DEL MAR, Calif. – Jonathan Wong, the dominant trainer in Northern California in recent years, is shifting his stable to Kentucky and plans to greatly downsize his operation in California. Wong said on Sunday that the decision has the support of his leading client, Tom and Debi Stull’s Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, one of California’s leading owners and breeders. Wong said the Stulls have sold some of their broodmares and racehorses recently and will continue to do so. The Stulls are scouting for farm property in Kentucky, Wong said. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Tom Stull said on Monday that the cost of racing in California as well as three-day racing weeks at Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita were leading factors in his family’s decision to relocate to Kentucky. Kentucky tracks typically run more races. “It’s difficult,” he said. Stull said he will support the farm’s stallions this year, “but not like the past.” He cited a decline in the overall strength of California breeding as discouraging. “When I first started out, there were 3,000 mares and you could sell babies,” he said. According to the Jockey Club’s mares bred report, there were 1,781 mares bred in California in 2022, a 3.4 percent decline from 1,843 in 2021. “We’re not getting out of racing,” Stull said. “It’s more a matter of quality over quantity.” Wong said on Sunday that he has 40 horses based in Kentucky, including 20 at Turfway Park, and plans to expand the stable when additional stalls are available. He cited the cost of racing in California as a primary reason for the decision. “I’m leading [trainer] year after year and I have nothing to show for it,” he said. “My workers’ compensation each month is what it is for a year in Kentucky.” Wong’s decision was first reported by Horseracingnation.com. Wong, 33, has won every training title at the 14 non-fair meetings at Golden Gate Fields since the beginning of 2018 and leads the standings at the current meeting, which ends on Sunday. Wong typically leads trainers at Golden Gate Fields in starters, and his absence could affect field size there. In the last few years, Wong has become more active in Southern California. He finished seventh at the Del Mar summer meeting with 13 wins. Wong had as many as 120 horses in California earlier this year, and said on Sunday that he now has 75 to 80. Even with some horses headed to Kentucky, Wong said he will continue to race in California, but with fewer horses. Tommy Town Thoroughbreds is in the midst of one of its best seasons, with 59 wins and earnings of $1,950,016 through Sunday. The stable has won stakes at Golden Gate Fields and on the Northern California fair circuit this year with Empire House and Sally’s Sassy, and at Turf Paradise with Day Plan, all trained by Wong. On Dec. 1, Opening Buzz, owned by Tommy Town and trained by Wong, won an allowance race at Turfway Park. Tommy Town has raced It Tiz Well, who won 5 of 10 starts and earned $1,130,840, including the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes in 2017 at Parx for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. With Wong, Tommy Town raced Keeper Ofthe Stars, who won the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita in 2020. Tommy Town has a farm in Santa Ynez, Calif., and will stand four stallions there in 2023 – Eight Rings, Grazen, Kafwain, and Stanford. Eight Rings is a new addition to the farm. Adrian Gonzalez, a California bloodstock agent who was behind sending Eight Rings to California, said the loss of the Stulls will be a setback for California racing and breeding. “It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I don’t want to see anyone leaving California. “It’s a very beautiful farm. It’s a well-built facility and it encompasses the right amount of acreage to breed and raise and train Thoroughbreds at a high level in California. There are fewer and fewer of those facilities available.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.