Sad times for the great race place.
 

Santa Anita will have a seven-race program beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday, one or two fewer races than most Fridays this winter. Entries were a struggle for track officials this morning in preparation for Friday's program. #drf

Even with a 7 race card the average field size will be between 6 and 6.5 after scratches. It's over for Santa Anita.

It's ridiculous that California doesn't collapse down to one circuit. We could easily do it and that was what we used to have 55 years ago.

feeling when
 

out here loving the status quo

Santa Anita is done

Golden Gate along with Del Mar and Los Alamitos look good so far but as what the OP said above I would like to see 1 or 2 racetracks in California with 1 racing from Dec-Jun and then Jun-Nov

If I were in change it would be Golden Gate as the Dec-Jun and then Del mar for the Jun-Nov with Los Al racing for whatever months fit best

Just a thought I know nothing

racing just needs to get out of california, they are not really wanted there

GMB@BP...I agree. That includes Del Mar. I absolutely love the History of Thoroughbred Racing, including the contributions of California Racing. But when you aren't wanted because of Political or Social reasons...why persist??? It will eventually end...with a Thud.

https://t.co/qiCXvhCQ2p


Here it is

2100 horses in training in southern California and they can't get more than 150 per week to run a race?

It does feel like even if there was some consolidation, the economics are so terrible and the political environment so hostile it would just be delaying the inevitable. In my vision of where we need to go, SA and DMR would be 2 of the survivors, but it won't matter much if a lot of those owners and horsemen move to Oaklawn, Fair Grounds or somewhere else and make the racing even better in those places. Racing has to move where it's welcomed and things can get better.

If you look at a map of tracks closed since 2000, you'll notice a concentration on the west coast. BTW every single track in Michigan is gone. I imagine the movement is related to cultural differences.

If Turf Paradise ever had any aspirations of becoming a major league track now would be the time to get ready.

Unfortunately, I don't think Turf Paradise has a clue, or they're just not interested.

If not for casino/slot money there’d only be a handful of tracks still running.

I think that's flawed thinking. Slots prolonged life for some tracks to the detriment of others. There is an argument that if slots never entered the landscape anywhere, the older dynamic would have been stronger. Places like NY ( which was 20 years behind many jurisdictions in getting slots ) and Maryland would have held strong when tracks like Delaware ( already closed before slots ) and Pennsylvania tracks possibly disappeared. Monmouth would have remained strong in the summer, and even the Meadowlands thoroughbreds could have continued to at least some extent. Places like Arlington and Churchill would have maintained their status without Midwest tracks that existed pretty much only because of slots. Maybe even Suffolk would have continued.

That's not even mentioning what slot tracks likely did to CA, but I'm not particularly familiar with the West Coast slot tracks and how they have affected things out there. Bottom line is that, for better or worse, slot money changed the map but what was good for some wasn't necessarily good for others or possibly even the game as a whole. Hard to know for sure.

Racing isn't going anywhere. Even if they chose to keep only NY, Fla and Ky alive, racing is popular in parts of Europe, Asia and Australia.