From DRF.com
ALBANY, Calif. (May 15, 2023) — Golden Gate Fields will operate an 18-day late summer and autumn meeting on a Saturday-through-Monday basis this year, eliminating racing on Fridays during the six-week season that begins Aug. 26.
General manager David Duggan said Sunday that a move to Monday racing will be an attempt to boost handle for the Northern California track on a day in which few tracks operate after Labor Day.
“Until we try to change things a little bit, we won’t be moving the needle,” Duggan said.
The season will conclude Oct. 2. The proposed schedule change must be approved by the California Horse Racing Board, which is expected to address the track’s application for that race meeting in July.
Mondays, as well as Tuesdays, are the slowest racing day of the week as measured by number of tracks operating. Last September, Arizona Downs and Arapahoe Park were the only tracks in the west to race on Mondays. Arizona Downs does not have racing dates in 2023.
During the late summer and autumn meeting, Golden Gate Fields will race concurrently with Southern California tracks on Saturdays and Sundays, but will largely be alone on the national simulcast schedule on Monday afternoons.
Duggan said Golden Gate Fields will gain added exposure on Mondays through FanDuel television, formerly TVG. On weekends during that meeting, and at other times of the year, Golden Gate Fields competes with tracks from the East Coast and Southern California for television exposure.
“It’s very congested on a Friday and more congested on a Saturday,” Duggan said.
“I’ll get full coverage on FanDuel, and it should help.
“I get it that Monday is the first day back to work, but there are still bettors out there and I think it will work. I think there is an upside.”
The current Golden Gate Fields meeting is operating on a Friday-through-Sunday basis through June 11. The summer portion of the Northern California fair circuit will begin in mid-June with stops at Pleasanton, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Ferndale through late August before Golden Gate Fields resumes.