Owners to receive payments from Golden Gate final meet

A retroactive purse payment of more than $670,000 will be paid to owners whose runners earned prize money at the 2023-2024 Golden Gate Fields meeting, the Northern California track’s final season.

The payment was announced in a statement on Tuesday by the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The payment is equal to an 8 percent purse increase in overnight races, according to the statement.

The final Golden Gate meeting was conducted from Dec. 26, 2023, to June 9, 2024.

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After the closure of Golden Gate Fields, racing was conducted at five fair venues in Northern California through mid-October of 2024 before Pleasanton conducted a fall meeting that failed to meet business expectations. No subsequent race meetings have been held in Northern California, and none are scheduled.

Earlier this year, the California Horse Racing Board rejected proposals at its April, May and June meetings to conduct brief meetings at fair venues in the north. The racing board cited a concern that the meetings would draw prize money away from the Southern California circuit.

For several months, revenue from simulcasting and account wagering generated in Northern California has been redirected to Southern California tracks for purses. The funds would go to Northern California tracks if racing was being held in that part of the state.

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