Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
RE-OPENING DAY
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RETURNS TO ACTION WITH LARGE FIELDS,
Golden Gate Fields resumes racing for the first time in more than six weeks on Thursday, reviving major Thoroughbred racing in California after a spring being shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Golden Gate Fields has not raced since March 29, having been ordered shut by the Alameda County Public Health Officer on April 2. Santa Anita has not raced since March 22, having been ordered closed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on March 27. Santa Anita hopes to resume racing Friday, but as of early Monday had not announced it had gotten permission from county health officials.
The tracks were closed after they were deemed nonessential businesses during the pandemic.
Golden Gate Fields announced May 6 that racing would resume Thursday.
“We’re back and it’s a good atmosphere,” David Duggan, track vice president and general manager, said Monday.
Owners and trainers have responded enthusiastically to the resumption of racing. Thursday’s nine-race program, which begins at 12:45 p.m. Pacific, drew 80 entrants.
Golden Gate Fields will have a mandatory payout in the 20-cent Golden Pick Six, which has a carryover of $398,294 from March 29. The bet covers the fourth through ninth races and may draw $2 million in new money Thursday.
With most tracks still shut down, overall handle on Golden Gate’s Thursday program is likely to be much higher than normal. The only other daytime track operating Thursday is Gulfstream Park in Florida. Golden Gate Fields will be the only Thoroughbred track in operation for a large segment of the afternoon and early evening in the United States.
“I think there is a good appetite for us at the moment,” Duggan said.
Four of the nine races Thursday are on turf, the first time the course has been used since late September. Golden Gate ran races exclusively on its Tapeta main track at its fall meeting and during earlier programs at the current meeting, which began in late December.
Thursday’s turf races drew fields of 7, 8, 9, and 11 entrants. Several races on the program drew runners from stables based in Southern California, which is common for Golden Gate Fields.
Similar to other venues operating worldwide, Golden Gate Fields will race without spectators and with few track employees.
“This will be the scenario for some time,” Duggan said. “There doesn’t seem to be any loosening.”
Duggan said track executives were in contact with Alameda County health officials before racing ceased earlier this spring and continued discussions through April and early May, leading to approval to resume racing.
“We had ongoing dialog with them for quite some time, even before we were closed down,” Duggan said. “Our plan is robust and very comprehensive, and they were satisfied enough and they deemed us a low-risk business.”
Duggan did not comment on all the protocols that will be enacted when racing resumes, but said jockeys will wear masks. He said the stable area has had approximately 1,200 horses in recent weeks.
“I think we got there just in time, before anyone took anything away,” he said. “It’s most unfortunate to have a break of this nature, especially in Northern California where we are a bit of an island.”
The meeting is scheduled to continue through June 14, with racing held largely on a Thursday-through-Sunday basis. The June 14 program is highlighted by the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile, a $250,000 turf race rescheduled from its original date on April 25.