AUBURN, Wash.–The headline in the local edition of The Seattle Times on Wednesday, June 19, 1996 was full of elan as it fired off a bold prediction the day before the opening, “Racetrack Will Help Put Auburn On The Map.”
The building of Emerald Downs, which replaced the venerable and beloved oval at Longacres, was set to anchor development in the region and usher in a new era for the city which the paper said would attract “gamblers, shoppers and spectators.”
Some folks quoted were optimistic about the wiping away of a “blue-collar and backward” past in Auburn, while others were concerned about “traffic and pollution.” An adjoining article offered suggestions about the best ways to get to Emerald Downs. How did they do it back in the dark ages before smartphones?
One source who was a bit tongue-and-cheek said about the building boom, “I'm waiting for the blue herons. When they start leaving, I'm going.”
On Sunday, Emerald Downs celebrated a pearl milestone event with the opening of its 30th season. The total handle came in at $894,464, which was the highest in two years, and the seven-race card with five and six-horse fields did nothing to dampen the spirits of the crowd that assembled. The base who clearly love coming out to the paddock and bellowing at the top of their lungs as runners reached the stretch, proved once again that this sport is far from dead and buried.
“Through our promotions and the experiences we offer here it's so gratifying to see people coming out for our 30th season because their support is essential and so is having the horses to put on the track,” Emerald President Phil Ziegler said.
Dean Mazzuca, who operates an Emerald syndicate, added, “I'll haul people I meet for the first time down to the winner's circle to get their picture taken and they have the time of their lives. All of them come back after that.”
Headwinds At 30
Despite being a beautiful facility where you can see bald eagles nest on light poles, there are headwinds at Emerald Downs and some complicated sailing ahead. The once robust state-bred breeding program is now in tatters. At one point not so long ago, it was ranked fifth in the nation and touted some 40-plus sires for its stallion series. Now, there are eight and filling a Washington-bred race is difficult.
Then there is the much-publicized situation with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). As TDN's Dan Ross reported on the recent HISA Budget Town Hall, the regulator has changed its methodology when it comes to assessing costs to racetracks, and the move will shift next year to one based solely on the percentage of annual racing starts. As HISA officials visited Emerald over the weekend, the story is ongoing and is full of uncertainty when it comes to paying the bill when it comes due.
Blaine Wright | JN Campbell
What is known is that long gone are the days when a powerful racing archipelago linked the sport year round. The same story has played out in other locales that lost key portions of their circuit. Now, the Auburn track survives on its own. Like the Baltimore Colts, Longacres disappeared in the night and was suddenly sold. Out east, Yakima Meadows and Playfair Race Course were shuttered along with the fair circuit tracks like Sun Downs.
“We are on an island here,” said trainer Blaine Wright. “With the closure of California racing in the north, it has really made that trek to Santa Anita and down to Turf Paradise a challenge. The number of racing days is fixed at 51 here because purses can't support additional days, so this season lasts through Sept. 7, but the days are spread out. I am considering just taking the winter off. I'm going to have to make a tough decision about where to go next. Simply heading down to these other tracks is not easy to pull off.”
Island Life At 30
Other stalwart trainers who have been successful at Emerald like Frank Lucarelli and Tom Wenzel also echoed how tough shipping and uprooting your family can be.
“When you are from Washington and it's your home you want to be there,” said Wenzel. “We all have families and leaving them behind is not that easy. Maintaining separate residences is costly and I can tell you right now that everything across the board is 30% more expensive. The economics of this doesn't make any sense. We need to raise our purses to make this more competitive and that just hasn't happened.”
Tom Wenzel | JN Campbell
As the Turf Paradise meet winds down this next week, Lucarelli is making preparations to transition his string back to Emerald Downs. One of the positives for him is having a string that is already in shape. Instead of wasting valuable time conditioning his runners in Auburn all will arrive ready to run. The veteran conditioner said that Turf Paradise has become a winter refuge, but the costs are high. Even thinking about Santa Anita or Del Mar isn't as easy as it might seem.
“Here's the thing, going to California isn't all it's cracked up to be because if you take a handful of horses down there and enter them at the level they belong then there is a really good chance they are going to get claimed off of you,” he said. “If they can't compete at higher levels then there is no point in going.”
All three Emerald-based trainers said they loved their home track and having almost 700 horses on the property now with the potential for the barns to reach their capacity at 1200 could certainly be interpreted as a positive.
“I am telling all my California folks that I have gotten to know at Golden Gate before it closed and down at Santa Anita to come to Washington. Maybe it will happen and we have a chance to create an even more competitive place in our own backyard.”
Emerald's Past At 30
Speaking of the spirit of competition, a carefully curated Hall of Fame to Washington racing stands inside the grandstand at Emerald. Walking by it and seeing the names of horse and human alike that gave it their all is a reminder that time can stand still if we are patient enough to take it in. Certainly change is always in the offing and much that goes on is probably not what we expected. There is something else though that is important at Emerald Downs on the start of its 30th season and it has to do with the people who love the horses.
Hugh Wales (left) with Frank Lucarelli | JN Campbell
The spirit of racing lives in Auburn just like it does at any racetrack, but it is flesh and blood too. Walking around the place you could run into former founders like Jack Hodge who fondly remembers designing the building in the early 1990s and carries such pride that the horsemen in the state came together to save the industry. Or you could converse with Doug Moore, who has spent over 50 years in the business–first as a jockey–and is currently the Washington Horse Racing Commission Chair.
If you go to Emerald you have to marvel at the aura that surrounds the Director of Publicity Joe Withee, whose passion for the place seeps out of his pores. You know when he talks about racing in this part of the world he really cares.
How about sitting and listening to Steward Donny Smith. His stories of how his father rode with George “The Iceman” Woolf at Santa Anita and the days of record-keeping by hand channel something out of a Laura Hillenbrand book. Finally, if you want a crash course in the perils of jockeying and a good anecdote about the inner workings of a jocks' room then senior investigator for the commission Hugh Wales is your man.
The people who lived the history are there.
Emerald Downs is an island, but it is still currently on the map. There is time to visit since–like the blue herons–the Thoroughbreds haven't left yet.
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