Golden Gate Fields

Tracks across the country will hold a moment of silence Feb. 18 in memory of the late jockey Avery Whisman. The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, in coordination with racetracks across the country, is leading the initiative in an effort to shed light on mental health awareness and the challenges jockeys face. Jockeys at all participating tracks will wear black armbands in tribute to Whisman, who died suddenly Jan. 11 at the age of 23 following a prolonged struggle with the physical and mental demands placed on riders. The 1/ST properties:...

A last-out winner against optional claimers over the Tapeta at Golden Gate Dec. 30 by a tidy 7 1/2-lengths, Chase the Chaos (Astern {Aus}) broke his maiden under Robertino Diodoro at second-asking Sept. 17 at Canterbury Park. Switching to the Moger barn he was an outkicked third in the Golden Nugget S. Nov. 12 and caught late in the Gold Rush S. Dec. 3. Up to the challenge against a pair of high-priced KEESEP grads who were invading for Bob Baffert in favorite Gilmore (Twirling Candy) and pacesetter Nullarbor (Candy...

A dispute that began in October over whether Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair) will once again have to run its second of two weeks of racing at the end of August against overlapping competition from the commercial licensee Golden Gate Fields (GGF) will now likely extend into March. There are multiple reasons for the impasse. But the two main sticking points that emerged at Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) were: 1) The two tracks, plus stakeholders from the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF), Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), and...

Officials at Golden Gate Fields, the CTBA (California Thoroughbred Breeders Association) and the TOC (Thoroughbred Owners of California) have joined forces to add three stakes races to the 2023 Golden Gate winter/spring meet schedule. Nominations close Thursday, Jan. 19 for the inaugural Moscow Burning S. for Cal-bred and -sired fillies and mares at a mile on the Tapeta track. The race takes place Saturday, Jan. 28. On Saturday, Mar. 18, Golden Gate presents the first edition of the McCann's Mojave S., for state-bred 4-year-olds and upward at one mile and...

Santa Anita Park, in conjunction with Golden Gate Fields, will host an online auction this holiday season to benefit the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA),an organization whose mission is to rehabilitate, retrain, and rehome Thoroughbred racehorses who have raced in California. The auction, which will run from 5 p.m. Nov. 25 through 5 p.m. Dec. 9, offers a wide array of items and experiences to suit every age and personal interest including signed memorabilia, signed photos, and a handicapping lesson from handicapping analyst and on-air personality, Anthony Stabile. Other items...

Trainer Doug O'Neill has been suspended 60 days, fined $10,000, and put on probation for one year stemming from a medication positive by his starter Worse Read Sanchez (Square Eddie) at Golden Gate Fields May 1, according to a ruling posted on the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) website. The 3-year-old gelding finished third in Golden Gate's Silky Sullivan S., his only start at the Northern California track. Worse Read Sanchez, who is owned by Reddam Racing LLC, has since made five additional starts at Santa Anita and Del Mar,...

A 2023 race dates template for the Northern California circuit came closer to being finalized at Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting, with commissioners unanimously voting to largely mirror the framework of the 2022 schedule. The lone exception was that the board held off on a decision on whether Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair) would once again have to run its second of two weeks of racing at the end of August against overlapping competition from the commercial licensee Golden Gate Fields. That part of the vote was parsed out...

Longtime Northern California racehorse trainer John F. "Mickey" Martin has passed away at the age of 63 after a lengthy illness, according to a press release from Golden Gate Fields. Martin, who saddled his first starter in 1984, trained Quarter Horses early in his career before transitioning to Thoroughbreds. He campaigned over 2,300 winners. From 7,707 Thoroughbred starters, Martin won 1,960 races and amassed purse earnings of $23,835,366. "With the recent passing of Duane Offield and now John, it's been a rough couple of weeks," said Golden Gate Fields Vice...

Statistically speaking, Northern Rose (Northern Causeway), a 6-year-old chestnut mare with a 4-for-32 claiming-level record, was hardly the star of the stable for trainer Duane Offield, who died Sept. 29 after a long fight with cancer. But the 82-year-old conditioner took an outsized shine to her anyway. A homebred for one of his most dedicated clients, Northern Rose had been in Offield's care since she began her career 3 1/2 years ago, and she enjoyed a prime stall under Offield's Golden Gate Fields shedrow, not far from his office so...

The Northern California Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale will be held next Wednesday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds with bidding beginning at noon. There are 151 horses cataloged or supplemented for the sale, which is presented by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association. The catalog can be found online by clicking here. The auction's catalogue cover features Freeport Joe (English Channel), winner of last year's GIII Berkeley H. who sold for $2,000 at the 2018 sale. CTBA is offering a $500 travel allowance with a minimum purchase of $3,500...

Jockey Evin Roman, trainer Jonathan Wong and Tommy Town Thoroughbreds were the leading jockey, trainer and owner, respectively, at the Golden Gate Fields winter/spring meet that wrapped up Sunday, June 12. The 24-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Roman rode 87 winners over the course of the meet, four better than Pedro Terro, with purse earnings of $1.745,152. Earlier in his career, Roman won five riding titles in Southern California and was the Eclipse champion apprentice of 2017. Wong won his fifth consecutive training title, with 71 winners from 349 starters...

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has lost the first phase of his legal tussle against the Los Angeles Turf Club and The Stronach Group (TSG) controlled subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, according to a ruling filed Apr. 29 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California. The bifurcated non-jury trial, conducted between Apr. 4 and Apr. 6 this year, focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and the track. In all, Hollendorfer has...