Racehorse business brings lawmaker 'joy and serenity'
Rep. Dennis Cardoza had a productive time at the track last year, buying and selling horses that earned tens of thousands of dollars in races along the East Coast.
The Atwater Democrat's racehorses won purses valued between $55,000 and $175,000 in 2010, newly filed disclosure statements show. The horses have names such as Unanimous Consent, Undenied, Tres Locos and Regrettable Romance.
All told, Cardoza reported having full or partial ownership of 13 different racehorses sometime during the last year. He reported selling three and buying six during the year.
Cardoza said Monday that while his horse business "has yet to meet with grand success," he still finds it rewarding.
"Raising the foals brings me great joy and serenity," Cardoza said. "A few years ago, (my wife) made the suggestion as a way to keep life in perspective and relieve tension."
Cardoza's racehorses were more of an explicit gamble than the typical investments made by California's 52 other House members, though many took some kind of chance in search of fun or profit.
Some reports reveal clues about the private lives of public figures. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, for instance, reported holding two U.S. patents. He valued one at $0. The other, issued in 2008 for a wind turbine device, had a dollar value that was "unascertainable," McNerney reported.
BILL WATCH
With a new study projecting that enforcing the death penalty will cost taxpayers $5 billion through 2030, Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, plans to introduce legislation to ban capital punishment. "Every time we spend money on failed policies like the death penalty," Hancock said, "we drain money from having … more of the things that would truly make for safer communities."
REPEATING
"We're tired of watching Fox News get their entertainment from bashing California."
ALLAN ZAREMBERG, California Chamber of Commerce, advocating for a "comprehensive" solution to the state budget in the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown's veto.
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