california wildfires | Horse Racing Free Tips

Golden Gate Cancels Live Racing Card

Golden Gate Fields in Berkley, California, cancelled the Oct. 2 live racing card due to poor air quality stemming from the widespread fires in the state.

“Due to unhealthy air quality unsuitable for racing, Golden Gate Fields is cancelling live racing today,” according to a Tweet posted by the track. “We will be monitoring this situation on a daily basis.”

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With Hazards Having Abated, Golden Gate Returns Thursday

While racing this week at Santa Anita has been canceled due to the fires that are ravaging the West, its sister track, Golden Gate Fields, will be back in business starting Thursday. Golden Gate Vice President and General Manager David Duggan said the area surrounding the track has undergone a dramatic transformation, with clear blue skies having replaced the orange glow that had surrounded the Bay Area earlier.

Golden Gate was forced to cancel its three weekend cards last week and as not raced since Sept. 7.

“Last Thursday, you couldn’t make it up. It was truly bizarre,” he said. “At 9:30 in the morning we had lights on on the track because you could not see in front of you. Visibility was down to about 10 meters.”

Duggan said that as recently as Sunday he was still convinced that racing would not be held at Golden Gate this week, but then came an abrupt change.

“You would not believe the change,” he said. “I promise you, you would not believe the change. It is absolutely beautiful here with an air quality reading of 20. It was just extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s clear and the visibility is great. You can seethe city, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. There’s no hint of smoke in the air whatsoever. It’s as if nothing had ever happened.

“I was frighteningly bad. We lost Friday, Saturday and Sunday and had to interrupt training. Everything that could go wrong with the air quality and the prevailing conditions went wrong. Today, if you were dropped into the place from the sky you’d say ‘Why were you guys making such a big deal about this?'”

Duggan said when the effects of the fires were at their worst the Air Quality Index was about 292.

“It was extremely unhealthy around here for a while,” he said.

An AQI of 20 means the air is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk.

Duggan said the change was likely the result of shifting wind patterns.

“The winds that came just blew everything away and we’re back to being a beautiful bayside racetrack,” he said.

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Santa Anita Pushing Back Opening Day to Sept. 25 Due to Fires

The opening day of Santa Anita’s Autumn season will be pushed back a week until Friday, Sept. 25 due to the impact of the Bobcat Fire on the air quality and surrounding community.

“Our local community has been deeply impacted by the Bobcat Fire burning for more than a week in the mountains behind us,” said Aidan Butler, Executive Director of California Operations for The Stronach Group. “The current weather pattern has kept the smoke in the valley and the air quality is quite poor right now. The Red Cross is using Santa Anita as the evacuation zone for people–including many of our horsemen–whose homes are less than two miles from here. As excited as we are to welcome back live racing, we are first and foremost committed to safety. This is the responsible decision to make at this time so people can plan accordingly.”

“The stakes races set for this weekend will be brought back next weekend,” said Steve Lym, Santa Anita’s VP, Racing & Racing Secretary. “The smoke has impacted some training schedules, so postponing until next weekend will allow everyone a chance to be ready to go. We are planning on filling extra races throughout the meet to give our horsemen the opportunity to run their horses.”

The Opening Week now will feature a blockbuster schedule of stakes action, offering over $2-million in purse money. The stakes schedule includes seven races which are “Win and You’re In” races for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The stakes races originally slotted for this weekend will be run as follows: the Chillingworth Friday, Sept. 25, the Speakeasy Saturday, Sept. 26 and the GIII Tokyo City Cup Sunday, Sept. 27.

Entries for Opening Day, September 25, will be drawn Sunday, Sept. 20, as scheduled. First post will be 12:30 p.m. PT.

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Smoke From Wildfire Stifles Training At Santa Anita

The smoke from a wildfire in the mountains beyond Santa Anita Park has begun to impact activities for horsemen and horses based there, according to a report Friday from the Daily Racing Form.

The wildfire, which has burned since Sept. 6 and devoured more than 23,000 acres, has prompted an evacuation warning for areas around the track, including Arcadia, Monrovia, and Sierra Madre. Evacuation warnings precede evacuation orders.

Air quality was seriously reduced and sunlight was reduced in many parts of the state late this week. Several trainers told Form writer Steve Andersen that the air quality was so bad they would be limited to walking or jogging horses until it clears. The racing season in Southern California is on a break between the end of Del Mar earlier this week and the start of the fall meet at Santa Anita Sept. 19.

Conditions are expected to remain the same through Saturday.