Golden Gate Fields opens summer meet with renovated turf course

Racing returns to Golden Gate Fields on Friday as the 19-day summer meet kicks off.

Racing ended on a disappointing note here in June when two turf races were canceled and the possibility of a multimillion-dollar Golden Pick 6 jackpot payoff became only $146.16 per winning ticket with the two canceled races becoming “all” legs of the wager.

“The course was fully renovated this summer, as we planned to do all along,” said Calvin Rainey, track vice president and general manager. “It’s something we do traditionally, and the course has filled in nicely because we have time and summer weather to help it fill in.”

Despite the disappointing conclusion to the long winter-spring meet, that meet did show an increase in handle. Signs for the upcoming meet are so positive that the track added a day of racing, next Thursday, to its schedule.

“We’re looking forward to a nice meeting and racing on the turf,” Rainey said of the meet, which concludes Sept. 18, before the final two fair racing meets at Oak Tree at Pleasanton and Fresno.

Golden Gate is hoping for an early influx of horses from Washington state since Emerald Downs is closing earlier than usual this year, as well as the return of local runners who opted to go to Del Mar rather than compete on the fair circuit.

While many things remain the same, including the popular Dollar Day Sunday promotion and the meet’s lone stakes race, the $50,000-added Rolling Green on Labor Day at 1 1/16 miles on turf, Rainey is hopeful that a new website and a new display sign on Interstate 80 can generate additional interest in the track.

The meet also will be the first at the track since jockey kingpin Russell Baze announced his retirement on closing day in June. Baze’s departure creates many opportunities for riders and should lead to an exciting jockey race.

Trainer John Martin will be seeking his fourth straight Golden Gate title after edging perennial leader Jerry Hollendorfer 62-59 at this year’s winter-spring meet and 19-18 at the 2015 fall meet. Martin won last year’s split summer meet with 12 winners after Hollendorfer edged him 7-6 in the first half of the meet.

Post time is 1:45 p.m. Pacific daily. Admission, including program, is $6 general, $10 clubhouse, and $12 turf club each day except Sunday, when turf-club admission is $15.