Golden Gate Fields won't race Friday; sixth cancellation since April

Golden Gate Fields will not race on Friday because of insufficient entries, the sixth such cancellation since mid-April, the track announced on Sunday.

The track has only five days of racing remaining - next Saturday and June 2, and June 7-9 - before the track is permanently closed.

The cancellation of Friday’s races was announced at lunchtime on Sunday. Shortly before the cancellation, the track sent an update to horsemen, indicating that five proposed races had drawn at least five entries and seven proposed races had attracted four entries.

The track has typically run seven or eight races on Fridays this year.

Earlier this month, a track official said there were approximately 700 horses housed at the track, other than unraced 2-year-olds.

Racing was also cancelled on April 19, May 3, 17, 19, and last Friday.

The cancellations have caused frustrations for some owners and trainers because of lost racing opportunities in the track's closing weeks. Golden Gate Fields has a turf course and a synthetic main track. The only other venue in Northern California with a turf course is the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, which runs a brief summer meeting.

Following the conclusion of the current Golden Gate Fields meeting, the circuit will shift to the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton for a 13-day meeting from June 14 to July 7. The season will race on a Friday-through-Sunday basis with an additional program on Thursday, July 4.

After the fair circuit concludes in mid-October, Pleasanton will operate a nine-week fall meeting beginning in late October to replace Golden Gate Fields.

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