Racing could be held at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif., this summer if a group of investors can complete financial and logistical negotiations in coming days. Prominent owner and breeders John Harris and George Schmitt are backing a plan to hold racing at Pleasanton in late June and early July. The group needs to file paperwork with the California Horse Racing Board by Friday to conduct a brief racing season. The issue of financing for stabling in coming months is another major concern. “We all have kind of things that have to get done in a big hurry,” Schmitt said on Wednesday afternoon. “The issue of what to do with the horses that are left up here in Pleasanton between now and June 1 and who will pay for what is the biggest issue right now. “We’ll know by Friday.” Pleasanton hosted a 13-week autumn meeting that ended in mid-December, but failed to reach financial goals. The season was conducted following the permanent closure of Golden Gate Fields in nearby Albany last June. A proposed winter-spring meeting at Pleasanton was abandoned, resulting in Santa Anita in Southern California adding races to accommodate Northern California-based stables. In recent months, some stables at Pleasanton have relocated to Southern California or to Washington State in advance of the Emerald Downs meeting that begins on April 26. Other horses have been sent to circuits away from the West Coast. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Pleasanton was scheduled to close its stable area next Tuesday, but the Alameda County Fair board of directors voted earlier this week to extend training for an additional month while negotiations continue regarding a potential summer meeting. A large contingent of racing participants attended the meeting to show support for Pleasanton to continue as a base for training, according to two people in attendance. Schmitt attended that meeting and said he was among a group of racing backers who met with Alameda County Fair officials on Wednesday. “The devil is in the details,” Schmitt said. “A couple of those details are severe.” One major obstacle is the cost of continuing to use Pleasanton as an offtrack stabling venue in coming months before the proposed summer meeting. There are more than 300 horses based at Pleasanton, down from more than 800 when the fall meeting ended in December. Schmitt said on Wednesday that discussions are ongoing with the Thoroughbred Owners of California and tracks in the south about a financing plan for offtrack stabling at Pleasanton. “It comes down to money,” Schmitt said. “The curve ball is the stabling and vanning.” Work is continuing on a license application to present to the racing board as soon as its monthly meeting in Sacramento on April 17, he said. “I may have to put in an incomplete application, but I won’t be the first one to do that,” Schmitt said. “We’re making progress. Schmitt said backers hope that if Pleasanton races this summer that fair meetings will be held in Sacramento and Santa Rosa in the summer and Fresno in the fall. Officials with Fresno and Santa Rosa announced earlier this that they do not plan to race this year. So far, only the Humboldt county fair in Ferndale in the north of California has publicly stated a desire to conduct a meeting in late August and early September. Humboldt is scheduled to request racing dates from the racing board in April. Humboldt’s application for racing, which provides greater details of the season, is likely to be heard in June. As of now, each fair will be acting on its own. In late January, the California Authority of Racing Fairs said it would not seek racing dates on behalf of four of its members – Pleasanton, Sacramento, Ferndale, and Fresno. Santa Rosa is not a member of the organization. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.