“British horse racing gets major shake-up for 2011” plus 3 more |
- British horse racing gets major shake-up for 2011
- Horse racing board delays decision on 2011 racing dates, asks Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Oak Tree to work ...
- Horse racing industry hopes for state help
- Horse racing-Flat racing's best to contest new British series
| British horse racing gets major shake-up for 2011 Posted: 23 Sep 2010 04:09 PM PDT LONDON (AP)—British horse racing is being given a major shake-up for the 2011 season with the introduction of the British Champions' Series, a 35-race program with a total prize pot of more than 13 million pounds ($20 million). The new series will culminate in British Champions' Day at Ascot, which will be the richest meet in British racing history offering more than 3 million pounds ($4.7 million). Organizers said they hope the showpiece meet will soon rank alongside the Breeders' Cup in the United States and France's Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe in terms of prestige. "It will be the autumn climax that British racing needs," British Champions' Series Ltd chief executive Karl Oliver said. "Britain's richest-ever day of racing is the opportunity to attract the very best British and overseas horses." The series, which launches on April 30, will take in all the key race festivals, including Royal Ascot, the Epsom Derby and Glorious Goodwood, and be held at the 10 leading racecourses across England. "By introducing a series framework, we can highlight and use the best races throughout the flat season to engage a much wider audience in our sport," Oliver said. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 23 Sep 2010 09:13 PM PDT  Trainers watch their horses being worked out in the early morning hours on Friday, September 10, 2010, at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. The Oak Tree Racing Association will hold their five-week event there instead of Santa Anita for the first time in over 40 years. (Correspondent photo by Mike Mullen) The California Horse Racing Board delayed a decision Thursday on conflicting requests for 2011 racing dates from Santa Anita Park and the Oak Tree Racing Association. Meeting at Fairplex Park in Pomona, the CHRB urged Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Oak Tree to get together and come up with a plan that works for the good of the industry. CHRB chairman Keith Brackpool acted to push back the decision until next month's board meeting on Oct. 14. The not-for-profit Oak Tree meet has been held in the fall at Santa Anita since its inception in 1969. However, Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach voided Oak Tree's lease in May during bankruptcy proceedings and both entities applied for the 2011 dates of Sept. 28 through Nov. 6 during a meeting with the CHRB's Race Dates Committee on Wednesday. Oak Tree, originally scheduled to race for the final time at Santa Anita this fall, has been moved to Hollywood Park this year because of horsemen's concerns over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface. The meet will open Sept. 30 and run through Oct. 31. Hollywood Park and Oak Tree also have a deal in place for 2011. Negotiations are underway for Oak Tree to race at Del Mar beginning in 2012 and beyond. "We're not looking to put Oak Tree out of business," Scott Daruty, an attorney for Santa Anita parent company MI Developments, told CHRB members. "Oak Tree is a wonderful organization and we acknowledge that. We just want a racing calendar that makes sense both for the tracks and the horsemen who are going to be part of this industry in the long-term deal and also makes sense for the consumers."Arnold Zetcher, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, told the board his organization has invited Santa Anita, Oak Tree and California Thoroughbred Trainers officials to a meeting on Sept. 30. "We support getting the 2011 (calendar) behind us in the next month or two and then thinking of 2012 with a clean slate," Zetcher said. "Our whole group very much believes we should start over and take a look at what is right for the whole year." There is sentiment among board members to begin awarding race dates on a long-term basis rather than the year-by-year format they have been using for years. Brackpool left open the possibility that the Southern California racing calendar could look a whole lot different beginning in 2012. "The calendar has to be looked at as a whole," he said. "I'm not sure this is really a 2011 issue. My personal belief is that 2011 is not going to look dissimilar to 2010." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Horse racing industry hopes for state help Posted: 22 Sep 2010 09:34 PM PDT The Illinois horse racing industry is looking to the General Assembly for help in modernizing its business model, but competitors say benefits to the state would be a trade-off. The Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association is seeking to get legislation passed that would allow slot machines at racing facilities to preserve Illinois horse racing make it more competitive with neighboring states. David McCaffrey, president of Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association, said allowing slot machines at racetracks would create 35,000 jobs in Illinois, provide revenue for school and road construction and create $200 to $400 million in construction project in Chicagoland and Metro East. He said as it stands now the industry is dying. "We're on life support," he said. "We want a level playing field." McCaffrey said creating "racino's," racetracks with slot machines, has worked in revitalizing the horse racing industries in New York and Delaware. He said allowing slots would generate $200 million upfront for the state in licensing fees and up to $300 million annually in tax revenue. McCaffrey said horse racing is a significant agribusiness in Illinois because is depends on farmers for feed and breeders. "All of these jobs are drying up," he said. Tony Somone, executive director of Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association, said the state's portion of the revenue generated would go to the capital fund. He said two-percent of the gross revenue would go toward state and county fair horse racing, up to $6 million, and be split among 31 fairs. Somone said there is a provision in the bill that will require tracks with slot machines to hold a certain number of races throughout the year. He said the provision ensures the survival of horse racing. But the casino industry says allowing slot machines at racetracks would create a financial wash for the state. Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, said casinos are opposed to slots at racetracks because it doesn't make sense to create five or six new gaming venues when existing venues are struggling. Swoik said in the past two-and-a-half years casino revenues have dropped 32-percent. He said allowing the slots at tracks would further dilute revenue and have a significant negative impact on the industry. He said the measure would significantly reduce funding to education, up to $100 million, because revenue generated at racetracks would go to the capital fund instead of directly to education. Swoik said casinos supported a bill in 2008 that would have allowed slot machines at racetracks. He said that bill was significantly different because it had a clause the casinos would own the slots at tracks, giving casinos additional gaming positions and a reduced tax rate. He said the current bill doesn't include casinos. "There's absolutely nothing in it for casinos." stephen.rickerl@thesouthern.com 618-351-5823
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| Horse racing-Flat racing's best to contest new British series Posted: 23 Sep 2010 05:01 PM PDT Ascot racecourse will host the richest-ever day's racing in Britain next year as part of efforts to re-brand and boost the profile of the sport amid funding concerns and a fixture reduction in 2011. The planned British Champions' Series will encompass the key flat racing festivals, featuring 35 existing premier races staged at 10 English racecourses. Industry figures hope it will rank alongside high-profile race meetings such as the Breeders' Cup in the United States and France's Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe in terms of prestige. More than 13 million pounds ($20.36 million) in prize money will be on offer and the series will culminate with over 3 million pounds ($4.70 million) to be won on British Champions' Day, to be staged at Ascot on Oct. 15 2011. The joint-initiative between The Jockey Club, Ascot and Newmarket racecourses and Racing for Change aims to broaden the appeal of the sport and multiple Classic-winning jockey Frankie Dettori said British racing needs a shot in the arm. "This is one of the toughest periods that British horse racing will ever have to face," Italian Dettori said in a Jockey Club statement. HIGH CLASS "Our racing is the best in the world and Ascot is a world class venue at any level so it is fantastic that the industry is doing everything to help itself at this time. "This will equal The Melbourne Cup, The Breeders Cup' and The World Cup in Dubai who have all led the way over the years with high class events." The announcement came on the same day that governing body the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) released the 2011 fixture list two months later than usual "as a result of funding issues affecting British racing". The total number of flat and jumps fixtures has been reduced from 1,503 meetings to 1,480. Prize money from the Levy Board, which is a body that collects a statutory levy from the horseracing business of bookmakers and the Tote, has been allocated to 1,298 of those fixtures, down 164 from this year. From a 2007-08 peak of 115 million pounds, Levy income fell to about 76 million this year and the BHA estimate it could drop to 68 million in 2011. They fear that would leave British racing facing a funding crisis that could lead to the closure of some courses and affect the livelihoods of thousands employed in the sport.
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