LOS ALAMITOS : Plano Not Sulky About Returning

After being the leading trainer and driver at the Los Alamitos harness meeting that closed last March, Rick Plano uprooted his family and moved to Vernon, N.Y.

Although wife Mary Ann and son Luke, 14, didn’t mind the move, daughter Erika, 16, did not want to leave California. But because of the lack of harness racing in the state from April through December, Plano had no choice.

“I started racing right where I originally started,” said Plano, a New York native, of Vernon Downs. “It’s a nice facility, with a good atmosphere and good management.”

Plano, 43, also raced in New Jersey before deciding to move back to California when the three-month Los Alamitos meeting, which begins tonight, was announced. Despite complaints from his daughter, who now didn’t want to leave New York, Plano moved his family and his 30-horse stable west for the winter, arriving on Nov. 5.

“It was getting a little bit cold back there,” he said. “In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other trainers and drivers, the best place to race is on the West Coast.”

Plano said the California weather is ideal for training and racing, especially in winter. California also offers less competition because of fewer racetracks and a smaller number of horses.

“We have a very nice place to race here, and people take it for granted,” Plano said. “If we don’t continue things after this meeting, this may be the last time around. If we don’t keep something going year round, this may be the end of California harness racing.”

But Plano is optimistic about the Los Alamitos meeting.

“I feel it’s going to be a very successful meeting,” he said. “There are a larger number of horses than the 1994 season. A lot of people came back that they didn’t expect to come back.”

And the Plano stable is well prepared.

“I really have a good bunch of horses,” he said. “The people that own them are a quality bunch of people. My horses are all in good shape. I have a powerful stable, at least as strong as anyone who is out here now.”

Plano’s stable includes Keepyourpantson, a 4-year-old pacer who was a top stakes performer in past years at Los Alamitos. Keepyourpantson qualified last Friday, winning his race in 2:00 4/5 for the mile.

Plano also speaks highly of Camraderie, who has a personal record of 1:52 4/5 over a mile course. Plano expects the 7-year-old pacer to qualify this week. Another Plano horse to watch is Carmel By The Sea, named after Plano’s mother, Carmel.

Plano said his mother regularly gets race programs shipped from California to her home in Frankfurt, N.Y. The mare Plano chose to name after his mother might make her proud this year, as she qualified at Los Alamitos in 1:59 4/5 last Friday.

Plano’s strong stable should help him in his title defense.

“I anticipate being in the top three (in the standings),” said Plano, who has been in the top five as a trainer or driver for 10 of the 14 years he has raced in California. “I sure hope to be close (to the leading trainer and driver titles.)”

Harness Racing Notes

The first post today is 6:45 p.m. With each paid admission, patrons will receive a free grandstand admission pass for the remainder of the meeting. The first week, racing will be tonight and Friday, with no racing on Saturday. Starting next week, racing will continue Thursday through Saturday.

Three simulcasts from the Meadowlands in New Jersey will precede the nine-race live card at Los Alamitos.

Premiere Group, which operates the Los Alamitos harness meeting, has announced some changes from last year’s meeting. The most notable is the merging of simulcast pools with The Meadowlands.

Last year, simulcast pools averaged $47,000 per race. This year, with the merger, simulcast pools should jump to approximately $250,000 per race.

Racing secretary Dave Goldschmidt has received 680 stall applications from horsemen, and expects at least 500 horses to be on the grounds by late this week.