Thoroughbred Owners of California

Kosta, Stephanie, and Pete Hronis of Hronis Racing have been named the recipients of the 2025 Ed Friendly Industry Service Award, also known as the TOC Chairman's Award, according to the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). The annual award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Thoroughbred racing. Not only did Hronis Racing lead all California owners in wins in 2024, but they have regularly campaigned top horses around the nation, including 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, and are dedicated philanthropists. "The Hronis family truly embodies the spirit...

Del Mar will offer across-the-board purse increases when the oceanside oval opens for its 2025 season July 18. During its eight-week summer meet, Del Mar will present approximately 300 races with overnight purses projected to be $15.7 million--a blended increase of 8% over 2024 purses. The track will offer 38 stakes races valued at $7,825,000. With the overnight purse increases, the majority of the track's owners and trainers will be able to run in maiden special weight dirt races--both open and Cal-Bred--for purses of $100,000 as the track will again...

Overnight purses at Santa Anita will increase an average of 8% beginning Feb. 28 and continuing through the remainder of the track's Classic Meet Apr. 6. The boost in prize money comes after increases in key business metrics through the first six weeks of the season and were made as a result of collaborative discussions with the Thoroughbred Owners of California, according to a release from Santa Anita. Purses for Santa Anita Park's Hollywood Meet will increase an average of 10% over the 2024 season, with increases ranging from 8...

On Monday, the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) board voted unanimously (with one abstention) to rescind a proposed Golden State Racing meet spanning the first half of next year, essentially leaving Northern California without Thoroughbred racing in 2025 outside of the annual suite of summer fair meets. This means that the Northern Californian horsemen and women have had little time to respond and adapt to a proposal by the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and 1/ST Racing and Gaming--a business entity under The Stronach Group (TSG) umbrella--to maintain a...

Golden State Racing (GSR) has reached an agreement with The Stronach Group's (TSG) Xpressbet, allowing punters to be able to wager on Pleasanton through that particular ADW platform when racing resumes this Friday. GSR launched its inaugural 26-day Thoroughbred meet at Pleasanton Saturday, Oct. 19. But punters hoping to wager on its product through Xpressbet and the New York Racing Association's NYRA Bets were shut out--a scenario stemming from a disagreement over the fees that form a key part of a track's purses and revenues. Similarly, Elite Turf Club players...

Rick Gold is the recipient of the Ed Friendly Industry Service Award, also known as the TOC Chairman's Award, the Thoroughbred Owners of California announced Monday morning. Following eight years of service to the TOC and other industry boards, Gold is retiring this year. He served as the chairman of the TOC's Integrity & Safety Committee and he played a key role in helping to safeguard California and industry interests during the formation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), according to a release. Gold has campaigned the likes...

The Ship & Win Bonus and Maiden Dirt Bonus will return this summer for Del Mar's 85th season of racing. Entering its 14th consecutive season at Del Mar, the Ship & Win program provides an incentive for horses from out of state to race at the seaside oval by providing a guaranteed $4,000 check for any qualified runner in their first start at Del Mar. There is also a 40% bonus applied to purse winnings for that initial start, as well as any subsequent outings during the eight-week meet. As...

Edited Press Release As California grapples with a budget deficit in the tens of billions of dollars, the horse industry has grown financially for the state over the last five years; responsible for billions of dollars in economic impact and tens of thousands of jobs, according to a report released by the American Horse Council. In 2023, the equine ecosystem provided a total value of $11.6 billion to California's economy and a direct contribution of $6.5 billion to state GDP, according to the report. This marks a significant increase from...

Last June, Pat Cummings, executive director of the National Thoroughbred Alliance and former executive director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, issued a stark warning about the encroaching impacts from Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) to the men and women trying to forge a living through horse racing in the Golden State. CAW players constitute a small group of mostly anonymous, high-volume gamblers with an outsized impact on the betting markets--including in California--due to their use of sophisticated wagering technologies and the inducements offered to them in the form of attractive rates...

The precarious, up-in-the-air future of California racing and whether or not the state can continue to support two geographic year-round circuits was made no clearer after Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting. The 3 1/2-hour session was dominated by discussion of competing North-versus-South plans that both tried to carve a sustainable path forward while underscoring the dire circumstances that face the industry with the June 9 closure of Golden Gate Fields looming like an unavoidable asteroid. Although the CHRB concluded the meeting--which featured testimony that was at times emotional,...

John C. Harris, Ty Green and Andy Mathis have been appointed to the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). Owner of Harris Farms, Harris was inducted into the California Racing Hall of Fame in 2008 and was honored last year by the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation for his industry service. Harris Farms has been connected to over 50 California divisional champions, including eight California Horses of the Year. He is a former California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Commissioner and currently serves on the board of the California Thoroughbred...

Three directors of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) have resigned from their positions in protest of the board's co-signature on a proposal to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) that would concretize racing operations in South California at the expense, they say, of a potential viable racing circuit in the North. The former directors also claim the proposal was submitted without their prior knowledge. "On January 5th a letter from the TOC and the Southern California racetrack operators was sent to the CHRB requesting the allocation of race dates...