In an era when corporate-controlled entities are actively looking for ways to close down much larger racetracks in various areas throughout America, the Humboldt County Fair Association–better known as Ferndale–stood out in recent months for its dogged desire to get approval to run a three-weekend race meet at the Northern California half-miler, even after the other county fairs tracks on the once-robust circuit had abandoned or were forced out of racing for 2025.
But against the stated backdrop of a desire to promote “single-circuit” California racing by directing revenue from simulcasting and account wagering to supplement purses at larger venues in the south, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday quashed hopes for the traditional late-summer season at Ferndale, voting 4-3 against awarding Aug. 13-Sept. 2 dates to the track.
Ferndale's management has consistently portrayed a loss of racing there as a severe blow to the local community, and supporters have cited the denial of dates to the last remaining track that wants to cater to NorCal interests as a long-term blow to the state's racing and breeding interests.
“Big mistake. Big, big mistake,” said a deflated and exasperated CHRB vice-chair Oscar Gonzales moments after the tally was read into the record at the May 15 meeting.
The vote that nixed racing at Ferndale was preceded by substantial back-and-forth testimony from stakeholders on both sides of the argument, which largely carried over many of the same points articulated at the Apr. 17 CHRB meeting.
Last month the board had voted down a summer race-dates allocation for a meet at Pleasanton. A separate Apr. 17 agenda item also didn't garner enough votes for the Ferndale request to be decided either way, which is why the Ferndale request was on the CHRB agenda for the second straight month.
Commissioners and stakeholders were once again divided on the best path forward for California racing as a whole, widening an existential North-vs.-South rift that opened nearly two years ago when The Stronach Group, which also owns Santa Anita Park, announced plans to shutter Golden Gate Fields.
The central issue revolves around whether the state's racing and breeding would be better off continuing the single-circuit method of nearly year-round meets situated in SoCal (Santa Anita, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Los Alamitos Race Course), or if NorCal proponents should be given a shot to re-establish the region now that–all within the past 10 months–Golden Gate Fields has closed, an entity called Golden State Racing failed to run a financially viable autumn meet at Pleasanton, and the California Authority of Racing Fairs shifted away from supporting any live meets at county fairs.
Voting “no” for the Ferndale dates (and the track's requested simulcasting privileges) on May 15 were CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, plus commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos and Thomas Hudnut.
Voting “yes” to keep Ferndale alive were vice-chair Gonzales, commissioner Brenda Washington Davis, and a newcomer to the board, Peter Stern.
Gonzales, who has often been at odds with Ferraro on the North/South issue over the past year, almost immediately floated the idea of calling for an “emergency” meeting to bring back the Ferndale vote again in another 10 days, an idea that CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney said probably didn't fit the legal criteria to merit true “emergency” status.
“I will say this,” Gonzales said. “This is a serious, serious, serious mistake that this board made. I'm not singling out any individual commissioner. I'm just saying us, collectively. And this is going to send a hell of a message across this country about what we really stand for as Californians. [The pro-Ferndale] individuals here have come so far and have given so much for this board to not understand [the issue] on merit, but what just makes good horse racing sense.”
Ferraro fired back at the vice-chair: “Commissioner Gonzales, how many votes do you want to have on this? You've lost twice. Do you not accept the vote?”
“Unfortunately, I don't. I do not Mr. Chairman,” Gonzales replied curtly.
“Well, that's your problem. That's not the problem with the board,” Ferraro retorted.
(Technically, Ferraro was incorrect in stating that the Ferndale request “lost” last month. What actually happened was that the five members in attendance that day ended up in a 3-2 statutory stalemate with the majority voting against Ferndale dates, because by California state law, the CHRB can't pass a vote unless four commissioners vote one way or the other. On Apr. 19, commissioner Damascus Castellanos was not in attendance, and there was one vacancy on the board, which has since been filled by Stern.)
When advised that his request for an emergency meeting probably wouldn't fly, Gonzales asked Ferraro outright if, as the board's chair, he'd be open to scheduling another regular meeting instead to again give Ferndale a chance to race.
“I would not approve meeting in 10 days, no, to rehash this item over again,” Ferraro asserted.
Back in April, Ferraro had said the decision by the board last year to approve that failed fall racing season at Pleasanton was “unwise at best or disastrous at worst.” He had forewarned those who were advocating for an approval of race dates at fairs venues not to expect the board to give the same leeway in being granted the opportunity to race as Golden State Racing had received last year. His concerns had to do with the damage such a decision might do in terms of siphoning horses and simulcasting revenue from the SoCal tracks, which are also struggling but remain more viable than any entity in the North.
One month later, during the public commentary period at the conclusion for the May 15 meeting, Ferraro engaged in a back-and-forth with one speaker, expanding upon his reasoning behind not wanting to green-light any recent NorCal requests for racing.
“It doesn't matter how much support we have from horsemen or people involved in the horse industry to try to get something going in Northern California,” Ferraro said. “If the general public is not interested or supportive, I think the smart thing to do, at this point in time, is to engage with the board and with the legislature and with the industry to try and do a feasibility study amongst the public in Northern California to find out if there's enough public interest in horse racing to make it go. Because if there isn't enough public interest, we're all wasting our time and we all should be doing something else.
“We take a year, we take a look at this, we try and come up with a feasibility study and maybe some marketing experts that would be able to, you know, get a feeling for where the public is on this. Because without public support we can't make it go, that's for sure,” Ferraro said.
“One of the things that everyone is sort of pushing now is this historical horse racing,” Ferraro said. “But we have a problem [getting that type of gaming passed] in California because of the [gaming] compacts with the governor from the Indians. So [instead of giving] up, we should negotiate with them, which we are trying to do.”
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