Southern Cal’s meager purses can’t compete

The Daily Racing Form last month ran a small news item about top trainer Doug O’Neill sending 11 horses to Philadelphia Park to race. Jockey Saul Arias was moving his tack there to ride first call for O’Neill.

On the surface, it’s no big deal. But look much closer and it’s news that should chill the spine of every racing official in Southern California.

O’Neill’s decision is affecting two racing circuits and might be a sign of things to come. The 11 horses O’Neill shipped east are the kind that officials at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita desperately need to fill race fields.

At Philadelphia Park, his horses are adding class and substance to full fields. O’Neill has won three of 11 starts and made the money four other times. And he’s earning more money because the slot machine-fueled purses are a lot higher than in Southern California.

Here are a few examples comparing purses of six-furlong sprints at Hollywood and Philadelphia: A basic claiming race for $10,000 horses at Hollywood carries an $11,000 purse. A $16,000 claiming race has a purse of $14,000, and a first-level allowance race has a $38,000 purse.

At Philadelphia, a $5,000 claimer for nonwinners of a race in one-year condition has a purse of $18,000. The winner’s 60 percent share is $10,800, more than double the price of the horse. A claiming $10,000 for nonwinners of three races lifetime has a $24,000 purse. A claiming $35,000 purse is $39,000, more than the supposedly classier Hollywood allowance.

Who can blame O’Neill for shipping the 11 horses to Philly?

Now I wouldn’t ship Zenyatta to race at Philadelphia or Penn National. But California claiming horses can earn 50 percent to 75 percent more purse money while racing in easier conditions.

The situation figures only to get worse for Southern California, where higher purses must become a priority for 2010.

• HORSE OF YEAR ODDS — John Avello, race and sports director at Wynn Las Vegas, posted these odds to win 2009 Horse of the Year: Zenyatta 1-3, Rachel Alexandra 5-2, Summer Bird 20-1, Goldikova 75-1 and Conduit 100-1.

• SAM’S TOWN — Sam’s Town is hosting a one-day qualifier Thursday for the 2010 Horseplayer World Series. The top five finishers will earn a berth in the HWS. Entry fee is $100.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.