Fair Gambles on a Big Pony Show

Los Angeles County Fair officials have placed their bets for the future. And the money’s on horses.

Beginning next year, the 487-acre fairgrounds will include a modern equestrian complex, including an 800-seat horse auction pavilion, adjacent show rings and nine new barns capable of housing 504 horses. The additional stables will increase the permanent horse-keeping capacity at the fairgrounds to 1,199.

The $13-million facility, a joint venture between the fair association and a private developer, is expected to be the largest such complex west of Kentucky.

But more importantly, the complex is expected to generate millions of dollars worth of sales of thoroughbred horses, primarily, it is believed, to Pacific Rim investors anxiously awaiting an auction in the western United States, a little closer to home.

According to fair officials, thoroughbred sales in California have slipped from an all-time high of $48 million in 1984 to about $25 million last year. Their goal is to erase the gap.

Gerald F. McMahon, formerly head of sales for the California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn., has been picked to manage the auction facility.

The stables are already finished and the sales pavilion is scheduled for completion early next year. The first auction of 2-year-olds has been set for March 5-6, the days immediately following the Santa Anita Handicap race. Additional auctions have been scheduled for May, July, October and December.

In addition to the equestrian center, fair officials are finishing plans for a 250-room hotel and exhibition center designed to attract smaller trade shows. The new facility, expected to be completed in the early 1990s, will put the fair complex in direct competition for trade show business with smaller nearby convention centers in Pasadena and Riverside.

Ralph Hinds, chief executive of the fair association, said the fairgrounds will not compete for business with larger convention centers, such as those in Los Angeles, Anaheim and Long Beach, because those facilities typically attract shows requiring hotel bookings of 1,000 rooms or more.