ALBANY -- The California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) will kick off its second horse racing meeting at Golden Gate Fields Wednesday with an eight-race program.
The 17-day session runs through Sunday, Oct. 4, and post time is 12:45 p.m. – an hour earlier than the 1:45 p.m. starting time used at the first CARF at Golden Gate Fields meet held Aug. 12-23.
Opening week will feature racing on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday. Racing will be conducted on a Thursday-through-Sunday schedule the second and third weeks, and on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule the final week.
Golden Gate Fields will open its Turf Club on weekends and offer fans $1 specials on Sundays – general parking, general admission, racing programs, hot dogs, beers and sodas will cost just a buck apiece.
Sundays will also feature wire-to-wire coverage of the National Football League as Golden Gate Fields, via the NFL Sunday Ticket, will show all the games available on television monitors throughout the facility. This Sunday, Golden Gate Fields will host the grand opening of the new “End Zone,” an area designed for NFL fans.
Two one-mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds will highlight the racing – the $50,000 Bart Heller this Saturday and the $50,000 Indyanne on Sept. 26.
Entries for the Bart Heller will be taken Wednesday. Our Minesweeper, winner of the Cavonnier Juvenile Stakes at Santa Rosa, heads a list of expected starters that also includes Awesome Native, Montauban, My Rocket, Raptor Force, Rufaro’s Roberto, and Tweebster.
CARF AT GGF NOTES: The only exception to the 12:45 p.m. post time is Friday, Oct. 2, when first post will be 1:45 p.m….Russell Baze, despite riding only part-time, finished as the leading jockey at the California State Fair meeting in Sacramento with 10 victories. Hector Romero and Catalino Martinez tied for second in the jockey standings with nine wins apiece….Steve Sherman and William E. Morey both saddled six winners to share leading trainer honors at the State Fair….On Saturday, Oct. 3, GGF will host the Wiener Nationals and simulcast the California Cup card from Santa Anita….The CARF at GGF meeting will be followed by the Big Fresno Fair, the final stop on the fair circuit. The 10-day meet in Fresno will run from Oct. 7-18….Golden Gate Fields will conduct its regular fall/winter meeting from Oct. 21 through Dec. 20.