Is the Sport of Kings on the line? Santa Anita Park bans Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Stronach Group released this statement in the wake of another equine fatality, "Individuals who do not embrace the new rules and safety measures that put horse and rider above all else will have no place at any Stronach Group race track.
The Arcadia City Council, school board and Chamber of Commerce have settled on a plan to consolidate city and school elections. City Attorney Michael Miller is coming up with legal wording for a measure to be placed on the next school board ballot, April 1987.
Santa Anita Park race track rejects request from state regulator California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to cancel its last six days of racing this season, in the wake of two more horse deaths over weekend.
Arcadia teachers and students unite for Measure A, the renewal of a parcel tax that helps provide stable school funding for Arcadias, on March 7 ballot. Previously approved in 2012, Measure A would authorize a "qualified special tax of $288 per parcel of taxable real estate property," an increase of $60 over the 2012 proposal. Citizen homeowners age 65 and over would be able to exempt their primary residence from the tax.
A drainage problem forced the cancellation of horse racing at Santa Anita Park since three inches of rain fell yesterday. The track has had to cancel racing 12 times since the synthetic track was installed two years ago. In 2006, the California Horse Racing Board banned dirt surfaces from thoroughbred tracks. Santa Anita Park has tried two synthetic tracks but the surfaces have not worked out. Officials announced they will replace the synthetic surface before the Oak Tree Meet in the fall.
Santa Anita Park's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Verge, 44, a horse owner and entrepreneur, has big plans for the race track. He wants to expand its fan base, partly by reaching out to the local Asian community and to locals who grew up attending the track during the sport's heyday. While Santa Anita Park President George Haines is still running day-to-day operations, Verge will focus on bringing in more people, including celebrities, like actor Vince Vaughn.
Santa Anita Park backstretch workers voice concerns and support of new best practices and reforms that establish a new standard for the humane treatment of race horses they care for and love.
Gene Simmons, frontman and singer of rock group KISS, promises to work magic at Santa Anita Park race track, with ideas for using the track for nightclubs, shopping, lifestyle attractions, concerts, and other events.
Frank Stronach, chairman of MI Developments, the owner of Santa Anita Park, says he is optimistic his company can work out a new deal with developer Rick Caruso to build an outdoor mall at Santa Anita Park, even though he voided a 2005 joint-venture agreement with Caruso in April to build the Shops at Santa Anita mall in the race track's parking lot.
Santa Anita Park will be hosting the coveted 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships. The Stronach Group took full control of the race track from MI Developments at the end of June. The two-day event will generate some revenue for the city and bring a lot of exposure to the San Gabriel Valley.
If the lottery initiative on the November ballot passes, Santa Anita Park race track could go out of business, dragging down with it reserves that the city of Arcadia obtains from the track's handle, according to Robert Sweeney, executive vice president and general manager of the California Thoroughbred Association.
The city of Arcadia has already received two checks from Santa Anita Park race track, the first payments on its one-third of 1% of the parimutuel take.
Measure A passes in semi-official election returns, according to latest figures from Arcadia Unified School District. Measure A, the education parcel tax had 6,199 yes votes and 2,970 no votes. Out of 28,616 registered voters, only one-third came out to vote on this measure.
Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of Santa Anita Park race track, which is in bankruptcy reorganization hearings, filed a plan that would cancel its 2005 agreement with Rick Caruso to develop the 830,000 square feet Shops at Santa Anita on the race track's south parking lot. Caruso filed an objection to the move in bankruptcy court, citing "substantial economic harm" to Santa Anita Associates, LLC, the legal entity that was going to develop the project. Santa Anita LLC has so far invested over $25 million to the project's development. Caruso is committed to developing the project in Arcadia. If the contract is indeed terminated between the parties, Magna would have to start from scratch with new plans, new environmental impact reports, and new hearings to propose another development.