The end of the Golden State Racing meeting at Pleasanton on Wednesday, and the absence of racing dates in Northern California for the foreseeable future, has led veteran trainer Steve Specht into retirement. Specht, who turns 75 later this month, said that Crown Magic, entered in Wednesday’s seventh race at Pleasanton, would be his final runner. “I’m done,” he said on Wednesday morning. “I’ll be sitting at home by the fireside.” The prospect of a winter meeting at Pleasanton ended on Monday when the California Authority of Racing Fairs – organizers of the Golden State Racing meeting along with a group of owners, breeders and trainers – announced they will not pursue racing dates in the short-term because of lower-than-expected business results at the current meeting, which began in October. Instead, daytime Thoroughbred racing will be consolidated at Santa Anita in Southern California. Santa Anita announced on Monday that it will provide racing opportunities for Northern California-based stables at its upcoming winter-spring meeting, which begins on Dec. 26. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The California Horse Racing Board is scheduled to address 2025 racing dates in Northern California at its monthly meeting in Sacramento on Thursday. Racing is scheduled to be held on the five-stop fair circuit next summer and fall, which begins in June at Pleasanton. From Specht’s perspective, the concept of shipping horses to Santa Anita on a regular basis is unworkable. Specht has been active in sending runners to Santa Anita and Del Mar for stakes in recent years, but said doing so more frequently will be more difficult. “It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “For your everyday horse, you’re $10,000 or $12,500 claiming horse, you think you’ll take them up and down the highway every time? “They said they’ll card races for Northern California horses only. They struggle to fill races here now. How are they going to fill when they have to ship down there? “I wish good luck to the guys here that will try it.” Santa Anita officials said they will provide financing to keep Pleasanton open as a training center in the winter and spring, pay transport costs to ship horses on the 700-mile roundtrip journey, and provide travel stipends for trainers. Santa Anita is expected to offer the first race geared toward Northern California-based horses on Dec. 27, the second day of the season. In time, the track hopes to gain sufficient support to add a fourth day of racing per week for the first time since early 2019. Santa Anita is scheduled to ask the California Horse Racing Board for that option at the regulatory board’s monthly meeting on Thursday. Santa Anita has largely raced on a Friday-through-Sunday basis in recent years because of a lower horse population compared to a decade ago. Specht, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., contemplated retirement in the summer shortly after Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., was closed permanently in June. The loss of Golden Gate Fields led to the development of the Golden State Racing meeting. Specht questioned how Northern California-based stables with runners of lesser quality will be accommodated under the Southern California structure. Some may race at Los Alamitos, which runs sprints at 4 1/2 furlongs for lower-level Thoroughbreds. In addition, the loss of live racing in Northern California leaves Specht skeptical that a sufficient number of runners will remain in that part of the state to support the summer and fall fair circuit. “The cheap horses won’t stick around for five of six months,” he said. “All these guys with these $4,000 or $5,000 claimers, they’re going to go somewhere.” Specht said on Wednesday that he currently has 16 horses in his stable. He expects approximately five to be sold to race at Turf Paradise. The remainder, many owned by prominent breeders Larry and Marianne Williams, are likely to be sent to trainers in Southern California. Specht began training in 1969 in Illinois and has won more than 1,600 races. This year, he had 38 wins and stable earnings of $998,489 through Tuesday. Specht has won four stakes this year, including three stakes this year at Santa Anita with the 3-year-old filly Grand Slam Smile. Specht said he is plotting his next move, which he said may include some travel to visit family, or staying in the Santa Rosa area. “Maybe I’ll take my boat out and go fishing,” he said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.