Horseracing around in California

I'm not all that big on horseracing, but I have been to the track a couple of times. To (the long closed) Suffolk Downs outside Boston. To (the long closed) Naragansett Race Track in Rhode Island. And when I was at the track, I did place a few $2 bets, my horses chosen based on a combination of the horse's name and the color of the jockey's silks. 

Other equine engagement: I did enjoy the Seabiscuit movie. And, of course, I was a fan of Mr. Ed. 

Other than that, I may or may not pay any attention to the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Space. Maybe I'll pick up on it if the horse has the possibility of sweeping through the Triple Crown races. But if I were a betting woman, I'd bet the (horse) farm that never will I ever step hoof in Churchill Downs, Pimlico, or the Belmont Race Track. Or even Saratoga, even though I've been to the town of Saratoga Springs. 

Let alone to one of the big glam California tracks at Del Mar or Santa Anita, which were often the location used in movies of yore that involved horseracing movies like the Marx Brothers A Day at the Races or Sea Biscuit. 

And if horseracing was the Sport of Kings, in its heyday it was also the Sport of Celebrities, and news reels and pop magazines like Photoplay often showed actors, athletes, mobsters, and J. Edgar Hoover enjoying the sun and the ponies at Del Mar and Santa Anita. 

Del Mar, in fact, was built in the 1930s by Bing Crosby, and he used to hang around there with his Hollywood pals. There's still some Hurray for Hollywood attached to the Breeders' Cup, which runs at Del Mar. This year's edition attracted Elizabeth Banks and Bo Derek, among others. And offered $34M, which seems to me like a pretty fat purse. 

But all isn't well with horseracing in California. 

The state that has given one of America’s oldest sports iconic horses like Seabiscuit, Swaps and American Pharoah is rapidly falling behind Kentucky, New York and even Arkansas in purse money, which is vital to attract owners and trainers to race in California.

Last year, the state offered $165 million in purse money, for an average of more than $418,000 per racing day, according to Equibase, which keeps information and statistics for American racing. The available daily purse is more than $972,000 in Kentucky and $648,000 in New York, but those states’ purses are supplemented by money that each collects from legalized gaming. California has nothing comparable. (Source: NY Times)

Seems as if, rather than going for broke, Califorania horse racing is going broke.  

One reason is that, unlike some racetracks elsewhere, California's tracks aren't able to offer most other forms of gambling, which are the exclusive property of Native American tribes. California may be introducing a variant of the slot machine that combines a sort of slot-ish gambling tied to the results of historic races. This, the California race folks believe, will provide the tracks the means to up their purses and compete with Kentucky and New York and (huh?) Arkansas. 

Will the increase in purses halt or even reverse the downward spiral that California reacing has been on? 

Who knows?

And that downward spiral has been pretty downward spiral-ly. One example: between 2002 to 2022, breeding radically decreased. In 2002, over 400 stallions sired nearly 4,000 foals. In 2022, the studs were more productive on a per capita - or whatever you call it - basis, with a bit over 100 stallions producing 1,315 foals. (Way to go, fellas. I guess.) But do the math: one quarter the number of stallions, one third the number of foals.

Not to mention that, in 2019, Santa Anita had a really bad six month stretch in which 30 horses died. 

In response, state regulators and racing officials strengthened rules regarding the use of riding crops, medications for horses, education for trainers and jockeys, track safety and recuperation policies for injured horses.

These changes have resulted in a considerable reduction in the fatality rate. (And Del Mar has the best fatlity metric in the country.)

Horseracing may not be what it once was there, but it remains a big business in California. Betting, horse sales. 

Still, it's not clear that California horse racing will ever return to its glory days when Bing sported a boater and hung out at his track with Dorothy Lamour. 

Those were the days!