It’s another sweet and somber farewell. Golden Gate Fields became the latest of many California horse racing business casualties last Sunday, closing after an 83-year run in the San Francisco suburb of Berkeley.
It’s tempting to pin the demise on animal-rights groups that protested some racing deaths. Or the uneven economy.
But it’s more realistic to reference the unsustainable business model drastically lowering the number of live-racing establishments over the past four decades: they can’t generate enough money.
Golden Gates Fields was sacrificed by its owners, the Stronach Group. The group will invest the resources from this track in its operations in Southern California, primarily Santa Anita, in Arcadia.
