Emerald Downs: Local Reaction to Golden Gate closing announcement

7/19/2023

Sunday the focus at Emerald Downs was the two 3-year-old stakes races, the Kent Stakes and the Irish Day Stakes until word broke that the Stronach group announced they are going to shutter Golden Gate Fields racetrack at the end of this upcoming Fall meet in mid-December for good. There were rumblings for several years this could become a reality as Stronach did the same thing in Portland a few years ago.

With Golden Gate shutting down that will leave virtually no racing opportunities for Northern California outside of the summer Fair circuit that is currently underway. There is talk that some of the fair venues could take the dates that Golden Gate has but one issue that would need to be worked through is dealing with Fair Boards, another layer of a government entity.

Fair’s are non-profits or part of a County government generally run by a volunteer board. It is no guarantee that the fair’s or even one of the fair’s want to get into that kind of commitment and become a full time thoroughbred track. Many may think that gets away from their mission as a Fair and they may not be able to depending on their own by-laws and county ordinances.

The Stronach Group stated in their press release they want and need to focus on Santa Anita and hope by closing Golden Gate will help their horse population. The problem is if many of the horses stabled and running in Northern Cal were able to compete and win on the SoCal circuit they’d already be there so there is a question of just how many people will now uproot their families and home bases to move to L A.

Some of the immediate reaction at the track on Sunday is how it would impact Emerald Downs. The answers we heard ranged from it doesn’t have any impact on us, that’s California’s problem to this is a chance for Emerald to get a few more horses in the barns to Emerald needs to step up and aggressively go after those that have been at Golden Gate for years.

In the end it’s likely a mix of all those reactions. But until purses can be increased it is unlikely many new faces will be attracted to Emerald Downs along with the current number of race days. Both must be increased for the long term health of racing in the Northwest. This is no secret. Now where does the money come from? The Muckleshoot Tribe has already invested millions of dollars into Emerald Downs buying the debt from the original construction to adding over a million dollars a year to the purse fund.

One solution is a bill that has been proposed in the State Legislature that gives back a significant amount of money to the racing and equine industry. It is modeled after the successful Texas legislation that has saved racing all across Texas. The bill has been held up two years in a row now due to one key legislator’s opposition to the bill and happened to be in a position to block the bill from a floor vote where it would have passed and Governor Inslee had stated he would sign.

Some may think of this as a give-away but let’s remember that Emerald Downs behind Ron Crockett, Jack Hodge and a host of investors are the only professional sports franchise in Washington state to pay for everything. All 80-million dollars it took to build the track was private money, no private/public partnership like all 3 major sports franchises in Seattle with billionaire owners. This is getting money back into the equine industries through a tax rebate of purchases on equine products only and could be as much as an extra 6-million dollars a year.

This single issue MUST be the total focus this off season and the racing community from owners, trainers, grooms to mutual clerks, to the fans and everyone else in between. Golden Gate closing IS indeed an opportunity for Emerald Downs and at the same time could be part of a death sentence.

On the positive side, think about it, Del Mar, Santa Anita, Los Alamitos and Emerald Downs. This is all that is left on the West Coast of the United States and Hastings in Vancouver BC. Gone are Hollywood Park, Bay Meadows, Portland Meadows, Grants Pass other than a short fair like meet, Longacres, Yakima Meadows, Playfair, plus all of the fairs in Washington and let’s add Boise as well and now Golden Gate. All gone and no one is building or buying tracks so folks understand this, it’s Emerald Downs or NOTHING in Washington state.

That being said the positive is here, if the bill passes and Emerald can add to the purses and the handle goes up and they can get to being profitable then perhaps the turf track could finally be a reality. Emerald Downs will never be Del Mar, Saratoga or Churchill Downs but it can be a must for those 2nd and 3rd level horses for decades to come. $15,000 and lower claimers at Golden Gate and the mess in Arizona where are they going to go? Emerald Downs can be that one track that survives all this reduction. Why couldn’t Emerald become the Oaklawn of the West? The opportunity is going to be there but first and foremost this bill MUST pass the 2024 legislature, period.

Time is of the essence and not because another track is suddenly going to pop up but because real people including many here at Emerald Downs who make their living on the West Coast will have to make a decision on how they are going to survive.

The negative side of this is that too many West Coast people either have to pick up and move to a circuit that makes sense whether it’s Texas and Louisiana or Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Indiana or wherever they think they can compete. Or they decide it’s time to get out of the business. It was real convenient to be able to move from Emerald to Golden Gate and down to Arizona. Arizona is a huge question mark now as well with all the trouble their industry is having it is unknown what they will do and for horsemen that’s tough to make plans.

This is why it is time for Emerald to strike and again we cannot emphasize this enough that it ALL begins with passing that legislation. That would solidify finances for the future and allow the track to add to the purses while adding days.

We talked with several local jockeys and trainers who ride or train regularly at Golden Gate and what their thoughts are on this stunning news.

We caught up with Tim McCanna, 2nd leading trainer of all time at Emerald Downs who has been headquartered at Golden Gate for several years. He regularly ships horses to both Emerald and Southern California. He currently has 12 horses down at Del Mar for the summer meet.

We asked McCanna his first reaction to the news and he simply said it’s a gut punch. It’s devastating to all the horsemen and as far as people saying we all knew it was coming that couldn’t be further from the truth. McCanna says he doesn’t believe Golden Gate track management even knew this was coming because just last Thursday at his barn there were 4 carpenters putting on a new roof and the management had been spending quite a bit of money this whole off-season fixing up the track.

McCanna says throw in the mess in Arizona and running only until Christmas at Golden Gate a lot of horsemen are going to have to make some hard decisions sooner than later. McCanna says being located in Northern Cal was an easy commute back to his home here in Washington and his kids could easily come see him. He has employees and folks have leases for apartments through next Spring but it all ends December 18th.

McCanna does remain positive that there is enough interest to keep racing in Northern California which would be done at Sacramento and/or Pleasanton. He says he knows there are talks scheduled and so he believes with so much interest still here there is a good chance to get something figured out and keep racing in Northern Cal.

McCanna was brutally honest though in his assessment of racing overall in California and that is it’s in big trouble. He says we can’t keep closing tracks that feed other tracks it is just not sustainable. He added that the majority of horses that run at Golden Gate cannot compete in Southern Cal and so the hope of a large number of the Golden Gate horses suddenly going to Santa Anita is just not going to happen. He says all we would be are race fillers for the better horses and get our heads beat in day after day.

Jockey Silvio Amador took time on Tuesday to talk with us and Amador has been riding regularly at Golden Gate and he too said yes there had been some rumors but no one expected the announcement. His first reaction was heartbreak for all the people who have worked there for years and depend on their jobs. He said it’s not like the security guard just gets up and goes to another track.

He said the news hurts all of racing but he was thinking of going to Southern Cal this year to give it a try and says now the decision has been made for him. He says but now I have to be successful, there is not a fallback where if it doesn’t work out I could go back up to Golden Gate. He said well I guess I could until December 18 but then what so now I have to dig in and make this work.

Amador says he feels for all the families especially those with smaller stables. He agreed with McCanna that most of the horses at Golden Gate will not be heading to Santa Anita and thinks the Stronach group is just saying things that they think people want to hear.

Amador does believe this is an opportunity for Emerald Downs. He says the one thing Emerald has over many other tracks is such a good on-track attendance. He says hearing the crowd cheer has made it really fun to ride here and he is happy he came up to give it a try. He says if Emerald Downs can increase the purses and add days which he knows is a challenge, but if they can, it would set them apart and they could be a great landing spot for the many horsemen who are looking for a place to run and to stay in business.

Amador is fearful that this will take a big chunk of those in the game whether they are owners, trainers, grooms or jockeys out and they will be lost forever. He does believe not all is lost though and agrees that Emerald Downs could be in a great position to step in and fill a much needed space in racing. He hopes that those with big decisions to make will have more options than we see right now when they have to make those tough decisions and remains hopeful some good will come out of this.

We also talked with jockey’s Kevin Orozco and Kevin Radke and trainer Blaine Wright. Check out their interviews below. We will keep up on this issue and update or link stories with updates on Northern California and we will be on top of the legislation going into next session as well so stay tuned for those updates.

ESN talks with Trainer Blaine Wright on the Golden Gate closure