Racing in Northern California will be based at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton beginning this fall as a replacement for Golden Gate Fields, if a proposed race meeting is approved by the California Horse Racing Board. Justin Oldfield, a Northern California-based owner and breeder, said Thursday that an organization of owners, trainers, and breeders located in that part of the state, working with the California Authority of Racing Fairs, will request racing dates at Pleasanton from the racing board at its monthly meeting March 21. Their group seeks dates to replace Golden Gate Fields, which will close in June. Golden Gate Fields conducts a majority of racing in Northern California on a year-round basis aside from the county fair circuit that runs in the summer and briefly in October.  “We’re prepared to deliver our full presentation on the 21st on requesting dates,” Oldfield said Thursday. Oldfield chairs the group of horsemen working with CARF. The group is seeking dates at Pleasanton through the end of the year, but has the intention of racing at that venue next winter and spring, replicating dates previously assigned to Golden Gate Fields, Oldfield said. “One thing we want to make sure of is that the industry that supports it – for farms and everything – that this is a plan to designed to provide certainty,” Oldfield said. “Overall, I think people will be pleased. It should provide what the horsemen in Northern California need. We’re all very excited.” :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Oldfield declined to discuss specifics of the race meeting at Pleasanton, such as a purse structure or the number of days per week racing will be held. The race meeting will start in September after most of the county fair meetings have been held in the summer. “The intent is to make sure that purses are sustainable, both for the racing association and the horsemen,” he said. In December, Golden Gate Fields slashed overnight purses by approximately 25 percent and eliminated all but two stakes for its current meeting that runs through June 9. The closure of Golden Gate Fields was announced last July by the track’s parent company, 1/ST Racing, which also owns such venues as Santa Anita in Southern California and Gulfstream Park in Florida. Shortly after the announcement, the group of Northern California horsemen began talks with CARF about relocating racing to Cal-Expo in Sacramento as a replacement for Golden Gate Fields. In recent weeks, Pleasanton has emerged as a more viable option than Sacramento, which has a contract to conduct two harness race meetings annually through 2030. “It was our plan to make sure that we were thoughtful and strategic on approaching racing in the north,” Oldfield said. “We felt we had to explore all options, and one of them was Sacramento. “There was a unique issue there, an existing tenant. In the short-term, Sacramento wasn’t the best option. It doesn’t mean that long-term that there can’t be another look at it. “For the time being, we feel this is the best option,” Oldfield said of Pleasanton. “When the plan is presented most people will agree.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. After the closure of Golden Gate Fields, fair meetings will be held at Pleasanton, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Ferndale before the proposed new season starts at Pleasanton.  The Big Fresno Fair will operate for two weeks in October before the proposed Pleasanton meeting resumes. Oldfield, who operates Daehling Ranch in Elk Grove, Calif., said it is critical to present a workable plan on March 21 to inform participants in all aspects of the sport, notably breeders, that there are long-term plans to continue racing in Northern California. At the racing board’s most recent meeting in January, commissioners reacted with skepticism regarding a potential meeting at Sacramento this fall. At the time, Larry Swartzlander, president of CARF, told the racing board that Pleasanton was a viable alternative. At the January meeting, tracks in Southern California and the Thoroughbred Owners of California urged the racing board to consolidate racing to the southern circuit after the closure of Golden Gate Fields, aside from the brief county fair season. The tracks and TOC are seeking to use revenue from simulcasting in Northern California to pay regulatory obligations for the southern tracks, or use those dollars for purses. By racing at Pleasanton on a year-round basis, revenue derived from simulcasting would remain in Northern California. Del Mar and Santa Anita are both facing seven-figure purse pool deficits and have cut prize money in recent months. Officials with those tracks told the racing board in January that additional purse cuts are possible later this year. Bill Nader, chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, said in an interview earlier this month that he was eager to see the financial details of the proposed Pleasanton meeting. “We represent the north and the south,” he said. “If the north can put something together that is viable, we’re behind it. “We’ve always said if there is a sound viable business case, how could we oppose it? “We need to see how it will work, who will back it, and make sure the purses will get paid.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.