Sun Downs officially cancels spring horse racing for first time in 33 years

On Sunday, Nancy Sorick tried to address the group of horsemen gathered for a meeting out at Sun Downs Race Track.

Even when she recounts the meeting, she gets emotional.

“I told them ‘We’re going to have to close it down,’” said Sorick, president of the Tri-Cities Horse Racing Association. “For 33 years, you guys have been here for us. But now we have nowhere to go.”

She had to let Sun Downs racing secretary Shorty Martin continue on, but the gist was simple: the six-day spring meet was canceled for the first time ever.

The race meet at the Kennewick track was set for April 18-19, 25-26, and May 2-3.

Sorick said they just ran out of dates as things looked to be postponed.

And she thought about what could have been.

“Emerald Downs was having some trouble,” Sorick said. “They’ve postponed racing until June. We already had some trainers of thoroughbreds there that had planned to bring some of them over here to race.”

Sun Downs already had 35 entries for the Kennewick meet’s marquee race, the Pot O’Gold Futurity.

One of the meet’s usually big dates is the Kentucky Derby, which is simulcast at Sun Downs and draws large crowds. But the Derby has already been moved from May 2 to Sept. 5.

Here’s the interesting part about horse racing in this country: many major tracks still are open for business, but without the crowds. The horses basically race in front of an empty grandstand.

However, because there is the ability of closed-circuit wagering, some tracks around the country — such as Gulfstream Park, Los Alamitos, Oaklawn Park, and Tampa Bay Downs — are still open for business.

Had Washington Gov. Jay Inslee not mandated the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, Sun Downs technically could have run its spring meet, Sorick said.

“But we would have had to have a crowd,” she said. “That’s how we pay for everything.”

Spring training

Sun Downs has been open since March 1 for training.

There are 20 trainers on the back side of Sun Downs who are able to work their horses, as well as the Hermiston owners and trainers who bring their horses in on the weekends to get workouts in.

The horsemen can stay on the fairgrounds to work their horses out until May 18.

But Sorick isn’t ready to call it quits for 2020 just yet.

“I mean, we still have a year left on our contract with the county,” Sorick said. “So we’ll be back next year for 2021.

“But some people are asking us about holding a fall meet.”

It’s feasible, she said.

Fall 2020 meet?

“The only track in the Northwest (outside of Emerald Downs) in the fall would be Grants Pass in Oregon,” she said. “That’d be too far away for most horsemen to come from.”

Sorick said a number of things would have to happen for a fall meet, which would happen in September or October, or both.

“First, it depends on when this crisis is over,” she said. “Second, the county said it is open for negotiations on it. And the county has been really good about all of this.”

If that all works out, Sorick said a decision wouldn’t be made until late July.

“It takes 60 days, at most, to get things up and running,” Sorick said.

The money for the track insurance and liquor license, right now, are refundable.

But Sorick said she’s been told by officials from both entities to let them know if she’s ready to go in the fall.

In other words, horse racing at Sun Downs for 2020 may not be done just yet.

Notes

• KEPR Sports director Alan Hoshida announced Monday that he was leaving in May for a job at KHON2 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hoshida built a strong following the past four years working in the Tri-Cities. He did it by being enthusiastic about local sports and always hustling for a story.

He also owes me a few strokes on the golf course that I’m never going to get.

• Speaking of golf, Big River Golf Course, between Umatilla and Hermiston, is still open for business. So are courses in Irrigon and Echo.

How so? While Washington’s golf courses are closed during the Stay Home, Stay Healthy situation, Oregon has left it up to the course owners.

For instance, the two courses that are owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton — The Wildhorse Golf Course and the Golf Course at Birch Creek — are closed.

The Golf Course at Birch Creek was known as Pendleton Country Club until purchased by the Confederated Tribes last summer.

Courses like Big River will not take tee times. It’s a first-come, first-serve operation as of now. And golfers must use social distancing guidelines.

• Senior Natalie Giroux (Richland) was hitting .273 (9 for 33) with a double and 2 RBIs for the St. John’s University softball team (8-15) when the season was stopped.

• Pitcher Julian Washburn (Walla Walla CC) had pitched in six games for the University of San Francisco baseball team when the season was stopped. Washburn pitched in 13 innings, struck out 18 batters, and opposing batters hit a combined .235 against him.

• Sam Colbray (Hermiston) finished the 2019-20 men’s wrestling season at Iowa State University with a 13-7-2 record, most of those matches coming at 174 pounds.

• Freshman Lynsie Miracle (Kamiakin) played in 10 games for the UMass-Dartmouth softball team, which was 6-6 when the season was stopped. Miracle was hitting .333 (5 for 15) and had three stolen bases.