Golden Gate Fields will be closed by Stronach by end of 2023

Golden Gate Fields, the last major racetrack in Northern California,will be shut down permanently after 2023 racing dates are finished by Dec. 19, TheStronach Group announced Sunday.

The announcement originally scheduled for Monday washastened when the Los Angeles Times broke the story early Sunday afternoon.

In a news release issued by a corporate spokesperson, Stronachsaid the closing of the 82-year-old racecourse in Albany and Berkeley, Calif., was being done to focus its WestCoast operations on Southern California.

“In a major development aimed at consolidating, invigoratingand innovating racing throughout Southern California, The Stronach Group todayannounced it will double down on its prestigious racing and training venues atSanta Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs by closing Golden Gate Fields at theend of the 2023 racing meet,” the news release said.

The problem of shrinking field sizes brought on by thelongtime decline in foal crops and by California’s remote location in Thoroughbredracing geography also was mentioned in the announcement. It also hinted atextending what recently has been a three-day racing week at Santa Anita.

“At the conclusion of the Golden Gate Fields meet, thecompany will focus on seamlessly transitioning horses from Northern Californiato Southern California with the goal of increasing field sizes and addinganother day of racing to the weekly racing calendar at Santa Anita Park comeJanuary 2024,” the statement said. “This consolidation will provide expandedcontent opportunities, wagering prospects and will serve to further elevate theoverall customer experience at Santa Anita Park.”

The announcement did not say what Stronach’s plans were forthe 140 acres of bayside land where Golden Gate Fields has been located sinceit opened Feb. 1, 1941. It did, however, try to stanch the long-held fears thatthe company might sell off its racing assets, particularly the lucrative realestate where Santa Anita is located in Los Angeles County.

“The Stronach Group remains steadfastly committed to racingin California,” CEO Belinda Stronach was quoted as saying in Sunday’s newsrelease. “We believe that the future success of racing depends on a businessmodel that encourages investment in Southern California, one of North America’spremier racing circuits. Focusing on Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs asstate-of-the-art racing and training facilities that offer enhanced programquality, increased race days, expanded wagering opportunities and premierhospitality and entertainment experiences is vital to ensuring that Californiaracing can continue to compete and thrive on a national level.”

The expected negative reaction from other stakeholders inthe racing industry was swift.

“We learned with great dismay, fear and anxiety on behalf ofall California trainers and their thousands of employees of the Stronach racingcompany’s decision,” California Thoroughbred Trainers executive director AlanBalch said in a Sunday statement to the Times. “The ramifications ...will include, we believe, a great many unintended and mainly detrimentalconsequences for all of racing and Thoroughbred breeding through California andthe West, including in Southern California. We can only hope that we areentirely wrong.”

Belinda Stronach anticipated such a response in the companystatement, saying, “We recognize that the decision will have profound effectson our valued employees as well as the owners, trainers, jockeys and stablepersonnel at Golden Gate Fields. The Stronach Group is committed to honoringlabor obligations and developing a meaningful transition plan.”

The Stronach Group said it “will work in cooperation withindustry participants including the California Horse Racing Board, ThoroughbredOwners of California, California Thoroughbred Trainers and Del Mar and LosAlamitos racetracks to develop a plan to relocate horses and employees toSouthern California while supporting all affected by this closure.”

Actual racing dates for the fall meet have yet to be finalized with the California Horse Racing Board, which listed Dec. 19 as the last date available for racing at Golden Gate Fields. That is a Tuesday. If the usual Friday-Sunday calendar were followed as well as a recent pattern to finish 10-16 days before Christmas, the last day of actual competition would be Dec. 10.

Golden Gate Fields was the last of the tracks in the Bay Area, where racing began in 1851, only months after California was admitted to theunion. According to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, the post-World War IIera saw horses competing until 1964 at Tanforan in San Bruno and until 2008 atBay Meadows in San Mateo.

In one form or another, the Stronach family has operatedGolden Gate since 1999, when its Magna Entertainment antecedent bought the propertyfrom Ladbroke Racing.

The closing of Golden Gate Fields will leave only the faircircuit to operate races in Northern California. That circuit currently pivotsaround Cal Expo in Sacramento and includes county-fair dates in Ferndale,Fresno, Pleasanton and Santa Rosa.