Golden Gate

Behind the scenes there is a battle taking place for the future of racing in Northern California. Approximately 30 million dollars is at the center of the battle, the projected net revenue from wagering derived in the north. The projection is derived from past revenues generated annually through Thoroughbred simulcast, ADW and live racing wagering in the north. Under current law, these funds must remain in the north, for the benefit of the north--both for horsemen and any race meet that continues to offer Thoroughbred racing in the future. The...

Because of a number of developments over the last few weeks that can be characterized as missteps, Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Chief Executive Officer Lisa Lazarus has had a chance to reflect on what's gone right and what's gone wrong since the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program went into effect in May. Appearing as this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Lazarus addressed the problems and made no attempt to sugarcoat them. "If we look at the...

Bob Baffert's ADARE MANOR (Uncle Mo) re-enters graded-stakes company with an expected start in the GII Santa Maria S. Saturday at Santa Anita. A runaway winner in her maiden-breaking score in early 2022, she romped by 13 lengths in the GIII Las Virgenes S. in her next start but missed qualifying for the GI Kentucky Oaks. Transferred back to Baffert's care after near misses in both the GII Santa Anita Oaks and the GII Black-Eyed Susan S., she faltered to sixth in the GI Cotillion before calling it a year...

Last month, a lengthy Financial Times feature detailed the growing share of overall handle generated through Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW)--both in California and nationwide. CAW players are a small group of high-volume and largely anonymous gamblers with an outsized impact on the betting markets due in no small part to the sophisticated wagering tools at their disposal. Because of their high stakes play, they're offered inducements in the form of rebates and reduced takeout rates largely not available to the average punter. CAW proponents argue that these deep-pocketed players provide...

Longtime Northern California trainer Duane Offield passed away on Thursday after a lengthy illness. He was 82-years-old. Offield began his training career in 1976 and saddled 721 winners from 8,038 starters, with lifetime purse earnings of $10,009,202. His most significant win came in the 1990 GI Haskell Invitational S. at Monmouth Park with Restless Con. Services are pending. "Our racing community here at Golden Gate will greatly miss Duane Offield," said Golden Gate Fields Vice President and General Manager David Duggan. "Duane was a soft-spoken man who simply loved coming...

All starter allowance, maiden claiming and claiming races at Golden Gate Fields will receive purse increases of $3,000, starting Dec. 26. "We're really pleased to be able to deliver this purse increase to the horsemen at the most appropriate time," said Vice President and General Manager of Golden Gate Fields David Duggan. "We appreciate our owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and all of the people who work for them who continue to support our racing product."

A total of 10 stakes races will be offered at the 25-day fall meet at Golden Gate Fields which begins Oct. 22 and runs through Dec. 12. The stakes action kicks off Oct. 30 with the Pike Place Dancer S. for 2-year-old turf fillies followed by the $75,000 El Dorado Shooter S. Oct. 31. The El Dorado Shooter is one of two stakes at the fall meet restricted solely for California-bred or sired runners. The other, the $75,000 Bear Fan S., is slated for Dec. 11.  Both California-bred stakes will...

September was a busy month for buzzers. On Sept. 15, the Monmouth Park board of stewards suspended jockey Tomas Mejia for 10 years and fined him $5,000 for possessing an electrical device--commonly referred to as a "buzzer"--during a race run there Sept. 3. That same day at Indiana Grand, leading Quarter Horse jockey, Sammy Mendez, was "summarily suspended for actions not in the best interest of racing," and is awaiting a full hearing before the track's board of stewards. According to the Paulick Report, the suspension is connected to use...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Wednesday unanimously approved a 2022 race dates schedule that looks similar to this year's version, with two significant tweaks: 1) Santa Anita Park will take a mid-April break in the midst of its six-month meet; 2) Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) will have a summer-meet closing date of Sept. 11, a departure from tradition that will extend the meet six days beyond Labor Day. The dates allotment was unanimously approved at the Sept. 15 CHRB meeting. The process itself was surprisingly streamlined and...

Love Candy became the first winner for his freshman sire Danzing Candy (Twirling Candy) with a decisive debut score at Golden Gate. Dispatched at 6-1, the gray broke sharply and settled in a tracking third early, tugging his way between rivals through a :22.733 first quarter. Breaking free of his foes in the lane, Love Candy extended clear to graduate by 2 3/4 lengths over Highland Ghost (Shaman Ghost). Danzing Candy won a trio of graded stakes for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert before his career was cut short by...

Golden Gate Fields will reopen the racetrack to a limited capacity of fans starting Friday, Apr. 16, for the remainder of the winter/spring meet that runs through June 13. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fans will be required to reserve tickets for the duration of the meet. General admission and walk-ups are not permitted at this time. Fans are encouraged to sign-up online to be the first to receive notification when tickets go on sale. Reopening protocols will include social distancing, mandatory masking when not actively eating or drinking, contactless thermal...

In response to an animal rights-driven disruption to live racing earlier this month at Golden Gate Fields, the company which owns the facility has filed suit against the party responsible, Direct Action Everywhere, a self-described global grassroots animal rights network. On Mar. 4, four animal rights protestors ran on to the track before the first race, lighting flairs and chaining themselves together with inter-locking pipes over their arms. The organization also flew a drone over the action, which was used to broadcast a live feed of events via Facebook. Once...