The Northern California Fair circuit makes it’s next stop in Wine Country, as the 8-day race meet at Santa Rosa is set to run from August 1st- August 11th. This meet is something I look forward to every year, as it was the first place where I got introduced to horse racing. What makes Santa Rosa unique is that it is the only track on the fair circuit that has a turf course. Also, some notable stars of the sport to have run at the Sonoma County Fair in the past were Cavonnier and Lava Man.
There have been many changes over the past few years– not only has the meet been shortened from 3 weeks to 2 (primarily due to fair dates), but the stakes races have also been reduced from 7 to 2. The 2 big races of the meet are the 50k Luther Burbank Handicap (F & M 3yoUp 1 1/16m Turf) on August 3rd, and the 50k Robert Dupret Derby (3yo 1 1/16m Turf) on August 10th. We will see if the trend continues, but Southern California shippers swept all 3 of the Turf Stakes last year. The field for this year’s Luther Burbank Handicap has been drawn, and you can access the entries by clicking here.
In my opinion, I would say both the dirt and turf courses play fair. Speed is a bit advantageous on the dirt, but that could probably be said about dirt racing in general. On the turf course, the turns seem tight, which can lead to horses getting caught out pretty wide.
Here are the post position stats from last year’s meet.
Click here for a link to all of the trainer, jockey, and post position stats from last year (Equibase)
Trainer to watch:
Steve Specht- He is a Santa Rosa resident and always points horses to this meet. Skipped Sacramento, so we should see quite a few entries from him. Over the last 5 years he is a strong 29% and 57% ITM from 51 starts ($2.63 ROI). Lookout for him in maiden races, as he is a very impressive 47% (9 for 19) and 74% ITM with a $4.91 ROI. Also, with FTS he is 50% (3 for 6) with a strong ROI of $7.30.
Jockey to watch:
Frank Alvarado- He is riding great right now, as he just won the riding title at Sacramento. His numbers have continued to improve throughout the year too. Also, he took down the Santa Rosa title 2 years ago.
If you have never been to the races at the Sonoma County Fair, I highly recommend it. They draw good sized crowds on the weekends and it is a really fun environment. Follow the page @NorCalHRNews on twitter for updates throughout the meet.
NorCal Horse Racing News 