Oak Tree loss ripple effect

The shock waves spread quickly from Del Mar to Arcadia Thursday afternoon as many impacted businesses scrambled to figure out what to do next after news that the California Horse Racing Board voted to not allow Oak Tree Racing to run at Santa Anita Park in October.

The City of Arcadia could be out $185,000 unless track owner MiD upholds a promise made to city officials in May; the multi-million dollar new HBO series “Luck,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte was scheduled to begin shooting next month but that is now up in the air; the Road Kings of Burbank stage a charity fund-raising event during Oak Tree each year that raises thousands of dollars for many charities but organizers may have to scrap that event entirely now.

“It’s really a shame,” said Arcadia Councilman Mickey Segal. “This will certainly have a financial affect on all aspects of the City of Arcadia, including Santa Anita employees, hotels, restaurants, etc. We’re really going to miss having Oak Tree there.”

“As city officials we’re kind of  in the middle here,” said Councilman Bob Harbicht. “It’s not our job to run these private businesses but what they do has an impact on the city.”

The non-profit Oak Tree Racing already has nearly $1 million in contracts and marketing in place for Santa Anita and now has to scramble to try to shift all that to Hollywood Park.

“I am very disappointed with the decision of the CHRB,” said Mayor Peter Amundson. “I am surprised they would take such an extreme measure after the long debated decision was made recently to run Oak Tree at Santa Anita this year. We have always had a great relationship with Oak Tree and we know they were planning for a successful meet in Arcadia. Oak Tree is a long-standing tradition and I hate to see it changed, even if it only for a season.”

Arcadia Chamber of Commerce executive director Beth Costanza described the loss as “a near mortal economic blow to the already fragile business climate and to racing in Arcadia.” In her comment on the blog posted by Larry Stewart at ArcadiasBest.com, Costanza went on to say, “Our small businesses do not need another hit in their pocketbooks. So many businesses depend on the revenues from the Oak Tree Meet, the influx of tourists that boost the hotel, restaurant, automotive, and shopping center monies generated, all of which are already at all-time lows – all or nearly all will be lost.”

The City of Arcadia collects about $185,000 in betting handle from Oak Tree each fall, plus sales tax that pushes that figure to around $200,000 or higher. Dennis Mills, representing track owner MiD and Frank Stronach, had promised city manager Don Penman and City Councilmen Mickey Segal and Bob Harbicht during a meeting in May that if Oak Tree did not run at Santa Anita this fall, that Santa Anita would pay the City of Arcadia the $185,000 so Arcadia would not be hurt. But that was back when Stronach was the one threatening to keep Oak Tree out of his track. Since then, Stronach relented and agreed to let Oak Tree run one more meet at Santa Anita this year, but the CHRB voted otherwise today, leaving city officials wondering if MiD will still follow through with its offer. If not, the City of Arcadia is out that money at a time when services and budgets are already being cut due to revenue shortages.

“I’m disappointed,” Harbicht said Thursday, adding that he was hopeful that Oak Tree and Santa Anita could get together on a long-term contract and get back to plans earlier this year that would have made Santa Anita the semi-permanent home of the international Breeders’ Cup.

“That’s a blow, that’s not good,” said Councilman Roger Chandler. But he was hopeful that Santa Anita’s decision announced Wednesday to once again replace the track to go back to the original dirt surface instead of synthetic would make horse owners happy and encourage more of them to race at Santa Anita again. He said negative talk about the synthetic track among horse owners was discouraging more and more of them from racing their horses at Santa Anita. It was the concern expressed by those owners and concern about proper water drainage and some rocks in the track that prompted the CHRB to prohibit the running of Oak Tree at Santa Anita in October, ostensibly because of safety concerns.

“I can’t understand it,” Arcadia City manager Don Penman said of the CHRB’s decision. Noting that Santa Anita has a record of fewer horse injuries than Hollywood Park or Del Mar and is at least as safe as the others, and that Hollywood Park draws fewer people, he said the decision will only cause negative impact with all the entities involved and the California horse industry in general.

Costanza said the loss goes even beyond the revenue and jobs at the track and surrounding buisneses that will be lost. “The excitement of the Oak Tree Meet will be lost to the residents and other thoroughbred racing enthusiasts.”

Meanwhile the producers of the new HBO series “Luck” had planned as late as this morning to start shooting next month and continue through the Oak Tree meet, specifically to take advantage of live horse racing. Not only will there be no Oak Tree meet and no racing, there will be at least a month or more of construction to replace the track. Whereas that was going to be condensed into four weeks or so to squeeze the work in between the end of Oak Tree on Oct. 31 and the first part of December in time for horse and trainers to get used to the new track before the Dec. 26 opening of Santa Anita’s next meet, construction may now begin earlier and not be so rushed, but that may be less enticing to producers of “Luck.” Nonetheless, sources say producers are hopeful there might still be another reversal of the decision in the next few days but if not they would still likely find a way to start production at the track next month.

Noting the long-running on-again/off-again status of Oak Tree, the uncertain standing of Santa Park, which was put up for bid late last year and early this year as it was in bankruptcy protection, and the Shops at Santa Anita, for which the city is still involved in multi-million dollar litigation and for which there is still no decision whether it will ever be built, Harbicht said, “I’m tightening up my seatbelt here; it seems like we get rocked from one thing to another with Santa Anita.”

— By Scott Hettrick