HORSE RACING UPDATE: FAIR RACING CHANGE?

Byline: Doug Spoon Staff Writer

Horse racing, a fixture at the Los Angeles County Fair since 1933, will have a new home this fall - at an old venue familiar to local racing fans.

The L.A. County Fair Association announced on Thursday it has reached an agreement with Magna Entertainment Corp., parent company of Santa Anita Park, to lease the Arcadia racetrack for its 17-day meet in September. The change in venue from Pomona to Arcadia must be approved by the California Horse Racing Board, which will consider the request at its June 6 meeting.

If the request is approved, the County Fair horse racing meet would be held from Sept. 13-29 at Santa Anita, which has a 1 1/8-mile dirt and 1 3/4-mile turf course and seating for 26,000 in the grandstand and 50,000 more in the infield. After two off days, racing at Santa Anita would then resume Oct. 2 with the traditional Oak Tree meet.

Pomona's Fairplex Park, which has a five-eighths-mile dirt track and 10,000-seat grandstand, would sit vacant or be used for concerts only during the Fair.

The move is seen as a boost for both organizations. Santa Anita would benefit from the increased exposure in the weeks leading up to its fall Oak Tree meet - especially in 2003, when the prestigious Breeders' Cup will be held there.

Fair racing officials expect to benefit as well, taking advantage of Santa Anita's superior facility and the elite field of horses it attracts.

``It is a bittersweet announcement,'' said James E. Henwood, president and CEO of the L.A. County Fair Association, in a prepared statement. ``We are excited about this agreement to run the L.A. County Fair race meet at such a spectacular facility as Santa Anita, but we will also miss the excitement and pageantry that racing has brought to the Fairgrounds for 63 years.''

There are no plans to tear down the Fairgrounds grandstands or redevelop that part of the Pomona facility, according to Wendy Talarico, spokesperson for Fairplex Park. When the Fair is not open, Fairplex Park will continue to be used as a racehorse training facility and as the site of horse sales by Barretts Equine Ltd.

In a letter to the horse racing board requesting the change of venue, Henwood cited several reasons for the move.

``Suffice it to say that LACF has been criticized by the racing industry for its five-eighths-mile racetrack with its tight turns and for the lack of a grass racing surface,'' Henwood wrote in the letter.

``Santa Anita fills all of our desires. It has an excellent main racing surface and turf course. It will allow the LACF to conduct turf racing as well as racing on the main track, will allow us to attract quality horses, improve our stakes program and provide Southern California horsemen and race fans a better racing experience than we could provide them at Fairplex.''

Fairplex Park will continue to offer satellite wagering during the Fair and will promote the live race meet at Santa Anita, Henwood said.

Stuart Zanville, director of marketing and public relations for Santa Anita, said the County Fair is expected to retain control of the 17-day race meet. ``They would be the association that presents the meeting,'' he said.

Nothing is official until the horse racing board's meeting, however. All racing associations in California must re-apply for a racing license and have their race dates approved every year. If the County Fair's change-of-venue request is granted at the June 6 meeting, it would then apply for renewal of its license, which would be considered at the horse racing board's meeting in July.