Understudies Take Place in Spotlight

It might have a cast of thousands, but it definitely is not Hollywood, or even Hollywood Park.

And that, says Neil O’Dwyer, vice president of racing for the Los Angeles County Fair Assn., is not necessarily a bad thing.

“There are a lot of horsemen--owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms--who make a lot of good money during the 18 days of Pomona,” O’Dwyer said Wednesday, “money that enables them to be the supporting cast for the rest of the year at the major tracks.

“During the year, they are the supporting cast. During the Pomona meet, they are the stars.”

And starting today, with the opening of the 60th Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Fairplex Park in Pomona, the stand-ins and understudies once again have their brief moment in the spotlight.

The 18-day meeting will feature 19 stakes races with a combined purse of $1.4 million. Total purses for the meeting add up to $4 million. Today’s opening stakes are the Bustles and Bows and the Foothill, each worth $50,000.

“We don’t get the top-class horses,” O’Dwyer said. “We don’t get the rich and famous. But from my perspective, we have an opportunity here that the other tracks don’t have.

“When people go to Santa Anita or Del Mar or Hollywood Park, they go to the races. About a million and a half people come through here in 18 days. They come to the fair. It’s a great opportunity to introduce them to the sport of racing. I like to think we’re introducing new fans to the sport, and racing does need them.”

One novel idea this meeting is a drawing at the horse racing exhibit outside the grandstand where $2 parimutuel tickets will be given away, one for each horse in each race.

“If they [fair-goers] are interested, they put their name in a hat,” O’Dwyer said. “If there are eight runners in the next race, we draw out eight names. Each of them gets a $2 ticket and there’s going to be a winner.

“The winner might get $3, the winner might get $33. But it just gets them to maybe appreciate the excitement of the sport.”

One other change from last season is that there will be at least one stakes race every day.

“Last year we made an attempt to load our stakes races into the weekends,” O’Dwyer said. “It didn’t work. We shouldn’t have done it. You learn from your mistakes.”

The major race of the meeting is the $100,000 Pomona Invitational Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile event on closing day, Sept. 27. It is one of three $100,000 races that weekend, with Friday featuring the Las Madrinas Handicap and Saturday the Pomona Derby.

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Fairplex Facts

* What--60th Los Angeles County Fair horse race meeting.

* Where--Fairplex Park, Pomona.

* When--Today through Sept. 27.

* First post--12:30 p.m. daily.

* Purses--$4 million, including $1.4 million in 19 stakes races.

* Major stakes--Barretts Debutante; Barretts Juvenile; Las Madrinas Handicap, Pomona Derby; Pomona Invitational Handicap.