Golden Gate Fields closes: 8 sets of 1st-person memories

Albany, Calif.

The months became days became hours became the end of the 83-year history of Golden Gate Fields. The final races were run on a sunny, 66-degree day alongside San Francisco Bay.

From frontside executives to backside regulars, there was a surreal feeling about the last chapter being written on a day that so many familiar faces hoped would not arrive.

These were some of the thoughts of four executives, two trainers, a jockey and his agent who were interviewed in the past four days by Horse Racing Nation:

David Duggan, seven years as general manager, Golden Gate Fields

“The closure of racetracks is not a new phenomenon, sadly. It was particularly evident in North America with the closure of Arlington Park. ... I hate to say it’s just the way it is.”

What’s next?

“I’m going to be donning a new hat after June 9, which will be more of a janitorial-type role, tidying up this place. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of equipment that’s going to have to move on, and a lot of the fixtures and fittings will all form part of an auction. I’m going to be busy for a little while. I'll still be here, and it’d be more of a tidy-up more than anything else.”

Steve Specht, trainer for 31 years at Golden Gate Fields

What will he pack from his barn office?

“It’s no good anyway. I need to throw it away. I’ve been going through everything trying to weed out stuff that’s no good and no need for it. ... I was in this barn before I met my wife. I’ve been married 29 years with her. I met her cutting my hair, actually. She was a hairdresser up there in Santa Rosa.”

“Probably my favorite horse of all time was a horse named Silver Stan, who was just a little cheap $4,000 claimer that I claimed. I owned half of him. The client that I used to have is dead now. He was a St. Louis car dealer. He wound up winning I think 12 races that year, one of them an allowance race, a bunch of starter races, and he always seemed to win when payday was around. Man, I was on my ass at that time. Believe me. That was like ’94, and I had moved out here and was just kind of getting things going and was struggling. That horse, I made about $125,000 with him, and I lost him for $25,000. That one will always be one of my favorites. A long shot from being the best. He just poked that nose. Almost every race he won was by a nose, a head, a neck. He just saved my ass.”

Craig Fravel, executive vice chair of racing for the Stronach Group

“I just think of some really great people that I got to know over the years. Kjell Qvale, who used to actually own this place before it was sold to I think Ladbroke, was an iconic figure in California racing. Other folks like (breeder) John Harris, who has always been a big supporter of northern racing but statewide racing as well. Peter Tunney, who used to run Golden Gate, was a great friend of mine. I really think more about the people and relationships that I've had over the years than I do about any particular race or event here at Golden Gate.”

What’s next for Golden Gate Fields?

“I don’t have a definitive answer on that. There are negotiations ongoing with the state of California, and I hope to see that come to some conclusion in the next three or four months.”

Francisco Duran, jockey for 25 years at Golden Gate Fields

“It’s just another sad story. Another chapter closing in our lives and another chapter that’s going to start in our lives.

“Started my career here. It was a new world for me. I did really good as an apprentice. I was third-leading apprentice in the country then. I got to go to the Eclipse Awards. It changed my life. Winning four or five races a day, being behind Russell Baze, riding with Russell Baze, riding with those veteran riders. Just great riders. I got to see Laffit Pincay ride here, Eddie Delahoussaye rode a little bit here. Now that I’m a veteran rider, watching these new kids come. All these years you could say it’s been a blessing for me getting to do what I love to do.

“They’re done investing here in Golden Gate because of what we’ve been through. It’s going to be a sad day, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to move forward and move on and just be positive for the next chapter in our lives.”

Brent Harmon, Duran’s agent

“I’m ready to move on and get a fresh start over at Pleasanton, somewhere that we’re actually wanted. I’m not here to talk bad about Golden Gate, but we’re not wanted here, and we’re wanted over there.”

Alan Balch, executive director, California Thoroughbred Trainers, former ad man for Golden Gate Fields

“I can just remember all kinds of fantastic days. I can remember the first time we handled $5 million and the first time we handled $6 million. I can remember when the cars were all parked out there (past the second turn) where you can see those cars coming in for Buchanan Street. Charlotte Dorn was Peter (Tunney’s) secretary here. She said, ‘Alan, Alan, look where they’re parking out there.’ We had well over 20,000, 25,000 people. I can remember when (teenage jockey) Steve Cauthen came to Santa Anita and then rode up here (in 1977), and they blew the doors off this place.

“San Francisco or the Northern California metropolitan market, the Bay Area, depending on what stats you look at, is around the fifth-biggest metropolitan marketing area in the United States. For it not to have this place, it’s just a fantastic opportunity which has not been in my opinion properly marketed in 20 years.”

Bill Nader, president and CEO, Thoroughbred Owners of California

“I started out at Rockingham Park. It closed down after I left. We have a community on Facebook, and I’m part of that site. We’ve been closed 20 years. It’s not like it goes away, and people forget it and turn the page. The racetrack community, you can’t underestimate how much it means them. So I totally get it. Whether it be Arlington Park or Calder or Hollywood Park or (Hazel Park in) Detroit, or you can decide naming them. But I know. I was a bicycle ride away from Rockingham. It was my first job in racing, and I would ride my bicycle to get there. It meant everything to me, and to see it gone, it hurts. I probably get that as well as anybody, because that track to me was home. It’s like your first love. It really is. So I’m sure there’s a lot of people for Golden Gate as there were for Hollywood as there were for Arlington Park that would feel the same way. There’s no escaping the pain that it causes. I completely understand that.”

Steve Sherman, trainer, son of California Chrome’s Art Sherman

From his morning vantage point on the outside rail of the first turn.

“We’ll be leaning on it through Sunday, and that’s going to be it. We’re shipping out Monday night and see where our new adventure takes us.

“It’s a shame. I wish it wasn’t closing. I wish we were still racing here. It’s a good facility. It’s in a perfect spot here. No better place to race in the summertime than here. It’s always cool. It’s always nice. It’s a shame that it’s going to come to an end.

“One of the fondest memories I had was when I was working for my dad, and we were able to be (Eclipse Award winner) Lost In the Fog one day with a horse name Carthage. That was a horse that my dad claimed at Del Mar. He ended up getting him, and he became a really good sprinter here. Just winning a lot of stakes here and working for my dad for all those years right down there in barn 91. ... You know my dad rode here, trained here, so he’s a Bay Area homer for many, many years before he went down south.

“Racetrackers like to go out to dinner. You win a race, you like to go out to dinner, so we’ve met a lot of good people out at sports bars and things like that. There’s really a lot of good people over here in the East Bay. It’s a shame that it’s coming to an end. But hey, until I see the final nail in the coffin, you never know what could happen in the future. I mean, it doesn't look good right now, but I don’t see any jackhammers outside. No wrecking balls. I remember Bay Meadows had some wrecking balls. That was a quick one. They tore it down. That was a quick one. But here? I don’t see them lining up at the gate here with all the wrecking balls. You can never say that we can never come back here, but I don’t know. That’s the uncertainty.”

Photos top to bottom by FanDuel TV, Ron Flatter, Asian Racing Conference, Flatter, California Horse Shows Association, Thoroughbred Owners of California, Flatter.