GOLDEN GATE FIELDS 28-DAY SUMMER MEET TO OPEN ON THURSDAY; FIRST RACE POST TIME EACH DAY AT 1:45 P.M.
Live racing will return to Golden Gate Fields on Thursday, as the iconic track will open its 28-day Summer Meeting with a seven-race program that will get underway at 1:45 p.m.
The Golden Gate Fields Summer Meeting will run on a Thursday through Sunday basis, through Sept. 29, with first post time each day at 1:45 p.m. Live racing will also be offered on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, with the $50,000 Rolling Green Stakes, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one sixteenth on turf, highlighting the holiday festivities.
The Rolling Green traditionally attracts the top handicap horses in Northern California, as well as several Southern California shippers. Last year’s edition of the Rolling Green was taken by the popular California-bred millionaire and multiple stakes winner Alert Bay.
“Over the past couple of years, Golden Gate Fields has generated an increase in handle and popularity amongst horseplayers and fans nationwide,” said Golden Gate General Manager and Vice President, David Duggan. “Our team is very proud of the improvements we have seen and we look towards continuing those improvements at our upcoming Summer Meet.
“Our horse population is good and our horsemen are always working extremely hard, which is a big reason why our field sizes have increased and why our racing product has been steadily on the rise.”
The highly popular Dollar Day Sundays, with one dollar parking, one dollar admission, one dollar programs, one dollar beers, one dollar hot dogs and one dollar mimosas every Sunday afternoon, are once again expected to attract large on-track crowds.
Matt Dinerman, the 27-year-old Voice of Golden Gate Fields, will again provide pre-race analysis for Golden Gate’s simulcast and on-track television presentation in addition to his regular race calling duties.
Jonathan Wong, who has won the past four training titles at Golden Gate Fields, has another strong contingent of horses that are ready to run and he’s the solid “morning line favorite” to notch yet another training title. A long list of trainers are expected to have plenty of starters at the Summer Meeting, including Golden Gate regulars Bill Delia, John Martin, Tim McCanna, Ed Moger, Jr., Victor Trujillo and Blaine Wright.
Rising star Abel Cedillo, the leading Golden Gate rider at the 2019 Winter/Spring Meeting by a whopping 30 wins, has moved his full-time tack to Southern California, so an all-out scramble for leading rider honors is expected.
Among those that figure to pose for pictures on a regular basis are veteran Frank Alvarado, popular and affable William Antongeorgi III, well respected Juan Hernandez, Pleasanton leading rider Irving Orozco and come-backing Kyle Frey, a Northern California native.
FIGUEROA AND LOPEZ NEW FACES IN AN ALREADY “STRONG” 2019 JOCKEY COLONY
Jockeys Heriberto Figueroa and David C. Lopez are featured on opening week mounts and will be residing in Northern California for the foreseeable future. Both riders will have to break into a strong jockey colony, yes, but each figures to pick up a fair share of live mounts within the next seven weeks.
Before riding in races, 19-year-old Figueroa graduated from the highly regarded Escuela Vocacional Hipica riding school in Puerto Rico, which has taught and mentored a number of American riding sensations including Manny Franco, Irad Ortiz Jr, Jose Ortiz and John Velazquez. Figueroa moves to Golden Gate Fields after spending his apprenticeship on the Southern California circuit, where he was the leading rider at all three Los Alamitos 2018 Thoroughbred meets. He recorded 103 total victories between Santa Anita, Los Alamitos and Del Mar in 2018.
After 28 additional victories at Santa Anita from January to June, Figueroa opted to move his tack north. He rode the last week of the Pleasanton fair meet before competing in Sacramento and Santa Rosa. At both aforementioned meetings, Figueroa won a handful of races.
“I moved to Northern California because I want to improve my business,” said Figueroa. “Things were starting to slow down [in Southern California] and I felt a move was necessary. Since I moved here, Jonathan [Wong] has put me on a lot of horses, which I am very thankful for, and a few other trainers have been kind enough to give me a shot. I hope to win more races at this meet and will work hard to do that.”
“He is a good kid,” added agent Brent Harmon, who represents Figueroa. “He is respectful to everyone. He works hard, listens to instructions and always strives to get better. Anything you ask him to do, he does it. I think he has a great chance to win a lot of races during the [summer] meet.”
Lopez, a 29-year-old son of popular East Coast rider Chuck “C.C” Lopez, is no stranger to California racing. In fact, Lopez went head and head with North America’s all-time winningest jockey Russell Baze in 2015 for the Golden Gate Fields “Top Jockey” title before racking up the leading apprentice award at the 2016 Santa Anita winter meet, with 26 trips to the winners circle. The most significant victory in Lopez’s career came aboard the Bob Baffert trained Toews On Ice in the 2016 $100,000 William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Lopez suffered two separate serious back injuries in 2017 and 2018, which kept the third generation jockey from riding in races for over 2 years. After a challenging recovery process, he made his return to the saddle this past May at Arapahoe Park in Colorado and finished the meeting last week with 23 wins. Using Arapahoe as a stepping stone, Lopez has since moved on to a track where he has already had great success.
“I’m really pleased to be back in the Bay Area again and it’s great to see old friends while meeting new people, too,” said Lopez. “I enjoyed a prosperous meet at Golden Gate when I last rode here and I’m really looking forward to being back. I feel great and have been 100% fit for a while now. I look to make the most out of all opportunities that come my way.”
A competitive race for the summer meet top jockey is expected with the departure of Winter/Spring leading rider Abel Cedillo, who won the title by a whopping 30 wins. Cedillo has since moved to the Southern California circuit and is tied for fourth in the Del Mar jockey standings with 12 wins.
The Northern California fair circuit has held three meetings. Each jockey title was one by different riders; Irving Orozco won the Pleasanton title, Frank Alvarado took home the gold prize at Sacramento and Kyle Frey was victorious at Santa Rosa. Along with the three aforementioned riders, others figuring to win plenty of races that could contend for the summer meet leading rider title are Juan Hernandez, William Antongeorgi III and Catalino Martinez.
FINISH LINES: A number of Northern California based trainers are currently running horses at the Del Mar boutique summer meet: Tim McCanna, Bill McLean, Andy Mathis, Steve Sherman and Jonathan Wong…On Saturday, Wong saddles Golden Gate Fields track record holder Keeper Ofthe Stars in the $300,000 Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on turf. Abel Cedillo is slated to navigate…Also on Saturday, Steve Sherman tightens the girth on multiple Golden Gate Fields winner Hollywood Hills in the $100,000 Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on dirt. Hollywood Hills was last seen winning the Fleet Treat Stakes for California-bred fillies last month at Del Mar. East Coast pilot Julien Leparoux has the mount…The Stronach 5 wager features a MANDATORY PAYOUT this week. The wager is a $1 minimum bet and features an industry low 12% takeout. The Stronach 5 sequence this week: Laurel Park Race 8 (4:53 PM ET), Laurel Park Race 9, Gulfstream Park Race 8, Golden Gate Fields Race 4 and Gulfstream Park Race 10).