Santa Anita Trims Budget by Firing 20

Looking to trim its budget after a less than successful 1992-93 season, Santa Anita has fired 20 employees, 10 of them seasonal and 10 full time.

Among those let go Wednesday were Steve Brubaker, director of operations; Art Hershey, director of personnel; Craig Hover, general plant superintendent; Bill Lyon, night plant superintendent, and Steve Guise, turf course superintendent. Others were fired in the group-sales and marketing areas, and all dismissals were effective immediately.

“We didn’t have a good season, and the company felt that it needed to make some cuts,” said Jane Goldstein, spokeswoman for Santa Anita. “Management didn’t want to make any cuts that adversely affected customer service. When the (individuals) were let go, they were (provided) an out-placement service, which consists of counseling on how to go out and look for another job, how to do resumes and rehearsing job interviews.”

Cliff Goodrich, track president and chief operating officer, said the cuts were difficult. “The toughest thing is that we lost a lot of good people,” he said. “I don’t consider this a massive cut of staff. The economic climate isn’t very good for both racing and the world in general, and the company felt it had to get leaner and stronger.”