Golden Gate cancels card

ALBANY, Calif. - Racing was canceled Sunday at Golden Gate Fields when jockeys refused to ride because of the condition of the track.

"The bottom was not even enough to be fair," said jockey Ron Warren Jr., head of the Northern California Jockeys' Guild.

Morning training continued until its usual 10 a.m. closing, and work then began on the track, which had taken 12 inches of rain during recent storms. According to track superintendent Juan Meza, "The problem is so many horses train in the morning that with this weather, it didn't give us a chance to work on the track. That builds up."

Warren said he should have contacted management earlier Sunday about the track condition in order to give more time to work on the track.

Warren said, "After they did the track [Sunday morning], horses went out. The bottom was still inconsistent. They could only blade the inside. If you started from the 4 or 5 hole, you would have had no chance."

Warren said he worked six horses in the morning.

"The track must be fair for the horses, horsemen, and public," he said. "The whole time I was working horses I was thinking how I would ride races on this track and not be compromised this afternoon."

F. Jack Liebau, track president, lamented the cancellation.

"It was a beautiful day, and New York was not running," he said. "We missed simulcasting opportunities across the country that are seldom available to northern California."

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who had horses scheduled to run in three races, said, "All those [jockeys] want to make money. I don't think they wanted a day off. They thought it was dangerous."

Fans in attendance were given rain checks. Racing is scheduled to resume Thursday.

Meza said that during the three-day Christmas break his crew would work on getting all the loose material out of the track.