Horse trainers' last-ditch effort to keep the Alameda County Fairgrounds stables open fails
There are still dozens of horses left to be moved
PLEASANTON, Calif. (KGO) -- "This is what I was doing this morning. Get ready to make the move on Friday. This is my office, my desk, my saddles..."
Horse trainer Monty Meier is describing his items that will be packed up and taken away in the next 48 hours. He's trained horses at the Alameda County Fairgrounds for 16 years but with the stables closing Friday, that is now coming to an end. Meier says he's sad, tired, and upset.
"Now we've got people who are money hungry, that's the way we feel, and we're being stabbed in the back," said Meier.
Meier, other trainers, and horse racing groups we spoke with said there was a last-ditch effort to keep the stables open for another month.
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"I gave the fair half a million dollars to keep this place open last Friday, they've returned it because of what happened with Southern California on Saturday," said George Schmitt who manages Burnell Park Racing LLC.
Schmitt tells us, that was when a license and insurance requirement at the Pleasanton location was dropped, which meant that the stables wouldn't be able to stay open.
We reached out to the Thoroughbred Owners of California for clarification on that but as of late Wednesday, had not heard back from them.
One thing is clear, what would have been a month extension to stay open is no longer, and horses must be taken elsewhere by end of the night Friday. The daughter of a horse trainer and owner says her parents are heartbroken.
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"They're distraught - they don't want to leave," said Maricela Trujillo.
"Got a van company lined up to haul my horses out Friday morning. We're leaving here at 4 o'clock in the morning because we're going to San Luis Rey Downs training center and that's down by San Diego, and that's an all day drive," says Meier.
"This fair is not just for horse racing, but the rest of it will just be destroyed - just like what happened in Vallejo and Stockton when they stopped racing 10-15 years ago. Their fairs are now one weekend," said Schmitt.
Most at the fairgrounds have already taken their horses to other locations, but there are still dozens left to be moved.
