Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the short ...

straddling both

Albany, California Albany ( ) is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northwestern Alameda County, California. The population was 20,271 at the 2020 census. History In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in thei ...

and

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 Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

along the shoreline of the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...

adjacent to the

Eastshore Freeway Interstate 80 (I-80) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. The segment of I-80 in California runs east from San Francisco across the San Francisco� ...

in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. With the closing of the

Bay Meadows Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. History Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating ...

racetrack on May 11, 2008, it became the only major Thoroughbred racetrack in Northern California. It is currently owned by

The Stronach Group Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core.Tapeta Footings, Tapeta and was installed in the summer of 2007

History

Golden Gate Fields racetrack is situated on a tract of land bordered on the west by Fleming Point, a rocky

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the soft ...

which lies on the eastern shoreline of

. On the north, it is bordered by the

Albany Bulb The Albany Bulb (also simply known as The Bulb) is a former landfill largely owned by the City of Albany, in California. The Bulb is the west end of a landfill peninsula jutting west from the east shore of San Francisco Bay. The term "Bulb" is ...

, Albany Beach and Albany Plateau, undeveloped terrain over a former landfill, owned by the

City of Albany The City of Albany is a local government area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about south-southeast of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It covers an area of , including the Greater Albany metropolitan area and th ...

. To the east is

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...

and to the south, the Berkeley Meadow. This tract lies on what was once a part of the slough into which three creeks drain:

Schoolhouse Creek Schoolhouse Creek is a creek which flows through the city of Berkeley, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. History The creek acquired its name from a school which was sited adjacent to it, the Ocean View School (the first school in tod ...

Codornices Creek Codornices Creek (sometimes spelled and/or pronounced "Cordonices"), long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 is one of the principal creeks which runs out o ...

and

Marin Creek Marin Creek is a creek tributary of Codornices Creek in northwestern Alameda County, California.Rancho San Antonio owned by

José Domingo Peralta José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

. He sold it in July 1852 to John Fleming, who used it as a transhipment point for sending his cattle across the bay to San Francisco for slaughter and processing. Later in the 19th century, it was the site of the

Giant Powder Company The Giant Powder Company was an explosives manufacturing company which operated from the mid 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Giant Powder Company was the first com ...

, a manufacturer of dynamite and

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating g ...

. Between 1879 and 1892, the plant blew up twice. Competitive horse racing in this part of the East Bay originated with the Oakland Trotting Track about 2 miles south of the site of Golden Gate Fields, in what is now Emeryville. The Oakland Trotting Track was open from 1871 until it was forced to close in 1911 when the state banned horse racing. A fire in 1915 destroyed what remained of its structures. In 1933, the state repealed the ban on horse racing. Just before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Golden Gate Fields built its new grandstand up against the eastern slope of Fleming Point, and adjacent marshland was filled in for the track. The inaugural meet was on February 1, 1941. In the period just before the war, the track was used as the scene of the crime central to the plot of the movie ''

Shadow of the Thin Man ''Shadow of the Thin Man'' is the fourth of six ''The Thin Man'' murder mystery comedy films. It was released by MGM in 1941 and was directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Also, in this film ...

''. With the onset of World War II, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

took over the property as the Naval Landing Force Equipment Depot, Albany for storing hundreds of

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force ( infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are large ...

destined for use in the Pacific theater. After the war, Golden Gate Fields resumed horse racing. Golden Gate Fields was owned and managed for 25 years by San Francisco foreign car importer and horseman

Kjell Qvale Kjell Qvale (July 7, 1919 – November 2, 2013Kjell Qvale passes at 94

. In 1989, Golden Gate Fields was acquired by UK-based Ladbroke Racing. It was later acquired in 1999 by Magna Entertainment Corp., as Ladbroke wanted to divest of its non-European holdings. In March 2009, Magna filed for bankruptcy. The Stronach Group, the current owners, acquired Golden Gate Fields on July 3, 2011. Golden Gate Fields made history in 2016 when it hired 29-year-old Angela Hermann as its track announcer, succeeding

Michael Wrona Michael Wrona (born ) is an announcer from Brisbane, Australia specializing in Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred horse racing. He is best known for the phrase "Racing!", which he says at the start of every race call. Background Michael Wrona bega ...

. Hermann was the first full-time female

race caller A race caller is a public-address announcer or sportscaster who describes the progress of a race, either for on-track or radio and TV fans. They are most prominent in horse racing, auto racing and track-and-field events. Among the jobs of a race ...

in the United States since Ann Elliott worked in the 1960s at Jefferson Downs near New Orleans. Currently 28-year-old

Matt Dinerman Matt Dinerman (born July 13, 1992) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing announcer. He grew up in San Diego, California and graduated from Chapman University college in Orange County, California. Dinerman grew up attending races at Del Mar Racet ...

is the race announcer and track handicapper at Golden Gate Fields.

Racing

Horses and their jockeys at Golden Gate Fields

In 1950,

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...

and

Noor Noor or Nour may refer to: People *Noor (name) *Queen Noor of Jordan Fiction * ''Noor'' (film), a 2017 Bollywood film * ''Noor'' (play), a 2009 play by Akbar Ahmed *''Noor'', a 2020 Pakistani television series with Usama Khan * ''Noor'' (novel), ...

met in the Golden Gate Handicap. The English bred Noor beat the great

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * T ...

winner Citation, prompting Citation's rider, Steve Brooks, to say, "We just can't beat that horse." In 1957, the horse

Silky Sullivan Silky Sullivan (February 28, 1955 – November 18, 1977) was an American thoroughbred racehorse best known for his come-from-behind racing style. Racing style There were other great closers—Whirlaway, Stymie, Calidoscopio, Needles ...

came to the track and with him came the excitement that followed him throughout his life. Until the death of

Lost in the Fog Lost in the Fog (February 4, 2002 – September 17, 2006) was an American thoroughbred race horse. He won his first 10 starts (including two Breeders' Cup stakes), 11 of his 14 lifetime starts across the country, and career earnings of $978,099. ...

, he was also the only horse to be buried in the infield. Lost in the Fog's plaque is the third to be placed at Golden Gate Fields, found near the one for Silky Sullivan and that for

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sho ...

. The infield turf course was opened on February 22, 1972. In 1974, the first $2 million day in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

was held on California Derby Day. In 1984, the great

gelding A gelding is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven horse behavior, behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer a ...

John Henry set a course record winning the Golden Gate Handicap. Before his death in 2006,

was based here. On September 17, 2006, he was

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

due to inoperable tumors found on his spleen and along his spine. Prior to his early death, Lost in the Fog ran three races at his home base — winning twice, and placing once. On September 30, 2006 Golden Gate Fields held a celebration of his life. During the summer of 2007, the racetrack installed a polymer synthetic type racing surface as mandated by the

California Horse Racing Board The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) was established in 1933 as an independent agency of the State of California, United States. The CHRB has authority over the regulation of horse racing and parimutuel betting at licensed California race tra ...

. The

Tapeta Footings The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

synthetic all-weather racing surface is designed to make racing safer for both horses and riders. On February 1, 2008, on board the horse Two Step Cat,

Russell Baze Russell Avery Baze (born 7 August 1958 ) is a retired horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame and the State of Washington ...

got his 10,000th career win as a jockey. Baze won 54 riding titles and a total of 5,765 races at Golden Gate Fields during his career.

Shared Belief Shared Belief (February 15, 2011 – December 3, 2015) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he was undefeated in three races, including the Hollywood Prevue Stakes and Los Alamitos Futurity, and was named the American Ch ...

, the Champion 2-year-old colt of 2013, was based at the track and won several races there. With the loss of Bay Meadows to developers in 2008, Golden Gate Fields has become Northern California's only major racetrack (aside from the racetracks associated with the summer fair circuit). The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) sets the specific racing dates each year, but there is customarily a long winter/spring meet running from late December to mid June, and a fall meet running from mid October to mid December. Starting in 2010, a summer meet was added with dates based around the summer fair circuit. On June 15, 2016, the CHRB presented a proposed 2017 calendar that would eliminate the summer meet.

Transportation

AC Transit AC Transit (Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District) is an Oakland-based public transit agency serving the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. AC Transit also operates "Transbay" ...

, the local public transit agency, provided a seasonal bus service, line 304, between the track and

North Berkeley BART North Berkeley is an underground Bay Area Rapid Transit station located on Sacramento Street in the North Berkeley region of Berkeley, California. The station is bounded by Virginia, Sacramento, Delaware, and Acton streets in a residential area ...

station until 2008. The track is also accessible from the Gilman Street and Albany exits of the

, as well as from adjacent city streets. The

San Francisco Bay Trail The San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail that when finished will allow continuous travel around the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. As of 2020, of the trail have been completed. When finished, the trail will be over of p ...

, a bicycle and walking path passes between the bay and the stands. In 2009 East Shore Charter Lines was contracted to provide the racetrack with a new free service from the BART station.Free Shuttle schedule
/ref>

Racing events

The following Graded events were held at Golden Gate Fields in 2020. Grade III *

Berkeley Handicap The Berkeley Handicap is a Graded stakes race, Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles with handicap conditions on the Tapeta Footings, Tapeta, a synthetic racing surf ...

* San Francisco Mile Stakes The following are black type listed stakes: *

El Camino Real Derby The El Camino Real Derby is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race held in February at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. The race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on Tapeta, a synthetic r ...

California Derby The California Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held early in the year at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it is open to three-year-olds at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on a Tapeta surface. The Derby offers a pur ...

All American Stakes The All American Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred race for horses three-years-old and older over a distance of one mile on the turf at Golden Gate Fields, Berkeley, California. It currently offers a purse of $100,000. History The ev ...

It hosts numerous overnight handicaps and ungraded stakes events. *

California Oaks The California Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in February at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, California. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested on Tapeta Footings synthetic dirt over a distance of a mile and a s ...

Silky Sullivan Handicap The Silky Sullivan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year (until recently in March, then on November 5, and now in April) at Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for the "Heart Attack Horse," the great ...

* Albany Stakes * Alcatraz Stakes *

Campanile Stakes A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

Golden Poppy ''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant f ...

* Tanforan Stakes, 3 Year Olds and up, one mile and 3/8, turf. $75,000 *

Miss America Stakes Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, ...

, Fillies and mares, 3 Year Olds and up, one mile and 1/8, turf. $75,000 *

Corte Madera Stakes Corte may refer to: * Corte, a commune in Corsica, France ** Arrondissement of Corte, a district in Corsica, France * USC Corte, a French football team People with the surname * Frank Corte, Jr., a U.S. businessman and politician See also * C ...

, 2 Year Old Fillies, one mile. $75,000 *

China Basin Stakes Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closing of t ...

Gold Rush Stakes The Gold Rush Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds run at Golden Gate Fields in mid-December. An ungraded stakes set at distance of one mile on Tapeta Footings, the Gold Rush currently offers a purse of $75,000. The ...

Half Moon Bay Stakes The Half Moon Bay Stakes is an American ungraded stakes race for Thoroughbred horses held on the grass at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. For fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up, it is run at a distance of eight and a half furlongs ...

Lost in the Fog Stakes The Lost in the Fog Stakes is an American ungraded stakes run at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California for Thoroughbred two-year-old horses. A five-furlong sprint, the race is named in honor of Lost in the Fog, the brilliant sprinter who ma ...

Pacific Heights Stakes The Pacific Heights Stakes is run each year at Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for a hilly section of the city of San Francisco, the race is restricted to California bred fillies and mares, 3 years old and up, and run a ...

, 3 Year Olds and up (Cal-breds), one mile and 1/16. $75,000 *

Mill Valley Stakes The Mill Valley Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it's open to horses three years old and older. The race is named for a small town in Marin County across the San Francisco Ba ...

Raise Your Skirts Raise may refer to: Music *'' Raise!'', the name of a 1981 album by Earth, Wind, and Fire * '' Raise'' (album), the name of a 1991 album by Swervedriver Place names *Raise, Cumbria, England *Raise (Lake District), the name of the 12th highes ...

, 4 Year Olds and up, Fillies & Mares, 6 furlongs, $75,000. * Tiburon Handicap, 3 Year Old Fillies, six furlongs. $75,000 * Sausalito Stakes, 3 Year Olds and up, six

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

s. $75,000 *

Forty Niner Stakes The Forty Niner Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older run over a distance of one mile (8 furlongs) on the dirt held annually in late October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event offers a purs ...

, 3 Year Olds and up, one mile and 1/16. $75,000 *

Stinson Beach Stakes Stinson may refer to: * Stinson, Ontario * Stinson (surname) * Stinson Aircraft Company * Stinson Lake, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the town of Rumney * Stinson Municipal Airport, San Antonio, Texas * Stinson Theatres, a Canadian mo ...

, 3 Year Olds, six furlongs. $50,000 * Oakland Stakes, 3 Year Olds and up, six furlongs. $75,000 *

Golden Gate Fields Sprint Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucester ...

, 4 Year Olds & Up, 6 furlongs, $75,000. *

Work the Crowd Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal ...

, 4 Year Olds & Up, Fillies & Mares (Cal-bred), 1 mile and 1/16, $75,000. * Silveyville Stakes, 1 and 1/16 mile, $73,500 *

Golden Nugget Stakes Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucester ...

, $50,000

Pop culture references

* Punk rock band Rancid wrote and performed the song "GGF", about lead singer

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

's childhood near Golden Gate Fields, on their 2000 self-titled album. * Golden Gate Fields was featured in the Rancid video "Last One to Die". * In '' On the Road'' by

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian anc ...

, Sal Paradise visits Golden Gate Fields with his friend Remi Boncœur who loses all their money before the seventh race. * In the movie ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

'' starring

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

and

Michael Rapaport Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include '' True Romance'' (1993), '' Higher Learnin ...

, Murphy's character is seen at Golden Gate Fields betting on a race and blaming

for losing his money.

Notes and references

* ''A Selective History of the Codornices-University Village...'', by Warren and Catherine Lee, Imprint ( Albuquerque, N.M.): Belvidere Delaware Railroad Company Enterprises, Ltd., (2000). {{reflist

External links

Photos of Golden Gate Fields, including memorial plaque for Silky Sullivan
and

]
Golden Gate Fields facebook fan page

Horse racing venues in California Sports venues in Alameda County, California Sports venues in Berkeley, California Albany, California Stronach Group 1941 establishments in California Tourist attractions in Alameda County, California