Golden Gate's business declines

Handle at the Golden Gate Fields meeting that ended Feb. 11 was down across the board from the last wintertime meeting at the track.

The total all-sources handle on live Golden Gate races averaged $2,522,218 daily at the 31-day meet that began Dec. 26, down 9.7 percent from the 28-day meet that Golden Gate held in 2004-2005. Bay Meadows was the site of northern California racing for corresponding dates in 2005-06.

Ontrack handle on Golden Gate races was down 4.4 percent from the 2004-05 meeting, to $241,131, while offtrack wagering declined 10.2 percent, to $2,281,086 daily.

The track had its largest single-day attendance since Presidents Day of 2001 when 6,910 fans took advantage of a Dollar Day promotion on opening weekend. Average daily attendance, though, went from 2,575 in 2004-05 to 2,478, a drop of 3.8 percent.