CHRB grants Golden Gate approval for winter-spring meet dates

Golden Gate Fields received provisional approval from the California Horse Racing Board on Thursday to run its winter-spring meeting beginning on Dec. 26 after reaching an agreement with the Thoroughbred Owners of California on simulcast signals for races imported from outside of the state.

The racing board met at Del Mar on Thursday and heard testimony from officials of the parent company of Golden Gate Fields – The Stronach Group – and the TOC, the state’s official representative of Thoroughbred horsemen in California.

In recent months, Golden Gate officials have discussed an idea to revamp the state’s northern simulcast system by developing a network of betting cafes that would funnel bets through The Stronach Group’s account wagering service, XpressBet. The plan would have restricted the importation of races from out-of-state to a longstanding network of simulcast locations at other racetracks, county fairs, and mini-satellites in restaurants and card clubs.

The idea of forming betting cafes is not part of the proposal for the track’s upcoming meeting.

The Golden Gate Fields license is contingent on the racetrack reaching contract agreements with satellite wagering facilities in Northern California by Monday.

Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita, another track owned by The Stronach Group, have yet to reach an agreement with the Twin Spires account wagering service on a simulcast agreement for the upcoming meetings of those tracks, but officials with both parties told the racing board that meetings are scheduled in coming weeks with the hope of reaching an immediate resolution.