Harness Racing to return to State
Fair in 2006
Saturday,
November 12, 2005
The harness horsemen of
California received another helping hand from the Cal Expo
Board of Directors on October 28, 2005 when that
distinguished group voted to extend the experiment for one
more year to allow harness horses to compete during the 2006
California State Fair. Although under scrutiny by the mixed
breed supporters, the Horse Racing Committee chaired by John
Gowney, recommended harness racing's return and the Board
agreed after a long debate from the mixed breed contingent.
Chairman Rex Himes, General Manager Norb Bartosik, and
Supervisor of Racing David Elliott believe with the
resurgence of handle created during the current Sacramento
Harness Associations 2005 fall meet and the hopefully a
steadily increasing 2006 spring meet handle, the 2006
version of the State Fair meet will turn around and be much
more successful.
Being the visionaries they are, Cal Expo is planning to
explore the feasibility of installing a turf course and a
second dirt track inside the existing one mile oval, so that
Cal Expo could possibly offer both harness racing and mixed
breed racing at the same meet with day and night racing
programs. CHHA would like to again thank Cal Expo for their
continued support of harness racing.
