As Oak Tree Meeting Closes, Attendance Is Up, Handle Down

Reversing a trend elsewhere, the 27-day Oak Tree meeting that ended Monday at Santa Anita, showed a slight gain in on-track attendance from last year, but was down in handle on-track.

The average crowd at Santa Anita was 12,451, up nearly 1.1% from 1995, but the average on-track handle was down 8.3%.

Cliff Goodrich, Oak Tree’s general manager and president of the Los Angeles Turf Club, thinks such figures are a thing of the future.

“We’re all used to seeing figures where the attendance is down and the handle is up, offset by the out-of-state [handle],” said Goodrich. “You’re not going to see that anymore for a while. I think at the meets that follow us, you’re going to see the same trend.

“There’s a discrepancy between the attendance and the per capita because of some very aggressive marketing to people that don’t bet that much.

“But, probably, the prevailing reason--it’s crystal clear--is that people are running out of money. We’re getting the same people day after day after day betting on 20 and 30 and 40 races [on simulcast races at other tracks], where they used to bet on nine.

“We can tell you that is not going to work at a 20% [takeout rate]. Not only do we have a challenge here at Santa Anita, but I think everybody in the racing world--and in California, in particular--has a challenge. The only way [offering more races] is if more and different people are added to the normal crowd we get. We’re wearing out our core business. Our core business is very soft and I think you’re going to see that everyone’s core business is very soft. It’s going to take a lot of little things combined to help offset that.”

Goodrich said Santa Anita will offer fewer live races at its winter-spring meeting, which begins Dec. 26.

“There are clearly going to be fewer than there have been in the past,” he said. “We will average less than nine races a day. There’s a reason we’re going to do that--fans are tired of short fields. We averaged 8.4 horses per race last year and our goal is going to be to average nine horses per race. We experimented a little bit and we learned something from that.

“[To average nine a race,] we’re not going to be able to offer nine- and 10-race cards. You’re going to see a reduction. We’re convinced that is going to put a better product on the racetrack and we’re convinced that’s what the fans want to see.”

*

A source of some controversy earlier this year, the MGM Grand Classic Crown, which consists of the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic at Del Mar, has raised its bonus for 1997.

Instead of $2 million, as it was in its inaugural year, $3 million will be the bonus to a horse who sweeps the three races. A sweep would also be worth $1.8 million in purses.

Also changed is the format for the $500,000 participation bonus. All that was required this year to qualify for prize money was that a horse run in the Big ‘Cap, Gold Cup and Pacific Classic. Next year, a horse will have to accumulate points for finishing first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth in at least two of three races to be eligible for bonus money.

The bonus distribution also has been changed, to a 50% payoff to the highest point-earner, 25% to second, 15% to third and 10% to fourth, regardless of the number of horses still eligible after the final leg of the series, the Pacific Classic.

Luthier Fever was the only horse to participate in all three races this year and earned the $500,000 bonus even though he finished last in the Gold Cup and next-to-last in the Pacific Classic. He was second in the Big ‘Cap.

*

Winless with his first 14 starters of the meeting, trainer Ben Cecil ended his drought in style when Dernier Empereur easily won the $158,750 Carleton F. Burke Handicap on Monday.

Uncomfortable over a soft turf course at Woodbine while running fifth in the Canadian International on Sept. 29, the 6-year-old Trempolino horse enjoyed the firm going at Santa Anita, beating favored Bon Point by three lengths in 2:24 1/5 for the 1 1/2 miles.

Ridden by Chris McCarron, who had been absent for a couple of days after being involved in a spill on Friday, Dernier Empereur, the 7-5 second choice, has three wins in his last four starts. He won the Escondido and Del Mar Handicap in August and also gave owner Gary Tanaka consecutive stakes victories. Tanaka won the Yellow Ribbon on Sunday with Donna Viola.

“I knew he was a much better horse on firm ground,” said Cecil. “We’ll possibly think about going to the Japan Cup [Nov. 24], but we’ll have to receive an invitation.”

Bon Point, who was disqualified from a victory in the Oak Tree Championship last month, finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Party Season.

“I didn’t have any excuses,” said Gary Stevens of the runner-up. “He ran a great race. I just couldn’t match strides with the winner. He was long gone. All I saw on the outside was a blur and the race was over.”

Horse Racing Notes

Alex Solis was the runaway winner of the jockey title. He finished with 35 victories, 17 more than Gary Stevens. . . . Mike Mitchell led the trainers with 13 wins, three more than Dave Hofmans and Bob Baffert.