San Diego Democratic Party pushes to ban state-sponsored horse racing

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Redboard

I'm glad I live in Florida.

You mean where they all but wiped dog racing off the map with the stroke of a pen?

But point taken: At least you have a governor who does not recite and adhere to the left's narrative.

Because horse racing in so many states has relied on state governments for so many years for its continued survival:

It's really hard to separate horse racing from politics.

One thing people don't realize about California is that we are actually MORE free market than most places when it comes to subsidizing sports. We forced several franchises to privately finance their stadiums. It isn't surprising that racing also gets turned down when it asks for help.

I actually see a problem with this in the sense that, just as with private companies, money is "awarded" based upon how the entity fits into the political party's narrative.

It could easily be called POLITICAL NEPOTISM.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

It's paradise on earth out here.

I think you have California confused with Lexington Kentucky, Hot Springs Arkansas, or Saratoga Springs NY.

Seriously, I love Del Mar, but I suspect I'd have to double my dosage of blood pressure meds if I lived in CA. NYC is crazy enough for me. But different strokes.

[Redboard]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

You mean where they all but wiped dog racing off the map with the stroke of a pen?
.....

C'mon, its days were numbered.

Greyhound Tracks in the USA
Arkansas: 1 track; set to close in 2022
Iowa: 1 track; will close after 2022 season
West Virginia: 2 tracks

Looks like West Virginia will be the only state that will allow live dog racing.

One is still allowed to bet on dog racing in most states.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

yea they would never ban any kind of racing in florida, i go to the dogs whenever i travel out there.

[airford1]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Between the droughts, mudslides, fires, needles and feces in the streets, homeless cities, confiscatory taxes, high cost for real estate, and wildly incompetent and totalitarian leaning government, I'm not sure why so many people still want to live in CA. Pack the horses up, move them to Kentucky and Arkansas and let's see some great racing with big fields. CA racing doesn't need to exist. We just need the horses and horsemen.

There might be a reason your Kentucky, Arky and Okie properties are 200K and the same property in California is 800K. Ya, U B right California isn't a place anybody would want to live.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Redboard

C'mon, its days were numbered.

Greyhound Tracks in the USA
Arkansas: 1 track; set to close in 2022
Iowa: 1 track; will close after 2022 season
West Virginia: 2 tracks

Looks like West Virginia will be the only state that will allow live dog racing.

One is still allowed to bet on dog racing in most states.

This is going to put the company that makes the electric rabbits out of business.

[horsefan2019]

Originally Posted by Andy Asaro

https://www.10news.com/news/local-ne...d-horse-racing

excerpt


But on Tuesday night, the San Diego County Democratic Central Committee passed a resolution 37-4 to repeal the legalization of gambling on horse races in the California constitution.


She said this does not mean that the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club must cease operations.

"If they want to build their own facilities, separate from state facilities, and if they want to generate their own revenues and they can cover their expenses, they are free and able to do so," Saldaña said.

This issue can be placed on the ballot as soon as next year.

I read it as they want the land Del Mar sits on. Banning gambling on horse races is the first step towards it.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by airford1

There might be a reason your Kentucky, Arky and Okie properties are 200K and the same property in California is 800K. Ya, U B right California isn't a place anybody would want to live.

There’s a difference between growing up there and loving it and still wanting to live there now. The cost of living is rising rapidly but the quality of life is apparently declining. At a certain point, some people will think the value proposition doesn’t seem like a good deal anymore. So they’ll leave. For me, that time would have passed. The only reason I’m still in NYC is family obligations. Otherwise, I’d be gone. In any event, I see no reason we HAVE to have racing in CA if the economics for the tracks are bad there. The only issue would be if they barred people in the state from betting on horses altogether …which is probably a risk knowing CA.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by horsefan2019

I read it as they want the land Del Mar sits on. Banning gambling on horse races is the first step towards it.

That's unlikely. Del Mar sits on a fairgrounds. They need the land there for the fair.

We have had several fair tracks close, and none of them have been redeveloped except Bay Meadows, and BM was different because the fair was a tenant.

[horsefan2019]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

That's unlikely. Del Mar sits on a fairgrounds. They need the land there for the fair.

We have had several fair tracks close, and none of them have been redeveloped except Bay Meadows, and BM was different because the fair was a tenant.

They can hold the fair anywhere within the county. For example at the site of Qualcomm Stadium which is now being redeveloped into a much smaller stadium as the future home of the SDSU Aztecs football program. The land where Del Mar sits is extremely valuable and they could get a pretty penny from redeveloping the land into million dollar homes and get all the property taxes. Unfortunately horse racing outlived its usefulness for the bureaucrats who see it is no longer see it as the revenue generator it used to. Saying they care about animal welfare is an excuse to kill 2 birds with one stone.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by horsefan2019

They can hold the fair anywhere within the county. For example at the site of Qualcomm Stadium which is now being redeveloped into a much smaller stadium as the future home of the SDSU Aztecs football program. The land where Del Mar sits is extremely valuable and they could get a pretty penny from redeveloping the land into million dollar homes and get all the property taxes. Unfortunately horse racing outlived its usefulness for the bureaucrats who see it is no longer see it as the revenue generator it used to. Saying they care about animal welfare is an excuse to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Who is "they"? Do you think the District Agricultural Association wants to sell? How would they benefit from a sale?

The whole reason independent governmental agencies own fairgrounds in California is to prevent these sorts of sales.

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

Who is "they"? Do you think the District Agricultural Association wants to sell? How would they benefit from a sale?

The whole reason independent governmental agencies own fairgrounds in California is to prevent these sorts of sales.

So how do the directors of the "independent government agencies" attain their positions?



The better question is how would the directors of the DAA benefit from a sale?

[GaryG]

I lived in Arcadia for almost all of the 80s, just up the road from Milo Valenzuela. It was a very nice place to live. They spend some of their revenue for good schools and an aggressive police force. It is hard to believe what it has become. Deukmejian (R) was gov then.

[Elkchester Road]

Originally Posted by airford1

There might be a reason your Kentucky, Arky and Okie properties are 200K and the same property in California is 800K. Ya, U B right California isn't a place anybody would want to live.

Then you do your thing in California, Speedy. We are just fine in Kentucky. We love the entertainment of watching the shitshow of California implode. You wouldn't know a good Quality of Life if it punched you in face.

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Horse racing has become a fringe player in society today, as an entertainment or gambling venue...so it makes sense that the politicians would eventually distance themselves from it. Just look at how much press coverage there is for all the other sports, while horse racing is totally ignored by the nationwide news media...save for the occasional scathing article that comes down the pike. With all the money that legalized sports betting brings into the state coffers, who can blame the politicians for turning their backs on a game that makes headlines only when scandals raise their ugly heads?

Horse racing is big in it's own right, and it's a niche sport. We need more good things/human-interest-stories. More of the good things in racing to get attention.

Maybe Jack Christopher is the next star? Maybe it's Knicks Go?

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Last edited by Robert Fischer; 10-30-2021 at 01:17 AM.