HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 2018 FALL MEET

The 32-day 2018 fall meet begins this Thursday, October 18 and runs through Sunday, December 9. First post time each race day is 12:45 PM PT with two exceptions; Breeders Cup Saturday, November 3 has a scheduled first post of 11:40 AM while the first race on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, will go off at 11:15 AM.

Eight stakes races are highlight on the fall meet calendar, led by the $100,000 Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap for three year olds and upward. Four of the eight stakes races are for 2-year-olds: the Pike Place Dancer and Golden Gate Debutante for fillies, and the Golden Nugget and Gold Rush Stakes for colts and geldings.

The 20 Cent Golden Pick Six will, once again, be featured on the wagering menu. The Golden Pick Six is a jackpot wager, with the sequence coming in the last six races on each card. The 50 Cent Early Pick 5 (Races 1-5 every day) will have a player friendly, low 14% takeout, and the $1 Rolling Super Five will be on the wagering menu as well. Note that the Rolling High Five is only offered in races in which there are 7 or more starters.

“We are excited to offer eight stakes races, good quality racing and great wagering opportunities this meet,” said General Manager and Vice President of Golden Gate Fields David Duggan. “Our goal is to always make the racing product as strong as possible, and the customer service experience top notch. We will be giving our fans and horseplayers’ extensive coverage-interviews with jockeys, trainers and others-along with a number of Golden Gate Fields videos through our YouTube page. We are improving in all aspects of our product for the fans, horseplayers and horseman and look forward to continuing to do so during this meet.”

FINISH LINES: A reminder of jockeys joining the riding colony this meet: Ryan Barber (representing himself), Julien Couton (represented by Dennis Patterson), Francisco Monroy (represented by Brent Harmon), Kevin Orozco (represented by “Oakland Ron” Freitas) and Austin Solis (represented by Brent Harmon)…Jose Valdivia Jr., who won 112 races at Arlington Park this year and finished atop the rider standings there by a landslide, will be riding at Golden Gate Fields this Thursday and Friday. Valdivia rides I Will Rule in Thursday’s opener and will be aboard Synnin (Race 3) and Dutton’s Legend (Race 5) on Friday…Silvio Amador is getting close to a return to the saddle. The journeyman rider suffered a leg injury in May and has been rehabilitating over the past five months…Trainer Anthony Stabile is back at our bayside track after spending his summer at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pennsylvania. Stabile returns to GGF with 21 horses, six of who are unraced youngsters. “We’ll be ready to run,” said Stabile. “I’m happy to be back.”…Also returning to Golden Gate Fields is trainer Frank Lucarelli, who has a string of about 30 horses. Lucarelli raced the majority of his stock at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington this spring and summer…The Stronach 5 wager, a Pick 5 sequence in which all five legs are run at Stronach Group owned racetracks, features Golden Gate’s fifth race as the last leg in this Friday’s $1 wager….The 20 Cent Golden Pick 6 and $1 Rolling Super High Five pools begin anew with the start of this upcoming fall meet.

FOUR NEW RIDERS ADDED TO BAY AREA JOCKEY COLONY THIS WEEK 

Jockeys Julien Couton, Kevin Orozco, Arnold Perez and Austin Solis will be riding races in the Bay Area for the foreseeable future. Couton, Orozco and Solis take their talents to Northern California after successful campaigns at Emerald Downs while Perez moves his tack after a stint working for Southern California trainer John Sadler at Santa Anita.

Julien Couton, a native of France, finished third in the Emerald Downs jockey standings with 68 wins and picked up two stakes victories. When Couton rode at Golden Gate during the Winter/Spring meet, he won a trio of stakes races: the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile with older gelding Flamboyant, the California Oaks with 3-year-old filly Consolida and the Camilla Urso Stakes with female sprinter Mother of Dragons.

“I’m very excited to be back at Golden Gate,” said Couton. “Golden Gate is my home track so it is great to be coming home. We’ll take it one day at a time and go from there.”

Kevin Orozco finished second in the Emerald Downs rider standings with 71 victories. Orozco hit the board with 53% of his mounts and scored at a 21% win clip, which is the second highest win percentage behind leading rider Rocco Bowen. Orozco also won five stakes races at the meet, just one win shy of tying Bowen for most stakes victories by a jockey at the meeting.

“It was a great meet,” Orozco said of his recent success in Washington. “I achieved all of my goals: I won more races and more stakes’ than last year. I finished third in the standings last year but did even better this year and finished second.”

“With that in mind, I am committed to being successful at Golden Gate,” continued Orozco. “It’s good to ride with guys at Golden Gate because the jockey colony here is very strong. You’ve got a lot of talented riders here and you only get better when you compete against really good riders. But I am really hungry to do well here. I’m committed to working hard and doing everything I can to get good mounts.”

Austin Solis, the son of Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis, won 23 races at Emerald this year. He scored a stakes win earlier in the month with the Blaine Wright trained Fly Far Away and primarily rode for top Emerald Downs conditioners like Wright and Frank Lucarelli. He has ridden at different tracks all over the country, including Aqueduct, Arlington Park and the Southern California circuit of Santa Anita and Del Mar. Before riding in races, Solis worked for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing Operation in Australia.

“I am really looking forward to riding at Golden Gate,” said Solis. “I’ll be giving it my all and working as hard as I possibly can. It’s never easy to break into a new place but hopefully we build up business as time goes on. I’m ready for the challenge.”

Arnold Perez, a 25-year-old journeyman rider, rode at East Coast tracks like Parx and Louisiana Downs from 2013 to 2016 before transitioning to being an exercise rider for the John Sadler barn at Santa Anita. He has worked and developed many stakes horses for Team Sadler including undefeated colt and Breeders Cup Dirt Mile contender Catalina Cruiser. At the end of the day, however, Perez relayed that riding in races is what he wants to do.

“I’m really excited to be at Golden Gate,” said Perez. “I want to ride in races. I’ve been here for a little while and have been working horses for many different barns. I just have to be patient and let the opportunities come as they do.”

Dennis Patterson will represent Julien Couton while Kevin Orozco has hired “Oakland Ron” Freitas to be his agent. Brett Harmon, who begins hustling for apprentice Victor Flores at the fall meet, will also represent Austin Solis. Arnold Perez is still seeking an agent at this time. 

NEW STRONACH FIVE WAGER BEGINS FRIDAY

Say hello to a new wager. The Stronach Five, a one-dollar minimum bet that features an industry low 12 percent takeout, will debut this Friday. Racing officials have guaranteed the Stronach 5 pool at $50,000 this inaugural week.

The Stronach 5 is a five-race sequence that will take place every Friday through November 2. All five races are from Stronach Group tracks: Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate, Laurel and Santa Anita. The five races in the sequence will be run within a time frame of 45 minutes to an hour and if there are no tickets with five winners at the end of the day, the pool will then be carried over into the next Friday. Past performances for horseplayers will be available on each track’s website no later than Thursday morning.

Here is the sequence for the Stronach Five wager this Friday:

Leg 1: Laurel Park Race 9 (2:26 PM PT)

Leg 2: Santa Anita Race 4 (2:32 PM PT)

Leg 3: Gulfstream Race 8 (2:38 PM PT)

Leg 4: Golden Gate Race 4 (2:50 PM PT)

Leg 5: Gulfstream Race 9 (3:08 PM PT)

In addition, XBTV will be producing a Stronach 5 handicapping show every week, which will be available to watch on Thursday morning at XBTV.com. The show will feature racing analysts from all of the participating Stronach Group tracks. Matt Dinerman will be representing Golden Gate Fields, Michelle Yu and Megan Devine will be on air for Santa Anita Park, Acacia Courtney will take the mic from Gulfstream and Tim Tullock will discuss Laurel Park. Gulfstream Park on-track talent Jason Blewitt will host the show. The first show can be found at this link: https://www.xbtv.com/video/workout/stronach-5-analysis-for-september-28th-2018/

MANDATORY PAYOUTS THIS SUNDAY

With Closing Day coming up this Sunday, Golden Gate Fields will have mandatory payouts in the 20 Cent Golden Pick Six Jackpot wager, the Early and Late Pick 5’s and the $1 Rolling Super High Five. Heading into Thursday’s card, there is a $19,763 carryover in the Golden Pick Six Jackpot, with track officials expecting six figure new money added into the pool on closing day if the jackpot continues to carry over until Sunday. 

FINISH LINES: With four more racing days to go, Irving Orozco has the most wins out of any rider at the current meeting with 24 trips to the winners circle. Orozco holds a 2-win advantage over Abel Cedillo and Juan Hernandez…Winter/Spring meet top trainer Jonathan Wong has posted strong numbers at the current meeting. The Bay Area native sits a-top the trainer standings with 17 wins, seven more than Bill Delia and Victor Trujillo…Apprentice Victor Flores will be out of action for at least 3 weeks after dislocating his shoulder in a spill on Saturday. Flores was riding Underwrite in the eighth race when his mount clipped heels, stumbled and unseated Flores heading into the first turn of the one-mile contest. Underwrite was eventually corralled by an outrider and emerged from the incident unscathed…Live racing resumes at Santa Anita this Friday. On Saturday, Santa Anita holds four Grade I, “Win and You’re In” events for the Breeders Cup in November…Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer will be represented in 3 of the 4 Grade I races this Saturday. Hollendorfer tightens the girth on Brill in the Chandelier Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and saddles recent maiden winner Gunmetal Grey and Grade I placed Rowayton in the American Pharoah Stakes for 2-year-olds. Vasilika, a winner of six races in a row since being claimed by Hollendorfer for $40,000 in February, will start in the Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares…Happy birthday to trainer Andreas Psarras, Stable Manager Carrie Fawcett and jockey Hugo Herrera, all who celebrate birthday’s in the next 7 days.

TRAINER ANDY MATHIS WINS FOUR ON SATURDAY

Trainer Andy Mathis had a banner day on Saturday, September 16, winning with all four of his starters at Golden Gate Fields. Mathis, a longtime Northern California horseman, has been stabled at Golden Gate for over 15 years.

Mathis began his four-win day with a $12,500 claiming victory from Cylinders, a filly who had competed at Del Mar twice this summer. Two races later, Mathis had Vutzak perfectly spotted for the same claiming tag, where the California-bred went straight to the front and never looked back for his second lifetime victory. In Race 8, Cool Hunter posted a strong performance to give Mathis a hat trick on the day, and Aztec Warrior put the icing on the cake for the Mathis barn with a midpack burst to the lead in deep stretch to win the Saturday nightcap, a starter allowance on turf.

“I’ve never won four races in a day before,” reflected Mathis. “I knew all of my horses entered on Saturday had chances and everything just worked out right. Sometimes you go into those days with four good chances and don’t win anything. The riders did a great job on the horses and put up good, smart rides.”

Mathis also won a race on Friday with Chatterman, who was facing winners for the first time after a dominant maiden-claiming victory two and a half weeks earlier. With two weeks remaining at the summer meet, Mathis has 7 wins from 20 starters.

“The grooms, the riders and the owners deserve a lot of the credit,” said Mathis. “The grooms are working hard and taking great care of the horses and the jockeys put up great rides on the horses. The owners allowed me to put the horses in good spots. There are a lot of people and a lot of luck-a lot of moving parts-involved with winning a race.”

Mathis spent his summer at Del Mar and had three winners on closing week: Mike’s Tiznow, Silky Slew and The Spiral Jetter. Mathis reported that all three equines will be ready to race again at the Golden Gate fall meet.  The fall meet runs from October 18 to December 9.

“I’m looking forward to the fall meet,” relayed Mathis. “We have a barn of 36 horses ready to go.”

HORSE POWER CAR SHOW THIS SATURDAY: HILTON PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE MEDAL WITH MARKETING EFFORTS

This Saturday, September 22, the first ever Horse Power Car Show will be on display for the on-track crowd at Golden Gate Fields. Free for all fans with paid admission, the Horse Power Car Show begins at 12 PM and runs until the final race, which is set to go off at approximately 5:15 PM. Featuring an impressive collection of classic automobiles, on-track patrons can gaze at over a dozen vintage rides while chatting and meeting with owners of each car. Fans can also listen to live music by rock band Night Train during the car show.

“We’re very excited to be holding the Horse Power Car Show,” said Golden Gate Fields Marketing Manager Ryan Hilton. “We anticipate a strong showing and a fun atmosphere.”

“We’ve held two events at the summer meet so far-the Summer Brew Fest and the Rose Wine Festival-and both have been successful,” continued Hilton. “Hopefully, this is the just the beginning. We want to put on many more special events in the future and we’d like to see these events grow bigger and better over time. We are starting to amp up our marketing efforts to attract more fans out here.”

FINISH LINES: With two weeks remaining at the current meeting, Irving Orozco has a 1-win lead over Juan Hernandez in the jockey standings…Jonathan Wong has surged ahead in the trainer standings with 2 wins more than Victor Trujillo…Trainer Frank Lucarelli is scheduled to have one of the favorites in Sunday’s Gottstein Futurity at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington. Fuzzy Dolphin, owned by Jacob and Karla Pollowitz and conditioned by Lucarelli, comes off a dominant stakes win three weeks ago and is slated to run in the Gottstein’, the most prestigious two-year-old race in Washington State…Congratulations to trainer Blaine Wright, who won all five filly and mare stakes races at Emerald Downs. Coincidentally, three of the four winning fillies (Alliford Bay, Reginella and Top Quality) raced at Golden Gate Fields last winter…Ferndale Marathon winner Engram ran sixth in the Los Alamitos Special at Los Alamitos for trainer Quentin Miller last Sunday…Trainer Anthony Stabile will be back at Golden Gate Fields in early October. The Brooklyn native spent his first season at Golden Gate last fall and winter but raced at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pennsylvania this summer…The Golden Pick Six Jackpot was hit last Friday for a whopping $24,599. Don’t worry: we still have a 2-day carryover of $6,013 heading into Thursday’s card…Happy early birthday to Richard “Richey” Rond in the jockey’s room. Richey turns 50 this Friday.

2-YEAR-OLDS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS AT GOLDEN GATE

For racing fans, the summer and fall months are always a fun time to be on the lookout for future stars. Golden Gate Fields has already had its fair share of 2-year-olds race and display talent with room for improvement. This past week, three 2-year-olds caught the eyes of handicappers and horsemen alike.

2-year-old filly Tomlin showed that her 3-length maiden victory at Santa Rosa was no fluke when winning an allowance event on the Golden Gate Tapeta by 4 lengths last Friday. The Steve Specht trainee improved her career record to 2 wins from 3 lifetime races. Tomlin has always been well regarded; by Distorted Humor, she was purchased for $200,000 at Keeneland in 2017 and is out of a Grade 2 winning dam. Tomlin is also a half sibling to Grade 3 winner Strike It Rich and stakes placed Sumptuous.

In Race 7 on Saturday, 2-year-old filly Silk Ransom defeated a field of maidens by four lengths. Silk Ransom, owned by KMN Racing and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, is a daughter of Regal Ransom who was purchased for $70,000 as a yearling. She is a half sibling to Grade I winner Joking, who won the Vosbourgh Handicap at Belmont Park in 2016. Spun Silk, the dam of Silk Ransom, was a minor stakes winner herself.

24 hours later, 2-year-old colt The White Shadow finished ahead of six other rivals in good time for trainer Jonathan Wong and owners Michael Nentwig and Scott Herbertson. The White Shadow, purchased for just $6,000 in the winter, is by Grade I winner Graydar and out of a Johannesburg mare who never raced. The word was out that The White Shadow could run as he was heavily favored in the paddock and ended up going off favored when the gates opened 15 minutes later.

2-year-old action continues In Thursday’s second race, where promising sophomore colts and geldings look to prove they have what it takes to compete against stakes company later on in the year. The morning line favorite is Cooney, a Willam E. Morey trainee he has won both career starts (a maiden race and starter allowance) with great ease at low odds. Also entered are a quartet of recent maiden special weight winners: Arcadia Calls, Peppers Ace, Rey Coliman and Tap It Champ. Arcadia Calls is a well-regarded colt from the Blaine Wright barn who was purchased for $215,000 as a yearling and broke his maiden at Pleasanton on June 30. Peppers Ace made his first trip to the winner’s circle at Sacramento in July and, like the aforementioned rival, also freshens up for his first start against winners. Rey Coliman scored a 58-1 shocker on August 26 and faces tougher company in this spot while Tap It Champ, from the Faith Taylor Stable, was on the “Horses to Watch” list on our first News and Notes of the summer meet and looks to stay unbeaten after a sharp debut win at Santa Rosa.

FINISH LINES: Congratulations to trainer Blaine Wright, who won a duo of stakes races over the weekend. On Saturday, Wright finished first and third in the $50,000 Delta Coleen Stakes at Hastings with Reginella and Top Quality, both whom raced at Golden Gate Fields this winter. Reginella, fresh off a win in the $65,000 Emerald Distaff in August, went to the front early and held off late rallies from second place finisher Notis the Jewell and Top Quality to win the mile and an eighth contest. One day later, the Wright trained Fly Far Away surged late to win the $50,000 Washington Cup Filly and Mare Stakes at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington…Shades of Victory, who began his career at Golden Gate Fields last year, won the E.B. Johnston stakes at Los Alamitos at astronomical odds of 80-1. The gray or roan colt is now owned and trained by Reed Saldana. Grecian Fire, a Jerry Hollendorfer trainee who also competed at Golden Gate Fields in past starts, was another entrant in the race and finished fourth…Irving Orozco has surged ahead in the jockey standings with 18 wins at the current meeting, four more than Juan Hernandez and five better than William Antongoergi III and Abel Cedillo…For the second week in a row, there is a three way tie in the trainer standings: Jerry Hollendorfer, Victor Trujillo and Jonathan Wong all have eight victories…Word on the street is that jockeys Julien Couton and Kevin Orozco will be back at Golden Gate Fields in October. Both journeyman jockeys are currently riding at Emerald Downs and have had successful meets. Orozco sits second in the jockey standings with 66 wins, 3 more than third place jockey Couton…Jerry Hollendorfer has a number of stakes performers scheduled to compete at Santa Anita on Saturday, September 30: 2-year-old colt Instagrand in the Grade I Frontrunner, 2-year-old filly Brill in the Grade I Chandelier, 5-year-old mare Vasilika in the Grade I Rodeo Drive. 2017 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway is “possible” but not “probable” for the Grade I Awesome Again…The Golden Pick Six Jackpot carryover heading into Thursday’s card is $12,631.

ALERT BAY CONTINUES TO SHINE AT AGE 7

Alert Bay made his second start off a 13-month break in Monday’s $50,000 Rolling Green Stakes and did not disappoint his connections, backers and fans, defeating eight other rivals while earning a 94 Beyer speed figure. Alert Bay, considered the “stable star” in the Blaine Wright barn, has now earned $1.33 million for owner Peter Redekop and trainer Wright. His only other start in 2018 resulted in a respectable second place finish in Washington State’s premier thoroughbred horse race, the Grade 3 Longacres Mile.

The Cal-bred son of City Zip began his career at Golden Gate as a 2-year-old and has since gone on to win 15 races from 35 career starts. 2014 was a banner-year for the California bred; racing as a 3-year-old that year, he won the Echo Eddie Stakes at Santa Anita before spending his summer up in Canada, winning the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby and the Grade 3 BC Premier’s Handicap at Hastings Racecourse over their bullring dirt track. He scored a decisive victory in the Zia Park Derby following his summer campaign and capped off the year with his most impressive win of the 2014 season, a hard-fought neck victory in the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile on turf at Santa Anita, defeating Grade I winner’s Heart to Heart, Long On Value and Talco.

The only horse to ever win the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile twice, Alert Bay has also won the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile and the California Cup Turf Classic at Santa Anita. He won the Rolling Green Stakes in 2015 and has hit the board in numerous big races along the coast, including in- the Grade 3 All American at Golden Gate and the Crystal Water and Grade 3 American Stakes at Santa Anita.

“Sometimes it gets me choked up that I’ve gotten to train a horse this good,” an emotional Wright told Sam Spear immediately following the Rolling Green Stakes victory last Monday. “He’s probably a horse I can never replace.”

“[Alert Bay] has given us fantastic pleasure and excitement,” said owner Peter Redekop, who was in town to watch Alert Bay’s victory this past Labor Day. “We’ve had good people looking after him and they’ve done a fabulous job.”

Blaine Wright indicated that he was looking at California-bred stakes races in Southern California for Alert Bay’s next start. Wright also mentioned that the San Francisco Mile in April was a long term goal for Alert Bay moving into 2019.

“We’d love to go for another win in the [San Francisco] Mile,” Wright said with a smile.

POST TIME CHANGE EFFECTIVE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

Beginning this Friday, September 7, Golden Gate Fields first post time will change to 1:15 PM PT. The post time change will run through the end of the summer meet. Closing day of the summer meet is Sunday, September 30, 2018.

FINISH LINES: Congratulations to trainer Andy Mathis, who won three races at Del Mar closing week. Mathis had a good-sized string at Del Mar during their summer meet and will, once again, be based at Golden Gate Fields this fall and winter…Congratulations to trainer Quentin Miller, who won the Ferndale Marathon with 5-year-old gelding Engram…After two weeks, Juan Hernandez and Irving Orozco are tied for first in the jockey standings with 12 wins apiece. Abel Cedillo is two wins behind the leading duo with 10 wins at the current meeting….Bill Delia, Victor Trujillo and Jonathan Wong are all tied atop the trainer standings with 5 wins apiece…Heading into Friday’s card, over $2,000 has been carried into the 20 Cent Golden Pick Six jackpot wager. Last Sunday, one lucky ticketholder took home over $28,000, so the pool began anew on Monday…The 50 Cent Late Pick 5 pool will, once more, be GUARANTEED at $50,000 this coming Sunday. Golden Gate Fields has guaranteed the 50 Cent Late Pick 5 pool at $50,000 every Sunday since early May….Happy birthday to Sergio Perez, who celebrates his birthday this Saturday.

Berkeley, Calif. (September 3, 2018)- Under the guidance of jockey Juan Hernandez, two time San Francisco Mile winner Alert Bay easily defeated 8 other rivals in the premier race of the summer meet at Golden Gate Fields, the $50,000 Rolling Green Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward.

Alert Bay stalked the pace after breaking cleanly and sat about a length off pacesetter and eventual second place finisher Mithqaal most of the way. Down the stretch, Alert Bay put away Mithqaal and pulled clear late to win the mile and a sixteenth turf event by a length and a half. With the stakes score in the bag, Alert Bay bumped up his career earnings to $1,331,605, with 15 wins from 35 career starts.

“[Alert Bay] has given us fantastic pleasure and excitement,” said winning owner Peter Redekop, who traveled to the Bay Area from his residence in Canada to watch his horse perform. “We’ve had good people looking after him and they’ve done a fabulous job with him.”

Winning trainer Blaine Wright, emotional after the win, was equally as excited after the victory.

“With a horse like this, you expect good things with him and we just try to point him in the right direction and get out of his way,” said Wright. “He’s probably a horse I can never replace. Sometimes it gets me choked up that I’ve gotten to train a horse this good. I’m very, very humbled.”

J.T. Grace Handicap winner Ritzy A.P rounded out the trifecta while Southern California invader Any Questions checked in fourth. Editore, winner of the Berkeley Handicap last fall, finished fifth in his first start of a four-month layoff. Camino Del Paraiso, Eagle Screams, Faversham and Steel Plank completed the order of finish.

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By Matt Dinerman (Track Announcer and Handicapping Analyst at Golden Gate Fields)

Race 7: Monday, September 3, 2018: 4:45 p.m. PT

Mile and a sixteenth on the turf (for 3-year-olds and upward)

The Rolling Green Stakes at Golden Gate Fields features a strong group of contenders, including a duo of Grade 3 winners, the best California-bred in Northern California and the full brother to champion California Chrome. Let’s analyze each horse in the 2018 Rolling Green and come up with a winner.

#1 EAGLE SCREAMS most recently completed the runner up spot in a second level allowance race at Santa Rosa on dirt. He is a consistent horse that has been competing against claiming company in most of his races this year and, quite frankly, it appears others entered in this spot are a bit classier. Siding with others this time.

#2 ALERT BAY makes his second start off a 13-month break. In his first race off the layoff, he ran a very good second in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile over a track where he typically does not produce his very best race. He gets back to the Golden Gate turf, a surface he is 4 for 6 over, and should be dead fit for trainer Blaine Wright, who hits at a very high 35% win rate with runners making their second start off a layoff longer than 180 days. This two time San Francisco Mile winner is my top pick.

#3 MITHQAAL makes his stakes debut in this spot. He comes off a hard fought second place finish in a starter allowance event at Del Mar; the winner of that race came right back to win three weeks later. Another contender that enjoy the Golden Gate turf (2 for 3), expect him to be close to the pace for high percentage conditioner Jonathan Wong.

#4 EDITORE hasn’t been seen in four months but appears as the one to beat with his best race. The Paulo Lobo trainee won the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap last fall and was a game second in the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile over this turf course two races ago. Lobo is 0 for 21 with runners making their first start off a layoff between 61-180 days. For that reason, do we try to beat him today? If he runs his “A” race, he’ll be tough….but thinking with the layoff line on display, he is beatable.

#5 ANY QUESTIONS comes off a fourth place finish in a first level allowance race at Del Mar. His last win came over this turf course, where he won a mile turf route against Northern California allowance company. With that in mind, this is the toughest field he has ever faced. He’ll need to run a career best to win this.

#6 RITZY A.P. won the JT Grace Handicap at Santa Rosa against solid company but faces an even tougher group in this spot. He’s a stakes winner, sure, but if you take a look at the majority of his races in Southern California, he failed to win many second level allowance races down there. I’m inclined to call him an exotics contender and try to beat him on the win end as he’s probably a notch or two below the best signed on here.

#7 FAVERSHAM is a full sibling to superstar CALIFORNIA CHROME. A three-year-old facing older today, his only career win came three starts ago at the Cal-bred maiden special weight level at Santa Anita. His last two races came in stakes events against three year olds and both resulted in subpar efforts. Now he has to face older stakes horses; improvement is needed to be competitive.

#8 STEEL PLANK has been running at low level claiming conditions in his past four starts since taking 15 months off from March of 2017 to June of this year. He’s outclassed in this spot.

#9 CAMINO DEL PARAISO was the runner up in this race last year. He only lost by a length and a half in the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile earlier this year and put up two better than looked efforts in two recent starts at Del Mar-starts in which he made up a ton of ground late. Problem is…this guy is a deep closer, meaning the other main contenders will get first jump on him down the lane. Nonetheless, look for CAMINO’ to be rolling late.

SELECTIONS

TOP SELECTION: #2 ALERT BAY-Should be primed for a big effort

SECOND PICK: #4 EDITORE-Will be tough with his best run

THIRD PICK: #9 CAMINO DEL PARAISO-Expect him to sit back early and make a strong run late

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY THE RACE! 

NEW WINNER’S CIRCLE & INCREASE IN PURSES AMONG IMPROVEMENTS HEADING INTO SUMMER MEET

A new winner’s circle has been built and purses have been raised in an effort to enhance Golden Gate Fields and start up a continuous pattern of improvement over time at the bayside racetrack.

All claiming races (including maiden claimers) in which horses are in for 16k tag or less have been bumped up by $2,000, as have starter allowance purses, which also sees an increase of $2,000.

The new winner’s circle, featuring new landscaping and a platform where the winning connections can pose for a picture, freshens up the experience of winning a race for all parties involved with a winning racehorse. The owner/trainer lounge on the first floor has also been renovated for horseman who would like to relax during the races and social media usage will be amped up in an effort to market to fans and horseplayers all over the world. Fans can follow @ggpublicity on Twitter for all horse related news and @GGFracing for updates on events and everything else going on at Golden Gate. Golden Gate also runs an Instagram and Facebook page, which will be used more this meet than ever before.

For horseplayers, a guaranteed pool of $50,000 will be offered in the 50 Cent Late Pick 5 every Sunday afternoon. The 50 Cent Early Pick 5, which involves the first five races on each card, features a low 14% takeout. The 20 Cent Golden Pick Six Jackpot wager will begin anew starting tomorrow while the $1 Rolling Super High Five bet is back on the wagering menu for the second meet in a row.

Golden Gate will offer a handful of Saturday events this meet, including a Burgers and Brew Fest on September 1 and a Rose Wine Festival on September 8. For more info and tickets for those events, go to Goldengatefields.com.

“We want to enhance the Golden Gate experience for everyone,” said Vice President and General Manager David Duggan. “Our staff and horsemen are working extremely hard every day. Our dedicated horseplayers and fans, both on and off track, should be served the best possible product and we will continue to preach that as we work on making this product great for them.”

HORSES TO WATCH

Here is a list of trainers and their “horses to watch” for the 2018 summer meet, which runs through Sunday, September 31.

Manny Badilla- Longtime Northern California trainer Manny Badilla is pleased with the progress of 4-year-old gelding Uncle Hal, who has won three races in a row including an allowance event on August 3 at Santa Rosa. “He has always had a lot of talent but now he’s going really well,” said Badilla. “We’re looking forward to running him this meet.”

D. Wayne Baker- Plate Side, a full brother to recent Del Mar allowance winner Eddie Haskell, is slated to compete this weekend and is a horse Baker feels can run a big race in his first start of the meet.

Bob Hess Sr.- King Glorious Stakes winner Intimidate and allowance winner Impecunious are both in training, doing well and expected to run at the summer meet, according to trainer Bob Hess Sr. One 2-year-old that Hess feels can do some good work in the future is You Don’t Own Me, a chestnut gelding by Lucky Pulpit who ran second in his career debut in a maiden special weight race at Santa Rosa.

Jerry Hollendorfer– Assistant trainer Juan Arriaga reports 2-year-olds River of Doubt and Stealthediamonds are two youngsters to keep an eye on, while hard knocking-older horse G.G. Ryder and stakes performer Eccentric Spinster are also possible starters for the summer meet.

O.J. Jauregui– Trainer O.J. Jauregui stated that Earnest, a $120,000 sale purchase by Quality Road, has plenty of room to improve after a better than looked fourth place finish in his career debut at Santa Rosa.

Sergio Ledezma- Inquisition, an unraced 2-year-old gelding by Blame, and Pato, also an unraced sophomore (by Afleet Alex), are two 2-year-olds who have been working for trainer Sergio Ledezma and are expected to make their career debuts at some point soon. “Both of them can run a little bit,” said Ledezma. Among Ledezma’s older horses to watch: allowance-caliber colt Skidoo and well bred 3-year-old filly Shasta Star. “Shasta Star has run well in all three of her races but just hasn’t won yet. She’ll get that picture taken soon.”

Mike Lenzini- The Lenzini barn is high on 2-year-old Gobsmack, a Vronsky colt that has shown plenty of talent in the mornings and is slated to make his career debut this meet. “He’s a runner,” said Lenzini. “We’re excited about him.”

Frank Lucarelli– Assistant trainer Edgar Blanco is eager to run 3-year-old maiden Chieftain’s Lad, a gelding who Blanco believes will pick up his first win very soon. Dancing Harbor, a recent maiden special weight winner at Sacramento, is another equine who Blanco emphasized is improving with experience.

Duane Offield- 2-year-old filly Sinawava ran fifth in her career debut at Santa Rosa and may take a step forward in upcoming starts, reports trainer Duane Offield. Offield also noted that 5 furlong turf specialist Brite Echo is doing well and is expected to make a couple of starts within the next six weeks.

Andy Psarras- “I’m excited to run all of them.” Good answer!

Steve Sherman– The son of 2015 Kentucky Derby winning trainer Art Sherman is excited about 2-year-old filly Gotta B Kitten Me, a daughter of Lucky Pulpit who recently broke her maiden in lifetime start number two at Santa Rosa. “I’m eager to see how she does against winners,” said Sherman Wednesday morning.

Faith Taylor- Trainer Faith Taylor says a duo of 2-year-olds are worthy of making this watch list: Rob’s Got Game, a maiden by Slew’s Tiznow, and Tap It Champ, a Cal-bred son of Champ Pegasus that broke his maiden at first asking in a maiden special weight at Santa Rosa. “Rob’s Got Game can run but he’s still green and learning,” said Taylor. “Tap It Champ has always shown us that he had talent and he ran really well the other day. We like him a lot.” Taylor also mentioned that More Power to Him, second in the Joseph T. Grace Handicap earlier this month, came out of the race in good shape and will compete at the summer meet if all goes to plan.

Jonathan Wong- The 2018 Winter/Spring meet leading trainer has an arsenal of runners ready to compete. Among his charge are a duo of geldings that made trips to the winner’s circle at Del Mar this summer: Bold Fantasy and Kochees. “Both horses are doing really well,” said Wong. “If there is a spot here at Golden Gate to run them then we’ll run them here.” Bold Fantasy was a dominant winner of an allowance optional claiming race on July 28 while Kochees won a salty 32k claimer that same day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berkeley, Calif. (August 17, 2018)- Track officials announced earlier this week that Golden Gate Fields will offer a $50,000 guaranteed Late Pick 5 pool every Sunday afternoon during the 2018 summer meet. The Late Pick 5 is a 50-cent minimum wager which covers the last five races each day. The guaranteed pool, which was first implemented during the winter/spring season, has helped make the Late Pick 5 one of the more popular wagers at Golden Gate Fields.

“We are very pleased to, once again, be offering the $50,000 guaranteed pool in our Late Pick 5 wager every Sunday,” said General Manager and Vice President of Golden Gate Fields David Duggan. “We want to reward the dedicated horse players who are wagering on our races. We always strive to put out the highest quality product possible for them.”

Opening Day of the summer meet is this coming Thursday, August 23, and runs through Sunday, September 30.  For complete information about the summer racing season at Golden Gate Fields, visit goldengatefields.com.

Handle Grows for Fourth Consecutive Meet

BERKELEY, CA – Golden Gate Fields continued growing its Thoroughbred product during the Winter/Spring Meet with total handle up 15.85 percent and the daily average handle up 20.73 percent over the previous year.

Total daily handle was $3.180 during and the daily average was $2.634 during the meet which ended Sunday, June 10.

This is the fourth consecutive meet that Golden Gate Fields has shown sharp increases in handle. All-sources handle was up 10 percent and on-track handle was up 8 percent during the 2017 fall meet and on-track handle was up during the Winter/Spring and Summer meets in 2017.

“We’re very pleased with the growing popularity of our racing program over the past year,” said David Duggan, Vice President and General Manager of Golden Gate Fields. “We want to thank the bettors and horsemen who are supporting our program. We’re happy with our increases but we believe there’s still room for improvement in our racing program and customer experience. We will continue working the next several weeks to enhance our program as we look forward to the opening of our Summer Meet Thursday, August 23.”

P.J. Campo, Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group, added: “We’re excited about the continued growth of our product at Golden Gate. We continue to reinvigorate the racing product and the experience of attending the races at all of our properties. We want to thank the fans and horsemen for participating as well as their support and feedback.”

Some of the meet highlights included The Lieutenant, a half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify, winning the All American Stakes (G3); Flamboyant winning the San Francisco Mile (G3); Paved becoming the first filly to win the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby; and trainer Steve Sherman winning his 1,000^th race.

Golden Gate also carded a popular all-turf program on Thursday, May 31.

David Joesph.