Horse Racing Forum - USA Thoroughbred Races

Los Angeles Times article about the California breeding industry and the difficulties of being a regional market:

by John Cherwa

The numbers are startling, the reality is staggering.

If California's first-class horse racing tracks are to survive, they are in large part dependent on a third-place breeding program.

A track such as Santa Anita needs inventory, and if it didn't have California breds running, it probably would be racing only two days a week. Under that scenario, it wouldn't be long before the track would be turned into a residential or retail development. Or a sports stadium.

Doug Burge, president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn., took up the challenge of figuring out a way to essentially bribe people to breed, buy and race here. "We have these carrots we put out there to give people a reason to breed in California," he said.

Among those are a $30-million program of incentives, awards and purses that go to California breds racing here. Part of that is the Golden State Series of 40 stakes races with at least $6 million in purses. It's funded by nomination fees and a fixed 0.5% takeout of all money wagered on the races.

Read more at http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-hor ... story.html

The only issue I had with Cherwa's article was the way he framed the difference between the human populations in California and Kentucky, as though there should be a corresponding difference between the horse populations.
That's backward.
A major problem facing horse farms in California is that there are TOO MANY human beings. The demand for land that is easy to build on has led to the paving over of so much fertile land (as in: most suitable for raising and grazing horses), that it has become too expensive for breeding farms to exist near any major city. Or any major racetrack.
He also ignores the fact that Kentucky is called The Bluegrass State for a reason. The soil there sustains grass that is optimally nourishing for horses. Drought-stricken California can hardly grow crabgrass. (Of course, wouldn't you know...I'm typing this while it's pouring outside. )

It really kills me that Southern California development has led to the loss of some of the most fertile farmland (yeah, I'm looking at you, Camarillo) in the West. If climate change makes this area drier (probably not an IF), and growing food becomes more difficult, we're going to miss all that fertile, moist delta soil that has been paved over. Stoopid Humans.

Go away M POW. Nobody wants your crap.

Can we get rid of this jerk?