Golden Gate Fields: Fall meet again has seven stakes totaling $475,000

Golden Gate Fields will offer seven stakes, highlighted by the Grade 3, $100,000 Berkeley Handicap, at its 2013 fall meeting, which begins Oct. 17. Golden Gate opens its 19-day summer meeting on Friday.

The Berkeley was previously run on Memorial Day weekend, with the Grade 3 All American run in the fall. This year, Golden Gate Fields switched the All American to Memorial Day weekend and will run the Berkeley on Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving.

Golden Gate also offered seven stakes races at last year’s fall meet, with the same $475,000 in purses.

The meet’s other $100,000 stakes is the Pike Place Dancer, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies scheduled for Oct. 26. The $50,000 Oakland Stakes, a six-furlong sprint, was moved up one month from last year and will be run Nov. 16.

The stakes schedule begins Oct. 19 with the $50,000-added Miss America for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

Two open races for 2-year-olds are scheduled as part of a series leading up to the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby next February. The first race, scheduled for Nov. 9, is the six-furlong Golden Nugget, which has a $50,000-added purse. The $75,000 Gold Rush at one mile is scheduled for Dec. 7. The $50,000-added Golden Gate Debutante, for 2-year-old fillies, will be run at six furlongs on Nov. 30.

“Overall, our fall stakes cover most categories,” racing secretary David Jerkens said. “We are particularly pleased with the growth of our 2-year-old series. Sometimes these things take time to catch on, but we’ve seen trainers go out and purchases horses for the series.”