Weather wipes out Golden Gate, Turf Paradise Saturday cards

Golden Gate Fields and Turf Paradise canceled their New Year’s Eve racing cards due to weather-related issues.

Golden Gate Fields General Manager David Duggan said the cancelation came after a heavy storm hit the Bay Area overnight, dumping around 3 to 4 inches of rain and triggering localized flooding near the Albany, Calif., track.

While Golden Gate's synthetic Tapeta racing surface is designed to handle plenty of moisture, the track’s drainage system was not able to siphon off enough rainwater, which caused flooding around the track’s perimeter, Duggan said. The situation was identical to one that forced the track to cancel racing on Feb. 14, 2019, he said.

He said officials would inspect the track Saturday afternoon before deciding whether Sunday’s card could go on as planned.

Turf Paradise received only light rainfall overnight, but the Phoenix track does not handle moisture well and jockeys who walked the muddy dirt course early Saturday found it “insufficient” for safe racing, Racing Secretary Rob Junk told HRN.

Live racing at Turf Paradise is scheduled to resume on Monday, however the National Weather Service forecast for the area said there is a 90 percent chance of rainfall early Sunday, which could further impact the track’s racing surface.