Golden Gate Fields Opens 36-Day Fall Meet
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The fall meeting at Golden Gate Fields opens Oct. 16, and the 36-day season will feature the simulcast of the Breeders' Cup World Championships as well as the 63rd running of the $100,000 Berkeley Handicap (gr. III).
The fall session runs through Dec. 14, with racing presented Thursday through Sunday each week. Post time is 12:45 p.m. PT.
Golden Gate Fields-based Shared Belief, undefeated in seven starts, will carry Northern California's best hope in this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held at Golden Gate's sister track, Santa Anita Park, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Shared Belief, a multiple grade I stakes winner trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, is expected to be favored in the $5 million BC Classic (gr. I) on the second day of the Breeders' Cup. A 1 1/4-mile race, the Classic will feature the first meeting between Shared Belief and California Chrome, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes. (gr. I)
Golden Gate Fields will present live cards of its own in addition to simulcasting all of the Breeders' Cup action.
The Berkeley Handicap Nov. 30 highlights the fall stakes schedule at Golden Gate Fields. Won decisively last year by the Hollendorfer-trained Summer Hit, the Berkeley is a 1 1/16-mile contest for 3-year-olds and up.
The stakes slate for the fall meeting is as follows: $50,000 Miss America, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares that will be run Oct. 18; $75,000 Pike Place Dancer, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies Oct. 25; $50,000 Golden Nugget, a six-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds Nov. 8; $50,000 Oakland, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up Nov. 15; $50,000 Golden Gate Debutante, a six-furlong dash for 2-year-old fillies Nov. 29; the Berkeley Nov. 30; and $75,000 Gold Rush, a one-mile race for 2-year-olds Dec. 6.
Golden Gate Fields will open early on Thursday, Nov. 27, when its presents a special Thanksgiving Day racing program. Post time is 11:15 a.m. PT. The track will offer an outstanding Thanksgiving Day buffet in the Turf Club.
The betting menu for the fall season will include the Golden Pick 6, a jackpot-style version of the pick six that was introduced to Golden Gate Fields bettors at the summer meeting. A 20-cent bet, the Golden Pick 6 rewards a patron with the entire pick six pool if he or she has the only ticket with all six winners in the sequence.
On days when there is more than one perfect ticket with all six winners, 70% of the net pool is paid to those who went 6-for-6 and the remaining 30% is carried over to the next racing program. On days when there are no perfect tickets, handicappers with the highest number of winners in the sequence split the 70%.
The Golden Pick 6 is conducted on the final six races each day.
The wagering menu also includes the popular 50-cent Players' Pick 5 (covering the first five races on the card), 50-cent Early Pick 4 (races two through five), and 50-cent Late Pick 4 (last four races on the program), $2 rolling Daily Doubles, $1 rolling Pick Threes, $1 exactas, $1 trifectas, 10-cent superfectas, $1 Super High Five (on the last race of the day), and $2 win, place and show wagering.
Golden Gate will once again offer its popular $1 Sunday promotion: $1 general parking, $1 general admission, $1 programs, $1 beers, $1 hot dogs, and $1 sodas.