BERKELEY – The historic Golden Gate Fields race track finally ended a run of more than 80 years after one final horse race on Sunday at 5:37 p.m.
There were eight races on the final day with approximately 50 horses. Thousands of people filled the hall to honor the history of the location.
Dennis Clay, a longtime racing fan, was sad to see it go.
“I want to be part of history for the last day,” Clay said.
Clay had been coming here for more than 40 years and said he mostly made small bets.
“I’ve lost more than I’ve won, but I still like coming here,” he said.
He added that what held him back was the adrenaline rush of winning.
“It’s just the cheer, that experience of saying ‘Yes! I’ve got the winner!’ Clay said.
“The end of an era after 83 years. We’re going to miss everyone,” said David Duggan, vice president and general manager of Golden Gate Fields.
Duggan says horse racing is a declining sport and business. Online betting means that fewer people go to the circuits these days.
“There were days when we had thousands of people here. Dollar days that we organized were very, very popular. Unfortunately, after the pandemic, it was very difficult to get that going again,” Duggan said.
Thousands of people showed up for the last day. There was a long line of people waiting to get in.
Carol Bennis and her husband came from Nevada to say goodbye.
“I hate to see it go, but I know it’s making progress. Time moves on. I can tell you when I leave, I’ll probably have tears in my eyes,” Bennis said.
Bennis says her parents often took her to Golden Gate Fields as a little girl.
“I just love this song,” she said.
Kirby Lee/Getty Images
Some celebrated the closure, saying it meant no more horse deaths would occur at the track.
The California Horse Racing Board revealed that 18 horses have died at the facility since the track’s owner announced its closure last year.
“I am so excited that this is a step toward completely eradicating horse racing in California and I am glad that as a society we are moving away from using animals for entertainment and profit,” said Almira Tanner of Direct Action Everywhere. an animal welfare group.
The site covers 140 acres in the cities of Albany and Berkeley and offers beautiful views of the bay. There has been much talk about the future of this prime piece of real estate, but there are no plans at this time. The general consensus is that the property will be redeveloped as a mix of park space and housing.
‘Buy an affordable home here. That would be my ideal situation,” Clay said.
City officials in Albany and Berkeley said it will likely be another 10 to 15 years before they can build anything on the site. They said there will be many community meetings and possibly lawsuits. So they expect the redevelopment project to be a long and slow process.
Da Lin
