPR Foundation are the organizational structure that carries forward the hopes of racing in Pleasanton again. Here are some questions that need to be answered, with the answers coming from information Schmitt gave me, some in direct quotes, mixed in with information I know to be fact.
Not speculation, but factual information, regardless of what you hear from others.
Is there a clear pathway for horse racing to return to Pleasanton?
Yes, but it’s not an easy one and we won’t know if it’s possible until mid-July at the earliest. This path cannot be disclosed right now, but it is there and has been explained to me. It is extensive and far deeper than most would begin to know about.
Would it just be Pleasanton and the Alameda County Fair that has horse racing?
Other county fairs could be back in the game, but Pleasanton is the key. Schmitt has talked with Tehama County, Fresno, Humboldt, and even Stockton and Santa Rosa – all expressed interest. He was adamant that it all depends on Pleasanton.
Even if there is a decision made to try to run races at the Alameda County Fair next year, the California Horse Racing Board still needs to award racing dates. What’s the chance that happens?
Obviously, this is a major hurdle and given the power in California horse racing resides in the south, it will be an uphill battle at the least. But never underestimate the power of the government and if things swing the right way politically, Northern California might not be in a bad spot.
Throw in that Santa Anita has committed to holding the equestrian events for the 2028 Summer Olympics and reports have that it will take 6-18 months to prepare the facilities, conceivably closing Santa Anita to horse racing for an extended period. Where do those horses run?
OK, another question that needs to be answered is, say everything breaks right, there would still need to be horses to run the races. Where will those come from?
Schmitt’s exact words: “We have a problem in the state – horses.” Schmitt mentioned that the state is down to a foal crop of about 1,000 horses, and even if every one of those horses ended up racing, it would take three years before most would be ready to run. Schmitt also said there are 500 Cal-Breds out of state right now.
But in the same sentence he said that before Pleasanton opted not to seek dates this year, there were 40 trainers committed to bringing in 502 horses in, which would have been more than enough for the summer. With all those horses gone for a year now, that number figures to shrink by next summer.
There were plenty of mistakes made with Fair racing and many more with the ill-fated Golden State Racing where Pleasanton flirted ever so shortly with running horse racing without the Fair. How is that avoided should there be another chance?
According to Schmitt: “There would need to be a change in who runs things.” Without a doubt. Golden State Racing was destined to fail from the start and played out exactly that way. Those running the show must be doing it out of a genuine love for the sport and for the racing community, two things that were painfully missing.
As of now, nothing is set other than there is a pathway for racing in Pleasanton, but it is loaded with obstacles. It’s a journey that is worth fighting for, and it’s important to race fans to know there still are people fighting for it, and to keep the faith.
Like I said above, more will be known by mid-July and be sure I will update everyone on where everything stands.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
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