Stronach will ask for 2024 dates before closing Golden Gate
Anticipating favorable legislation will be signed into law, The Stronach Group said it would formally ask for dates to run its usual Thoroughbred meet at Golden Gate Fields before it closes the track permanently next summer.
The announcement came in a news release Saturday from Stronach’s 1/ST Racing. It came two days after the state legislature passed a bill that would funnel Northern California betting dollars after July 1 to Southern California tracks when there is no racing in the north. Governor Gavin Newsom has until Oct. 14 to sign the bill into law.
Calif. passes bill that could put off closing Golden Gate.
“1/ST Racing announced that they expect to file a request with the California Horse Racing Board for an allocation of race dates for the first half of 2024 at Golden Gate Fields,” the news release said. “The request is tied to extending the announced closing date of the track located in the cities of Albany and Berkeley to June 30.”
The CHRB’s next meeting is Thursday in Sacramento.
“We are pleased we could work out a solution with our industry stakeholders to be able to keep Golden Gate Fields open for an additional and final meet,” 1/ST Racing CEO Aidan Butler said in the news release.
Stronach plans to close Golden Gate Fields, which opened in 1941, so it may devote all its West Coast racing resources to Santa Anita and its training track at San Luis Rey Downs near San Diego. A December closing had been announced this summer, but Stronach opened the door for a postponement in order to make a deal for this week’s legislation.
“This extension follows extensive consultation with various industry constituents,” the news release said, “including the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Authority of Racing Fairs, California Thoroughbred Trainers and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, who urged an extension in the interest of developing a statewide transition plan based upon thoughtful consideration of the challenges facing racing in California and across the country.”