I have yet to meet a track in California that I did not like. Though Del Mar is clearly my favorite, each is terrific in its own way, so it may come as a surprise that I do not support the Breeder’s Cup’s decision to hold racing’s premier event at Santa Anita Park every year.

There are obvious pros to holding the event at Santa Anita; warm weather, beautiful celebrities, a great racetrack, and the fact that Frank Stronach knows the finer points of hosting a world-class event. The problem with this is that every single group that contributes to racing’s biggest day must be appeased, and that requires a rotation of the event to four primary tracks. So, let’s look at who the power-players are and how we are going to meet their demands.

Frank Stronach

He is probably the most powerful man in racing, and he has always done right by the Breeder’s Cup. He wants the race to be held at his two warm weather tracks: Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. He has already made improvements to both tracks, and has a liberal way of thinking that the sport genuinely needs. The knock against him is that somehow the Breeder’s Cup winds up with a lower attendance and handle when he hosts the event. In the end, money talks and this will have to be weighted when considering whether or not to award the Breeder’s Cup to Stronach’s flagship racetracks.

European Horsemen

You have to admit, beating the Europeans is kind of what the Breeder’s Cup is all about. NBC is certainly aware of this as they also post that infograph that shows how many American horses have won versus how many Europeans have won. The friendly international competition is something that rallies us together and makes racing feel like more of a team sport than it really is. We also have to admit that we don’t have anyone as brilliant and charismatic as Frankie Dettori and this is a problem. The Europeans seem to prefer Churchill Downs and Belmont Park because their horses usually develop a winter coat by the time the Cup rolls around and thus underperform in warm weather- at least that is what they tell us.

The Racing Bloggers

I do not have numbers on where most racing bloggers are based, so you can debate me if you would like, but it seems that an overwhelming amount of racing bloggers are from Kentucky, with New York and California a close second. It would be most convenient for them to attend Churchill Downs, though Belmont and Santa Anita could be useful as well. Now, you may say that bloggers can travel to the race, and bloggers can and should be able to write about a sporting event without actually attending it. Technically you are right, but in actuality severely wrong. Most bloggers will not shell out for plane tickets, hotel and parking; it is also wrong to assume that you can write about a live sporting event without actually being there. You can write about it, but it is much better if you are actually there. Score one for Churchill.

The Owners

The American owners don’t really seem to exhibit a strong preference for any particular track. Obviously, the American celebrity owners would prefer Santa Anita. The European owners would probably prefer Churchill and Belmont considering how close they are. So, it all winds up being a wash, and any venue that you choose would excite some and disappoint many in this group.

So, what do we make of all of this?

I think that the most fair and subsequently most entertaining way to solve this would be a lottery system. I do agree that Santa Anita deserves to host the event slightly more often than the other three tracks so they would be given a 33% chance of hosting the event. This leaves the three remaining tracks with 67% which would be divided evenly between all three tracks. As for why I have shut out the other major American tracks; they are simply not big enough. Though the folks at Monmouth did a great job, Monmouth simply isn’t good enough to entrust our greatest event to them. The track conditions the day they hosted were an embarrassment to horse racing, and certainly didn’t score us any bonus points with the casual fan.

Why does Santa Anita deserve to host more often than the others?

I am a believer that excellence should be rewarded, and Santa Anita has represented the brand the best of all four tracks. The event has an element of glamour as well as fan-friendliness that shows up on television. The fact that the handle and attendance go down is a concern for me, but the weather and how well the event is managed cannot be ignored. Santa Anita is also under constant threat from overzealous real-estate developers, and any boost this historic track can get should be given to it. Santa Anita has the history of Churchill Downs and Belmont Park, with the ideal weather that many crave. As I have said before, Santa Anita represents the brand well. You are more likely to see smiling celebrities in outrageous hats in Santa Anita than you are on a cold muggy day at Churchill or Belmont. As for why I picked Santa Anita over Gulfrsteam; Santa Anita is simply a better track. With the renovations that Gulstream is undertaking, it will be a great track, but even then it will not be on the level of Santa Anita.