cal expo open --- will any new horsemen show up

[PIGLAND]

i dont think they redrew

[Smalltimer7932]

Book on tues not the same as friday pps not that this matters pic looks nice friday

[Smalltimer7932]

Pic 4 looks good I meant those favorites wont win at least 2 of those

[PIGLAND]

Book on tues not the same as friday pps not that this matters pic looks nice friday

are the entries right on usta?

[Jctoronto]

10.15p thu

first, tue program same as friday

second,, short on horses sat night. (inc. Just 6 drawn for sat night's 10th and final- a hi5 event..Yikes)..regardless of reasons, horseplayers take events as they come.

but third..and most important ..after perusing both pgms.,, the race to hyper focus on is race 3 sat night.  I look forward to sharing 'that race's backstretch plot' with all of you saturday, scr and driver and eq changes depending of course.

[swoodall]

Per Chris Schick:
Cal Expo is racing this Friday/Sat. The CHRB today is further evaluating our request to move to a Tues/ Wed schedule beginning Tues3/31.

I am a little confused as to the reason the California Racing Board refused their request.

Once race dates are approved for the next year changing those dates are usually not an easy task.

But Cal wasn't wasn't requesting to add or vacate dates.

Cal simply wanted to move to a better day of the week to try and increase handle.

That seems like a request that wouldn't violate their total number of approved dates or require regulatory changes?

[Superfecta]

I know. I wish they would have been more forthcoming. Maybe it was just a technicality, because they are letting them resubmit.

It was approved. It's on the USTA site.

[Jctoronto]

Saw this real good piece on Standardbred Canada tonight..

How Cal Expo Has Stayed Active

After weeks of racetracks gradually closing their doors across the continent in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, a single harness track has persisted through unique circumstances.

Cal Expo, located in California’s capital city of Sacramento (where COVID-19 cases have surpassed 2,500), is the sole track conducting live harness racing in North America. The one-mile oval has received permission from the California government to continue racing so long as no coronavirus cases sprout or spread to the track.

A handful of Canadian horsemen head south to Cal Expo for the winter, and one of those horsemen is Alberta native Rick Schneider. Given the state of racing in Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he's extremely grateful for the opportunity to race.


“Everybody was scared, we were scared,” Schneider said. “We were on pins and needles for the last two or three weeks because I think California’s been hit hard with it. Stuff just flew off of shelves down here. And us poor horsemen, we race Friday and Saturday and we’re going ‘We got to get purse money out.’ Everybody’s panicking trying to find enough feed and hay if we had to stay for a month, but the money’s all tied up in the grandstand; the grandstand’s shut down. So when we raced last Friday I had never seen that many happy people in the paddock in my entire life. Ever. No arguing...everybo dy’s going ‘Oh thank goodness we made it to Friday and we’re racing, we get a little shot at something.’

“Giving distance is pretty easy. It’s not like you’re crammed into a small barn. Here we have empty shed rows; everybody’s got a lot of space. Everybody gets along and they’re all old-school trainers,” Schneider continued. “We all know how to keep our distance; we all know viruses because we work with them with horses all the time.”

The community at Cal Expo also distinguishes it from other harness tracks that had to close. About all of the horsemen who compete at Cal Expo live on the grounds, either inside of dorms or their own RVs. State police also patrol the facility (which remains closed to the public), leaving only a single gate through which the track announcer and judges can enter. Horsemen also agreed to have no more than 25 present in the paddock at the time. Plus, the paddock isn’t enclosed.

"Everything's outdoors. The barns are outdoors, the paddocks are outdoors, and I think that makes a difference,” continued Schneider. “Everything’s fresh air.”


With this unique climate allowing Cal Expo to persist, the track has thrived. Though handling roughly $700,000 as the lone harness track on Friday night, they capitalized on Saturday with nearly $1 million in handle.

“The other day I was going to the paddock and I go ‘You guys know we’re the show right now?’” Schneider said. “And they went ‘Holy crap, you’re right!’ These guys here work hard to try and get the handle up as high as possible because their revenue is solely from handle. I shared a bunch of stuff on Facebook about all the handicapping shows that were going on all across the nation, which I thought was just cool as heck. It was absolutely awesome watching all these people handicapping California racing.”

Currently Cal Expo’s race season runs through April 25. However, given the volatile environment nonetheless spurred by the pandemic, Cal Expo has allocated the necessary resources to accommodate horsemen in the event racing has to cease.

“That gives us confidence to stay here and do what we have to do,” Schneider said. “I thought about going home, but then I go ‘I have two loads of horses’ and everything was moving so fast to get out I didn’t know if I could make it with two loads and in the end I wouldn’t have made it. I would’ve had half the horses here and half of the horses somewhere else.”

Cal Expo remains poised to race on Friday (March 27) and Saturday (March 28) as one of the few active racetracks in North America.

“Every day we’re happy to be racing,” Schneider said.

[Powerful Patricks Ghost]

“The other day I was going to the paddock and I go ‘You guys know we’re the show right now?’” Schneider said. “And they went ‘Holy crap, you’re right!’ These guys here work hard to try and get the handle up as high as possible because their revenue is solely from handle. I shared a bunch of stuff on Facebook about all the handicapping shows that were going on all across the nation, which I thought was just cool as heck. It was absolutely awesome watching all these people handicapping California racing.”

Problem with this is that Cal-expo, for a stretch, used to get 25% of its handle from betting horsemen. Criminality is built into the game out there. Still, if you can get lucky, there are some nice opportunities to be made there.

[the master]

Don't worry! Frank Petrelli is on his way!

[SPREE2015]

KUDOS TO CALI FOR LETTING CAL EXPO REMAIN OPEN .
CORONA VIRUS WILL TAKE MONTHS TO GET RESOLVED . WASH HANDS KEEP YOUR WORKPLACE CLEAN AND SAFE OF GERMS .
CAL EXPO NEEDS TO STAY EXTRA SANITIZED

[dinkadoo]

going to sit down and start watching replays next week. Followed them for a couple of weeks. The track reminds me of Hoosier, but with smaller fields. You can look at the program and 'x' out half the field that would have no shot unless there was an accident.

[JUICEJUNKIES]

Book on tues not the same as friday pps not that this matters pic looks nice friday

ITS EXACTLY THE SAME

[Cal Expose]

[Smalltimer7932]

Will cal ex have to close also or does those orders not apply to them