About CARF

THE HISTORY OF HORSE RACING AT NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FAIRS

California fairs are the very heart of horse racing. Since the early days of exploration and settlement, people have come together at certain times of the year to enjoy the festival of a season, the anniversary of a place, or the celebration of a special event. When people came together for these occasions, they came by horseback. They came to eat, drink, visit, look around, play, have a little fun... and to see who had the fastest horse. This is the historical legacy of the fairs of California and this is how we still race our horses and where we still have fun.

Horse racing and fairs share a particularly special partnership. When the horse racing industry we know today was established in 1933, the stated purpose of the racing law which created it was the "encouragement of agriculture and breeding of horses." Wagering of money on horse races in California had been outlawed since 1909 and the return to "legalized gambling" was made possible by a statewide initiative which was only passed after three attempts. The successful version of racing legislation included a commitment for the continuous funding of the fairs of California with an annual allotment of racing revenues to be used for health, safety and maintenance projects.

THE FAIRS

The San Joaquin Fair opened on August 21, 1933 to approximately 1,500 fans attending thoroughbred and harness races. For the first time since 1909, when the anti-gambling law passed to ban bookmaking and close the old Emeryville track, it was once again legal to bet on horses. The fair was traditionally held in August, before shifting to the mid-June dates in 1988. Stockton was the first track to hold legalized wagering in California in 1933 and is typically the first stop on the Northern California Fair Circuit.

Stamped as the oldest racetrack in America, the Pleasanton oval plays host to the Alameda County Fair. The racetrack dates back to 1858, when it was constructed by the son of the Spanish Don, Augustin Bernal. The track is even older than the famous Saratoga oval in upper New York. The date was July 23, 1939, when mutuel wagering started in Pleasanton. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the occasion by saying, "the revival of East Bay racing will be on the same spot where horse racing virtually had its birth in California more than 70 years ago when the Spanish Dons built the first track here." In fact, the Chronicle referred to Pleasanton as "the birthplace of horse racing in California."

Plans for buying land and securing money for the Solano County Fair began as early as 1938, but World War II intervened. Planning resumed after V-Day; on February 22, 1948, ground-breaking ceremonies took place and on September 21, 1950, Governor Earl Warren snipped the ribbon signaling the opening of the first fair. Not until the second season, 1951, did horse racing make its debut.

The first recorded fair in Sonoma County's history was a single day display, held on the Santa Rosa Courthouse Plaza in October 1855. In 1879, a 90-acre portion of the present Sonoma County Fairgrounds was acquired by a group who accessed a levy on its members to provide funds for the construction of a one-mile track complete with stalls, grandstand, and other improvements. The Sonoma County Fair has grown in size over the years, and that growth has been accomplished without the aid of tax revenue.

It began in a downpour as the San Mateo County Products and Floral Fiesta in October of 1935 at Bay Meadows Race Course. Over the next decade, the fair was held sporadically, but in 1946, the San Mateo County Fair & Floral Festival became a permanent fixture when officials purchased 23 acres adjacent to Bay Meadows. Subsequent improvements and additions have been financed with funds contributed by the state from monies secured under the California Horse Racing Act and from local profits. The fairgrounds, renamed the San Mateo Expo Center, has become a year-round venue and is the most utilized facility of its kind in Northern California.

Ferndale has been the site of the Humboldt County Fair since 1896. By most accounts, horse racing flourished in Ferndale during those early years. Banished for a time, horse racing was legalized again and in 1935 became a mainstay of the fair. The half-mile oval demands skill from horse and rider. It is not only horse racing that takes you back to "yesteryear" in Ferndale. The entire community, with its unique atmosphere of Victorian structures, bountiful antiques shops and friendly residents brings recreates and sense of times past.

The California State Fair has over 140 years of history behind it. Created in 1854 by the State Agricultural Society, the event enjoyed a nomadic early history. In 1861 the fair's wandering days came to an end, when it found a permanent residence in Sacramento. The original purpose of the exposition, to promote California agriculture, remains intact today, but horse racing has become a significant force in its success. Now the oldest continuous race meeting in California.

Traditionally the final stop on the Northern California Fair Circuit, the Fresno Fair was established in 1882 by a group of Fresno businessman and professionals serving as members on the Farm Bureau and Chamber of Commerce. The groups collectively raised a total of $25,000 and purchased 100-acres of land. Two years later the Association incorporated horse racing into the daily activities. In 1941 Fresno offered its first pari-mutuel horse racing meeting. During the war years, racing at Fresno was interrupted, but returned to stay in 1948.

RACING TODAY

With a century of history behind horse racing at county fairs in the state of California, the fair racing industry continues to look to the future. The fairs have not forgotten their roots of encouraging agricultural and the breeding of horses, presenting the industry to customers of tomorrow, and providing for the maximum expansion of horse racing opportunities on behalf of the State.

Horse racing at California's county and district fairs are rich in tradition and history. With its roots established long before the turn of the century, horse racing and fairs have been synonymous over the years. Since the legalization of parimutuel wagering in 1933, fair racing has gone through many changes and evolved into what we know it to be today.

Our past has been such a long and storied one. Legendary horses, trainers and jockeys have competed on the fair circuit. A few of the stellar performers have included Eclipse Award winner Brown Bess, Big Jess, Damage Control, Hoedown's Day and Norfolk. Past and present jockeys' such as Mel Lewis, Merlin Volzke, Johnny Longden, Bill Shoemaker, and Russell Baze have enjoyed success at California fair tracks.

In 1997, the fairs continuied to build on the success of the prior year's popular and innovative idea designed to pay a purse to all horses that enter and start in a race at each fair. Every horse owner was paid a "Performance Purse" of $100.00 (besides the customary purse) through the paymaster account. The program has proved to be a success because not only has field sizes increased but the "Performance Purse" was able to assist an owner with the additional costs associated with running at the fairs.

The fairs also continued their practice of awarding horse owners by paying a purse through the 8th place finisher in each race. This has proved to be a popular practice among the horsemen because not only does it reward an owner financially, but it adds to the excitement of where their horse places in a race.

The live racing fairs continued efforts relating track safety and facility improvements for the equine and human participants. New inner rails were installed at both Stockton and Ferndale.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FAIR RACING 2002

The California fair circuit strives to offer horse racing to communities throughout the state and to serve as a champion for its contributions to the state's agribusiness economy. The desire to present the industry to today's customers and the customers of tomorrow, and to provide for the maximum expansion of horse-racing opportunities on behalf of the state, continues foremost in the fairs' efforts.

In 2002, besides the customary purse, every thoroughbred owner was paid a "performance purse" of $110, while the owners of mixed breeds received $85 through the paymaster account for each start. This popular and innovative idea to pay a purse to all horses that enter and start in a race at each fair continues to be successful. The fairs also continue to award horse owners by paying a purse through the eighth-place finisher in each race.

STOCKTON - Wagering on races at the Stockton meet ended with a total handle of $14,945,022. Although the $1,494,502 daily average handle was down 3% from the $1,542,473 figure the previous year, all aspects went well according to Forrest White, CEO and Director of Racing for the San Joaquin Fair. He said the off-track wagering handle decrease of 2% was offset by the addition of Advance Deposit Wagering, which was not computed in the total handle reports. The total on-track attendance of 44,849 paralleled the previous year's significant increase.

PLEASANTON - The Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, home of the "Oldest One-Mile Race Track in America" experienced another successful eleven-day meet in 2002 despite adverse circumstances. Total handle of $32,661,026 (not including Advance Deposit Wagering) was the third highest in history for the fair, but down 5% from the prior year. This was partly because of 7% fewer horses ran during the meet from the previous year, many due to the workers' compensation insurance crisis. Pleasanton increased its starter fee temporarily to help horsemen with rising insurance costs. Also, given the severe economic downturn in the Pleasanton community (Pleasanton is located at the north end of Silicon Valley), fair officials were pleased that the slight decrease in handle was not greater.

VALLEJO - The Solano County Fair race meet continued to feature competitive racing with average fields of nearly eight horses. Despite losing a day of racing and operating on a Monday without the support of Southern California simulcast racing and wagering, the average daily handle of $2,673,365 was down only slightly (about 2%) from the previous year and followed the trend of other race meets in 2002. Out-of-state wagering on racing from the fair and wagering on imported races inched upward on a day-to-day basis when compared with the previous year, while in-state numbers trended downward, off the record pace of 2001. After three consecutive years of growth, a downturn was to be expected, and fair officials are looking forward to the 54th Solano County Fair race meeting in 2003.

SANTA ROSA - The Sonoma County Fair race meet generated total all-source handle of $36,751,333 for an average daily handle of $3,062,611 during its twelve-day meet compared with 2001 figures of $37,412,511 and $3,117,709, marking a decrease of less than 2%. The fair in Santa Rosa is the home of "Wine Country Racing" and horse racing is always popular. Total attendance at the races was 63,961, reflecting a strong base of racing fans. The fair itself featured one of the largest and most spectacular themed flower shows in the country.

SAN MATEO - The San Mateo County Fair race meet, which operates each year at Bay Meadows course, closed its twelve-day 2002 meet with a 3.5% drop in average all-source handle from 2001, following the slightly downward trend of other fair race meets. The decrease in handle was due in part to a shortage of ready-to-run horses that was attributable to the spread of an equine virus, as well as concerns relating to cost increases in workers' compensation insurance. On a positive note, the fair experiences a .6% increase in daily average handle generated in Northern California (including wagers placed via account wagering systems). On-track wagering was down 7.8%, while handle generated at out-of-state sites fell by 13.2%. Average daily all-source handle (excluding wagers placed in Southern California) was $2,662,070.

The meet featured an exciting jockey's race with apprentice Francisco Duran (sixteen wins) edging Russell Baze and Jason Lumpkins by one win for the riding championship. Fans also saw some top horses compete at the fair, including Ninebanks, who won the San Matean Handicap, and A B Noodle, who took the Lady Morvich Handicap.

FERNDALE - The Humboldt County Fair, located in the timber and dairy country of California's far north coast, annually takes visitors a step back in time. One of the most popular attractions at the quaint fair is horse racing. The 106th race meet in Ferndale ended with a 1.8% increase in all-source live handle. Wagering was down 3% at off-track facilities throughout Northern California, while on-track handle was down less than 1% from 2001. Average field size increased by 5% from 2001, continuing a trend from the previous year.

SACRAMENTO - The California Exposition & State Fair, located just minutes from the State Capitol, enjoyed a successful run from August 16 through September 2 as more than one million guests were entertained. The 2002 racing season, coming off record totals in attendance and handle in 2001, experienced a decrease in handle. A total of $17,093,787 was wagered in the Northern California network, which was a decrease of 3% from 2001. On-track handle decreased 9% for the meet. The decrease in handle was partly attributed to smaller thoroughbred fields for the live and imported programs (from 8 in 2001 down to 7.5 in 2002).

More than $1.1 million was wagered through Advance Deposit Wagering outlets on the State Fair racing product. The racing highlight on the meet was the appearance of Preakness starter Menacing Dennis, who smoked a field of fellow Cal-breds in the Earlene McCabe Derby.

FRESNO - The Big Fresno Fair again hosted one of the most entertaining and highly attended live horse racing meets at the California fairs. The fair had an opportunity to host a key legislative subcommittee meeting on fair overlap, (Fresno races overlapped with Bay Meadows). Despite a decrease in the number of racing days (down to ten days), the handle was on a par with the previous year's eleven-day meet. Total handle dropped to $6,235,789 from $6,530,750 in 2001, but average daily handle jumped 5% to $623,579. Similarly, total attendance declined by 10% with the reduced racing schedule, but average daily attendance on-track was up more than 4% at 6,714.

"In a time of challenges for live horse racing, the meet was a great success again," said CEO Scott Anderson, "The personnel responsible for fair racing did an exemplary job."

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THE CREATION OF C.A.R.F.

In the same way that our annual fairs are an opportunity for the public to exchange goods and to learn from the ideas and experience of others, the people who organize and manage the fairs do the same thing through the Western Fairs Association. The horse racing segment of the fairs is such a big business with its own special interests that the racing fairs have always formed a special cadre.

In 1985, ten fair racing associations embarked upon a unique opportunity offered by law and formed a single business entity known as a "joint powers authority," for the purpose of "conducting horse racing and parimutuel wagering" at fair facilities. The California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) was born.

In 1986, this business group pioneered satellite wagering in California, and it soon expanded to twenty-three members offering some form of parimutuel wagering activity. Directed by an elected Board of Directors and supported by dues and its own revenue generating operations, CARF supports and represents over one-hundred days of live racing events annually with an attendance of 1.1 million patrons and a handle of over $245 million (1996). The "summer fair racing circuit" (see racing calendar) ranks within the top 1/3 of North American race tracks. Collectively, the satellite wagering membership of CARF is the largest major "off-track" wagering network in the United States, with an annual attendance of 2.5 million patrons, who wagered more than $664 million in 1995.

From Ferndale to Del Mar, this partnership of CARF forms a unique and vital element in the horse racing industry, which generates continuous funding for fairs. At its heart and soul exists the resolve to "encournge agriculture and the breeding of horses."

The hoofbeats move faster and fun becomes better at the California Fairs.

URL: http://www.calfairs.com