The Golden Gate Handicap is a Grade III American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

for horses age three and older over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles with handicap conditions on the Tapeta, a synthetic racing surface held annually in November at

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields was an American horse racing race track, track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closi ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. The event offers a purse of US$100,000.

History

The race was inaugurated on 13 October 1948 as the Berkeley Stakes for two-year-olds that were bred in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

over the dirt track. The event was won by Moonrush who was ridden by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

Ralph Neves. Moonrush would win the event again the following year when ii was held in March for three-year-olds as the Berkeley Handicap. Moonrush would later in his career capture the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

, one of the most prestigious events in California. The event in its early days would did not have set scheduled date but would regularly rotate March, May and November with a distance of either 6 furlongs or one mile. The event was for three year olds except in 1957 when the event was run for two-year-olds in split divisions and in 1961 when the event was held as an Invitational race which included older horses. In 1958 and 1964 when the race was restricted to three-year-old-fillies. In 1962 the event was not held. In 1965 the event was scheduled as an open event for three-year-olds and older over a distance miles. From 1966 to 1970 the event was held in April and run over a much longer distance of miles. With the creation of a new turf track at Golden Gate Fields in 1972 the event was scheduled on the grass. The event was held on the turf for 6 years. During this the Argentine-bred import Yvetot won the event twice in 1973 and 1974. In 1978 the event was moved back to the dirt track and scheduled in February over a mile in distance. In 1996 the event was held in December as a two-year-old event. In 2000 the

American Graded Stakes Committee The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) is an American trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1961, TOBA's stated mission is to "improve the economics, in ...

classified the event as Grade III. In 2007 the event's conditions were changed to stakes allowance and the this reflected in the name. During the summer of 2007, Golden Gate Fields installed a polymer synthetic type racing surface and since 2008 the event has been run on this surface. In 2012 the event reverted back to handicap conditions. The Brazilian-bred Editore became the third horse to win the event twice in 2018. In 2020 the event was not held for the fourth time due to an outbreak of

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...

. In 2023 the event was renamed as the Golden Gate Handicap.

Records

Speed record: * miles (synthetic) - 1:42.40 Mugaritz (2019) *1 mile (dirt) - 1:33.80 Snorter (2004) * miles (dirt) - 1:40.94 Desert Boom (2005) Margin: * 7 lengths - Sun Master (1986) * 7 lengths - Wild Wonder (1998) Most wins: * 2 - Moonrush (1948, 1949) * 2 - Yvetot ( ARG) (1973, 1974) * 2 - Editore (BRZ) (2017, 2018) Most wins by a

: * 6 –

Russell Baze Russell Avery Baze (born 7 August 1958 ) is a retired Canadian-American Thoroughbred horse race, horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the National Museum of Ra ...

(1987, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2013, 2015) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 –

Jerry Hollendorfer Jerry Hollendorfer (born June 18, 1946, in Akron, Ohio) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose notable horses include Eclipse Award winners Blind Luck, Shared Belief and Songbird. He has the most wins in the history of Northern Cali ...

(1995, 1996, 2000, 2013) Most wins by an owner : * 2 –

Anita King Anita King (born Anna Keppen; August 14, 1884 – June 10, 1963) was an American stunt driver, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner. In 1915, she became the first woman to drive a car unaccompanied across the United States, with her ...

& Gus Luellwitz (1948, 1949) * 2 – W. K. Gumpert & Edwin Selesnick (1973, 1974) * 2 – Halo Farms (1995, 2000) * 2 –

(1996, 2013) * 2 – Bonne Chance Farm & Stud R D I (2017, 2018)

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an

entry Entry may refer to: *Entry, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States *Entry (cards), a term used in trick-taking card-games *Entry (economics), a term in connection with markets *Entry (film), ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian ...

ƒ Filly or Mare
† In the 2012 running of the event Positive Response was first past the post but interfered twice in the last 100 yards with Anthony's Cross who had finished fourth and was disqualified. Positive Response was placed fourth and Awesome Gem was declared the official winner of the event.
‡ In 1948 the event was for two-year-olds that were bred in California

References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Horse races in California Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area Golden Gate Fields Recurring sporting events established in 1948 1948 establishments in California Grade 3 stakes races in the United States

History

Records

Winners

See also

References