Golden Gate to open turf course in April

Golden Gate Fields will begin using its turf course for the first time this year in early April at the earliest, according to racing secretary Steve Martinelli.

The course has not been used since the first weekend of December. The track does not race on the surface through winter months because of wet conditions in Northern California.

In 2022, a year with drier conditions, the course opened in mid-March. Last year, the course was not used for the first time until early April because of a wet winter. The same conditions have occurred this year.

“We’ve gotten a lot of rain,” Martinelli said. “We want to make sure it’s nice and ready to go.”

Golden Gate Fields is scheduled to close permanently on June 9. The track has one remaining stakes scheduled, the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on turf on April 27.

The turf course is expected to be used extensively in the final weeks of the track’s season.

After Golden Gate Fields closes, turf races will be rare in Northern California. The only other track with a turf course is the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, which has a brief meeting each August.

A group of Northern California owners, trainers, and breeders have been working with the California Authority of Racing Fairs to develop a replacement schedule that will ensure the continuity of racing on a year-round basis at Pleasanton or Sacramento when the Northern California fair circuit is not operating.

Though no formal announcements have been made, many observers expect Pleasanton to be in use in the later months this year, when Golden Gate Fields would have previously operated. The issue is scheduled to be discussed at a California Horse Racing Board meeting in Sacramento on March 21.

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