Los Angeles County Fair Race Meeting Begins 18-Day Run at Fairplex Today

The Los Angeles County Fair’s race meeting, one of the few in the country that has shown steady growth in recent years, will begin its 18-day run today at Fairplex Park in Pomona.

Last year, the fair averaged 14,713 in daily attendance, an increase of 9% over 1984. Betting averaged $2.5 million, a gain of 15.7%

Although the fair’s schedule emphasizes thoroughbreds--today’s card, starting at 12:30 p.m., has nine thoroughbred races, two for quarter horses and one for Appaloosas--the star of the meeting could well be an Appaloosa. Blowing Easy, a 3-year-old colt, has already won two $100,000 races in Northern California and is being prepared to run here Sept. 28, closing day, in the $20,000 Silver and Gold Invitational Handicap.

Blowing Easy has already been timed in :50 3/5 for 4 1/2 furlongs. The thoroughbred record for that distance is :50 2/5. The Silver and Gold is a six-furlong stake for 3-year-olds and older.

Today’s feature for thoroughbreds is the $30,000 Foothill Stakes. Also on the program is the $15,000 Express Stakes for quarter horses. There will be at least one stakes race each day for 18 straight days, the purses totaling almost $3 million. There are two $100,000 races for thoroughbreds--the Pomona Derby Sept. 27 and the Pomona Invitational Handicap Sept. 28--and on Sept. 21, the track will run the $200,000 Breeders Futurity for 2-year-old quarter horses.

One of the starters in the Foothill is El Corazon, who had trouble winning in California but was a double winner recently at Sportsman’s Park near Chicago.

There is bound to be a new jockey champion at the fair, since Ron Hansen, who won the title four straight years, is skipping this year’s meet.