Vandalism Cuts Los Alamitos Handle

The first of five Sunday afternoon harness programs was conducted at Los Alamitos before an announced crowd of 3,667. The day was not without major incident, though. Sometime early Sunday morning, the satellite dish that provides the audio and video feed for intertrack outlets throughout the state was vandalized and left inoperable for the day.

Consequently, most wagers accepted were from on-track patrons. Only $46,025 came from off-track patrons. The total handle was $583,858 on the 13-race program. Harness officials had expected Sunday’s handle to approach $1 million. Officials also announced a $25,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the vandalism.

“Somebody knew what they were doing,” said Leonard Stephens, director of operations and track superintendent.

“I just can’t imagine someone doing that,” said Lloyd Arnold, president and general manager of the track.

Sunday racing is scheduled each week until July 21.