Golden Gate Fields

A trial on the long-gestating legal battle between trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and The Stronach Group (TSG), along with its subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, is scheduled for Apr. 4 in the County of Los Angeles Superior Court of California. The bifurcated non-jury trial, however, is focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action against TSG, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and Santa Anita, and excludes some of Hollendorfer's broader causes of action. That second part of this bifurcated...

Longtime west coast trainer and former jockey William 'Bill' Delia died Thursday due to the complications of COVID-19. He was 75 years old. Born Dec. 5, 1946, he began his apprenticeship as a jockey in 1966. After a race-riding career in which he piloted 304 winners, Delia switched to training. Beginning in 1985, his career spanned over four decades, winning 975 races from 7,952 starters, with his runners amassing purse earnings of $16,735,424. The Bay area native was honored with the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Trainer of the Year...

Golden Gate Fields twice came within one vote Wednesday of having its upcoming December-June license to conduct racing either curtailed or not granted at all because of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) concerns over a recent four-horse uptick in equine fatalities. The meet was eventually approved by a 4-3 vote, with CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, casting the deciding vote and pledging that he will be personally responsible for making sure Golden Gate executives understand that the "or else" consequences of not having a better safety record could mean the...

Matt Dinerman will announce the races at Grants Pass Downs for the final five days of the track's 2021 spring/summer meet. Dinerman, the voice of Golden Gate Fields, is filling in for Jason Beem, who begins his term as track announcer at Tampa Bay Downs this week. "I'm really excited to pinch-hit for Jason Beem at Grants Pass Downs," Dinerman said. "It's fun to call races at a new venue and equally enjoyable to meet new people who share the same passion in horse racing." One of the races Dinerman...

At the start of last month, a small cadre of animal rights protestors snuck onto the Golden Gate Fields racetrack, lay down with arms interlocked in pipes, and halted live racing--as well as a vaccination drive on facility grounds--until police intervention saw their removal. While the incident had a flash-in-the-pan quality, it had the corollary effect of reminding those within the sport here in the Golden State of the somewhat precarious position in which it still finds itself--an important part of the economic puzzle, employing tens of thousands, but one...

Based on increasing vaccine availability and declining COVID-19 numbers, The Stronach Group and TOC outlined new protocols at Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields to allow licensed owners more access to the grounds. SANTA ANITA PARK Mandatory Santa Anita protocols, including social distancing (a minimum of six feet), face cloths covering your nose and mouth, health screening, temperature check and wrist banding will continue to be enforced for everyone entering Santa Anita, including the Stable Area. Winner's Circle After each race, the winning horse will be brought into the...

Los Angeles Times columnist John Cherwa has seen a lot in just a handful of years on the Southern California racing beat, and Wednesday morning he joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss the past, present and future of racing in the Golden State. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Cherwa talked about the progress in Santa Anita's safety record, the top 3-year-olds on the west coast and the effect of last week's protest at Golden Gate Fields. "I wrote...

LA Times Columnist John Cherwa joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast to talk on racing at Santa Anita, top sophomore Life Is Good and the recent protests at Golden Gate Field.

The four protestors who disrupted a card at Golden Gate Fields were arrested at 6:30 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Thursday without incident and were released after being cited for trespassing, according to Isabelle Leduc, the assistant city manager for the town of Albany, California. Leduc identified the individuals as Omar Aicardi (43) of Modesto, Rocky Ming Fan Chau (32) of San Francisco, James Nicholas Crom (29) of Oakland and Rachel Christina Ziegler (28) . The four, members of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, scaled a fence before the...

The Thursday racing card at Golden Gate Fields was on hold after animal rights protesters ran on to the track before the first race and locked themselves together with interlocking pipes over their arms. The first race was scheduled to go off at 12:45 p.m. Pacific Time. As of 4:45 p.m. local time, one hour after the last race was scheduled to go off, no races had been held and the protestors remained on the track. The protest was staged by a group called Direct Action Everywhere, which live-streamed the...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has released its annual report, covering both the fiscal year 2019-2020 and the calendar year 2020. As expected, given the onslaught of a global pandemic, it paints a rather grim economic picture, but there are major positives to be gleaned, chiefly in the equine safety arena. When it comes to the business side of the equation, all-breed total handle generation during 2020 declined by 7% over the prior year. Because of a wholesale shift away from bricks and mortar wagering towards ADW platforms last...

A total of 12 races comprise the stakes schedule for Golden Gate's winter/sprint meet. The 40th running of the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby, which offers its winner 10 GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points as well as a free berth into the GI Preakness S., is set for Saturday, Feb. 13. Other highlights include the $250,000 GIII San Francisco Mile Apr. 24. View the full stakes schedule here.