Purses at the forthcoming Golden Gate Fields winter-spring meeting will be cut severely in an effort to reduce a deficit of more than $3 million amassed in recent years, according to track and racing officials. The purse cut, which will take effect with the start of the winter-spring meeting on Dec. 26, could be as severe as 25 percent, officials said. Details of the reduction will be released later this week with the publication of the first condition book, which lists the proposed races for the first few weeks of the season. “We’ll be subject to an adjustment,” track general manager David Duggan said on Sunday. “That number will become apparent when the first condition book is published. “We’ve been talking about this for quite some time.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The reduction coincides with the start of the track’s final scheduled race meeting. The track’s parent company, 1/ST Racing, had announced in July that Golden Gate Fields would close at the conclusion of the autumn meeting this weekend. But earlier this year, 1/ST racing officials were urged by the California Horse Racing Board to keep Golden Gate Fields open for another winter-spring season, until June 9, to allow the Northern California racing circuit an opportunity to form a new schedule without Golden Gate Fields. The 2024 racing schedule in Northern California has been announced through Labor Day weekend and for part of October. Details of racing dates and locations have not been finalized for the final weeks of September, and a period from mid-October to the end of 2024. The purse cut was first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News over the weekend. Discussions between the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the track about lesser purse cuts in recent years failed to resolve the issue, according to TOC board member Lindsay Laroche, who races under the name Highland Yard. Laroche, who is based in Northern California, said a proposal for a minor purse cut last year was rejected by the TOC’s board. Johnny Taboada, another owner and breeder based in Northern California who is a member of the TOC board, said a severe reduction in overnight purses may force some participants out of the sport. “It is putting people out of work,” he said on Sunday. “People are looking to leave the premises, quitting or retiring. “We understand they don’t want to get deeper in the hole, but to get it all at once?” It is unclear how significantly a substantial purse cut will reduce the deficit by the scheduled end of live racing in June, leaving the possibility the track will be stuck with a debt at the end of the season. In addition to overnight purses, the stakes schedule is likely to be severely curtailed. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.