Golden Gate Fields

Golden Gate Fields

Location	Berkeley, California, United States
Coordinates	37°53′06″N 122°18′40″W / 37.88500°N 122.31111°W / 37.88500; -122.31111
Owned by	The Stronach Group
Date opened	1941
Date closed	June 9, 2024
Course type	Thoroughbred flat racing
Notable races	San Francisco Mile Stakes Golden Gate Derby Berkeley Handicap
Official website

Golden Gate Fields was 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 the Bay Meadows racetrack on May 11, 2008, it was the only major Thoroughbred racetrack in Northern California. It was owned by The Stronach Group.

The track was set on 140 acres (0.57 km²) of land in the cities of Albany and Berkeley. Golden Gate Fields' facilities currently include a one-mile (1,609 m) synthetic track and a turf course measuring 9/10 of a mile, or 7 furlongs plus 132 feet (1,448 m), stalls for 1,420 horses, a main grandstand with seating for about 8,000 customers, a clubhouse with seating for about 5,200 customers, a Turf Club with seating for about 1,500 customers and parking for over 8,500 cars. The synthetic track was called Tapeta and was installed in the summer of 2007. [1]

On July 16, 2023, The Stronach Group announced that Golden Gate Fields would close at the end of the 2023 race meet.^[1] The closing was later delayed tentatively until June 2024.^[2]

On June 9, 2024, Golden Gate Fields in the East Bay city of Albany, staged its final card, ending an 83-year run. A total of 5,936 people came to say farewell, with $3,057,912 wagered on the eight races by on-track patrons and simulcast/advance-deposit wagering players.