Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association

California's Purse-Cut Woes Driving Horses To Turf Paradise

Turf Paradise, which only weeks ago seemed either destined to remain dormant and in disrepair or perhaps even ready to face the wrecking ball, appears to be in the midst of orchestrating a remarkable comeback. Track management, horsemen, and regulators all expressed confidence and a renewed sense of optimism during Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting that the Phoenix track was on target to hit a Jan. 29 start date for the first commercial-track meet in the state since May. Several stakeholders underscored during the Dec. 14 meeting that a...

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AZHBPA: 'No Earthly Idea When And If A Meet Will Be Performed At Turf Paradise'

The ownership group that wants to buy the currently closed Turf Paradise is reportedly at the escrow stage of closing on the sale, but a projected Jan. 13 opening day was met with skepticism when the prospective majority buyer was pressed to name a start date at Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting. "At this point where we're at, and not having the complete [new ownership] application, there may be a delay from January moving forward," said Rudy Casillas, the deputy director of the AZRC's racing division, told commissioners after...

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The Week in Review: HBPA Tries to Derail HISA in Federal Court–But Also Wants Its Help in Arizona

If the saga over the supposedly pending sale of now-closed Turf Paradise was a soap opera, its title would surely be "AZ the World Turns." The state's racing is hanging in the balance amid an increasingly acrimonious long-term feud between the track's owner and horsemen, leading one trainer at last Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission meeting to liken the horse community's predicament to children "being used as pawns in a divorce battle" by vindictive parents on the verge of a nasty split. Although TDN's original story about that Oct. 12 commission...

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Simms Portrays Turf Paradise Sale as Lifeline, but Arizona Horsemen Grow Skeptical

A report that a purchase-and-sale agreement for the currently closed Turf Paradise is just days away from being inked was met with skepticism, frustration and even derision from horsemen at Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission meeting. Although the track's owner, Jerry Simms, framed the ongoing negotiations as a lifeline for Thoroughbred racing in a state that currently has no operational commercial track, J. Lloyd Yother, the president of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA), said that Simms's oft-stated expectations of a new owner being able to conduct a race...

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New Buyer for Turf Paradise Emerges

The current Turf Paradise owner is courting a new buyer who just emerged last week as a potential savior for keeping racing alive at the state's otherwise-closing cornerstone track. On Thursday, the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) voted to extend Turf Paradise's simulcasting privileges through Nov. 12 while regulators commenced a due diligence vetting process that could greenlight the sale. The stated goal among stakeholders is to start a race meet in January under new ownership at the Phoenix oval. The current management announced back on Aug. 1 that the 67-year-old...

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Turf Paradise's Simulcast Extended, Plans To Card Races In Early January

The Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has extended Turf Paradise's contract to simulcast races for wagering until Nov. 12, the Phoenix track said in a tweet Thursday morning. The extension avoids a shutdown of the track's 37 Off Track Betting sites. A new live horse racing meet is scheduled to start in early January. The news comes after Turf Paradise reported Sept. 19 that the owner of the track, Jerry Sims, would be retiring and that no more live racing or simulcasting would take place after Oct. 1. Additional...

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New Site Plan for Turf Paradise, but Future Racing Still Hinges on Gaming Legalization

A conceptual site plan newly submitted to the city of Phoenix for the proposed industrial development at Turf Paradise calls for the closure of the track once the under-agreement sale goes forward and development begins. But the incoming owner is still floating the idea of resuming racing at the 67-year-old Thoroughbred venue in the future if historical horse race gaming gets legalized in Arizona. Audrey Jensen of the Phoenix Business Journal first reported Aug. 8 on the new details about the project, which has been named Winner's Circle Business Park....

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Turf Paradise Nears Sale for Development; Horsemen Eye Arizona Downs Revival

Turf Paradise in Phoenix is reportedly in the due-diligence phase of negotiations to be sold for development. Racing is expected to continue only as a placeholder for several more seasons while new uses for the 67-year-old venue go through the planning, approval and construction stages. The incoming owner of Arizona's primary commercial Thoroughbred track is expected to transition the property in pieces to "industrial and multi-family uses," according to the online media outlet Axios Phoenix, which first broke the story Apr. 12. Leroy Gessmann, the executive director of the Arizona...

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Turf Paradise 2021 Winter/Spring Meet Edges Closer to Reality

With both Turf Paradise and Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) representatives telling the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) Thursday that they are now close to agreeing on a contract for an 84-date, Jan. 2-May 1 race meet, AZRC chairman Rory Goree indicated that the commission stands ready to approve the dates request, which has already been submitted to the board but was not placed on the agenda for a vote at the Oct. 8 video meeting. Approval could come via a special AZRC session that might get scheduled before...

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AZHBPA to Turf Paradise Racing Proposal: We've Conditions Too

The Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) would be amenable to Turf Paradise's latest proposal to conduct a live 2020-21 race meet as long as certain conditions of their own are met, according to a letter written by AZHBPA president Bob Hutton dated Friday and obtained by the TDN. "Because we are the heart and soul of horse racing in Arizona, we offer you all we have to help make Turf Paradise the venue for racing it can be and once was," Hutton wrote, pointing to the horsemen's horses,...

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Arizona Horsemen Secure Some Disputed Purse Funds

At the six-month mark of the shutdown of live racing in Arizona that is the result of both the pandemic and a prolonged fight over off-track betting (OTB) privileges, the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) has reportedly secured some of the disputed money from the horsemen's account that had been controlled by Turf Paradise and placed it into a trust to pay purses if and when racing resumes elsewhere. This news was shared in the form of a widely circulated email that made the rounds on social media...

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Turf Paradise to Remain Open Extra Ten Days

Turf Paradise management and the Arizona horsemen have come to an agreement that will see the track remain open for stabling an extra 10 days. The track was scheduled to close its doors to the roughly 740 horses currently stabled there on the last day of April. Nevertheless, the track will remain open those extra 10 days for stabling only, and not training, meaning exercise will be limited to the barn area. "If this thing lasts longer than those 10 [days], then I think we'll probably be able to get...

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