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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Racing Was His Passion': Remembering California Icon John Harris
'Racing Was His Passion': Remembering California Icon John Harris originally appeared on Paulick Report. For many folks there's bit of a void at Del Mar this year. Missing is one of the giants of the industry, a man many credit with making California racing a major player on the national scene. He bred Thoroughbreds, raced them, and provided opportunities to countless numbers of individuals. John Harris passed away last month just days shy of his 82nd birthday. He left behind a legacy that may never be matched. Harris was a leader and an integral part of California racing. He sits atop the list of California's racing leaders that includes John Mabee, Allen Paulson, Marty Wygod, Jerry Moss, and Clement Hirsch. Together they put California breeding on the map. His father, Jack, started the Harris empire in Coalinga, California in the late 30's, building around a small breeding facility. They would expand with a hotel and a restaurant, raising beef for sale and hay for their horses. Jack died in 1981 and John took over, continuing to build on what his father started and expanding the Thoroughbred operation. Before long the Harris name began appearing with stakes winners. Harris bred them, sold them and raced them, either in his name or for clients. California Chrome and Tiznow both spent time at the Harris Farm. But John was more than just a breeder. He was also influential in helping California racing navigate the choppy waters of the 1980s through the dawning of off-track wagering and simulcasting. Without Harris' support, measures didn't pass. He was a man of many hats. He was one-time president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, a member of the California Horse Racing Board and Director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. He was also a member of The Jockey Club. He additionally gave people a leg up in the business. Carla Gaines was a young, aspiring trainer when she first met Harris. She was freelance galloping and had a few horses in training. She vividly remembers the first horse she won with Harris. 'Vallejo County Fair,' Gaines notes. 'I won a $4,000 claimer with a horse named Glory Quest. That was my first horse for him. You would have thought I won a Grade I. I groomed him. I galloped him. He was a $4,000 horse but he was my baby. From that day on we had great fun. We won lots of stakes races and went to the Breeders' Cup a time or two with horses. If it wasn't for him, I don't know how I would have succeeded.' Last week, Santa Anita changed the name of their Unzip Me Stakes to the John C. Harris. It will be run September 27. He never lost his love for the sport, even up to his last days. 'In his room they had a white board,' Gaines recalls. 'It had every horse that he was part owner, every horse he bred, and every horse he sold. They put the races (with those horses) up on the board and he would watch those races all day long, in bed. Racing was his passion and his love.' Gaines still has about 10 horses from the Harris farm in her stable at Del Mar. 'It's sad being here without John,' Gaines says. 'California's going to miss him.' This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Associated Press
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
John C. Harris, California horse breeder with ties to 2014 Kentucky Derby winner, dies at 81
COALINGA, Calif. (AP) — John C. Harris, a breeder of thoroughbreds whose Harris Farms foaled and raised 2014 Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome and 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow, has died. He was 81. He died Wednesday, according to Harris Farms. No cause of death or location was provided. Harris didn't breed either California Chrome, a two-time Horse of the Year, or Tiznow, but both spent their early years at his Coalinga farm in California's San Joaquin Valley near Fresno. Both horses were elected to the sport's Hall of Fame. California Chrome was the first California-bred to win the Derby since 1962. The colt went on to win the Preakness, but had his Triple Crown bid derailed in the Belmont. Harris Farms stood many leading California sires, including Unusual Heat, Cee's Tizzy, Lucky Pulpit, Eclipse Award winner Acclamation and Smiling Tiger. Harris was born on his family's farm on July 14, 1943. He graduated from the University of California, Davis in 1965 with a degree in animal production. He served for two years in the Army. He became the sole shareholder and CEO of Harris Farms in 1981 following the death of his father, Jack, and led the ranch for decades, including Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant, Harris Ranch Beef Co., Harris Feeding Co., Harris Farms Thoroughbred Division and Harris Fresh. Harris was also known for his philanthropic efforts, supporting his alma mater as well as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Fresno State. He donated horses to a program at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga that gives horses and prisoners a new start through its vocational training program. 'Mr. Harris' foresight, courage and willingness to invest his energy and assets in making our sport be better and rise higher in the eyes of the general public was a thing of pure beauty,' the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club said in a statement. 'We owe him a great debt for dedicating his life to the marvelous animals we all love.' Harris served as chairman of the California Horse Racing Board for three years and was a longtime board member and former president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association. He served on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and was a member of the California Racing Hall of Fame. 'No one understood and appreciated the intersection of agriculture and Thoroughbred breeding and racing more than John, who was a farmer at heart,' Tom Rooney, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said in a statement. 'His presence was felt from his native California, to the farms and sales rings he frequented in central Kentucky, and all the way to Washington, D.C., where he helped shape and support the industry's federal policies.' Harris was involved in horse breeding and racing for more than 50 years. He gave trainer Carla Gaines her first horse in 1989 and she went on to train numerous stakes winners for Harris Farms. 'His contributions to the thoroughbred industry in our state cannot be overstated and his support was unwavering,' Santa Anita Park said in a statement. 'The green and white Harris Farms silks were omnipresent in Santa Anita's winner's circle and the legacy of the man they represent will be everlasting.' Harris is survived by his wife, Cookie. ___ AP horse racing:
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Woodlake pushes past Coalinga for Div. III Central Section title
FRESNO, CA – Watch highlights from #1 Woodlake's 8-1 win over #3 Coalinga in the CIF Div. III Central Section Softball Championship at Margie Wright Diamond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS47 and KSEE24 | News from
The Independent
09-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Family of a helicopter pilot killed in a California wildfire reaches a $15 million settlement
The family of a helicopter pilot who died when his helicopter crashed in 2020 while fighting a wildfire in Southern California reached a $15 million settlement with the company that maintained the aircraft, their attorneys said Friday. Michael Fournier was making water drops on Aug. 19, 2020 over hilly, rugged terrain when his bright red Bell UH-1H copter suddenly plunged into a hillside as he was helping battle the Hills Fire burning 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the small Central Valley town of Coalinga. Fournier worked for a private Southern California company that contracts with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, and other agencies to provide firefighting aircraft and other services. 'The Fournier family's lawsuit sought answers and accountability, and this result does just that,' said Andrew Robb, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit. Robb said the family would not be making any public comments. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board's concluded that the helicopter crashed because of 'a hydraulic system failure.' Moments before the crash Fournier radioed to air traffic control that he was having trouble with the helicopter's hydraulics, Robb said. Fournier was working with Guardian Helicopters, which is based in Fillmore, California and at the time had a contract with Cal Fire to provide emergency services. The settlement was paid by Rotorcraft Support, Inc., the company that maintained the helicopter. A phone message left with the helicopter maintenance company was not immediately returned Friday. Fournier's copter went down in a remote, hilly, smoke-filled area that took a Fresno County Sheriff's Department search and rescue team nearly four hours to reach. Fourteen team members in five Jeeps traveled for miles through soft dirt under smoke-filled skies, finally abandoning the vehicles to walk the last several hundred yards to the crash site. There, they carefully wrapped the body in an American flag and carried it to one of the vehicles.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Family of a helicopter pilot killed in a California wildfire reaches a $15 million settlement
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The family of a helicopter pilot who died when his helicopter crashed in 2020 while fighting a wildfire in Southern California reached a $15 million settlement with the company that maintained the aircraft, their attorneys said Friday. Michael Fournier was making water drops on Aug. 19, 2020 over hilly, rugged terrain when his bright red Bell UH-1H copter suddenly plunged into a hillside as he was helping battle the Hills Fire burning 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the small Central Valley town of Coalinga. Fournier worked for a private Southern California company that contracts with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, and other agencies to provide firefighting aircraft and other services. 'The Fournier family's lawsuit sought answers and accountability, and this result does just that,' said Andrew Robb, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit. Robb said the family would not be making any public comments. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board's concluded that the helicopter crashed because of 'a hydraulic system failure.' Moments before the crash Fournier radioed to air traffic control that he was having trouble with the helicopter's hydraulics, Robb said. Fournier was working with Guardian Helicopters, which is based in Fillmore, California and at the time had a contract with Cal Fire to provide emergency services. The settlement was paid by Rotorcraft Support, Inc., the company that maintained the helicopter. A phone message left with the helicopter maintenance company was not immediately returned Friday. Fournier's copter went down in a remote, hilly, smoke-filled area that took a Fresno County Sheriff's Department search and rescue team nearly four hours to reach. Fourteen team members in five Jeeps traveled for miles through soft dirt under smoke-filled skies, finally abandoning the vehicles to walk the last several hundred yards to the crash site. There, they carefully wrapped the body in an American flag and carried it to one of the vehicles.
