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43-499: The track was set on 140 acres (0.57 km) of land in the cities of Albany and Berkeley. Golden Gate Fields' facilities currently include a one-mile (1,609 m) synthetic track and a turf course measuring 9/10 of a mile, or 7 furlongs plus 132 feet (1,448 m), stalls for 1,420 horses, a main grandstand with seating for about 8,000 customers, a clubhouse with seating for about 5,200 customers, a Turf Club with seating for about 1,500 customers and parking for over 8,500 cars. The synthetic track

86-505: A celebration of his life. During the summer of 2007, the racetrack installed a polymer synthetic type racing surface as mandated by the California Horse Racing Board . The Tapeta Footings synthetic all-weather racing surface is designed to make racing safer for both horses and riders. On February 1, 2008, on board the horse Two Step Cat, Russell Baze got his 10,000th career win as a jockey. Baze won 54 riding titles and

129-539: A dirt track until Spectacular Bid broke it 30 years later. Citation's times in these races would have also been records; he did not become a millionaire at age five solely because Noor ran faster than any horse in history up to that point. Citation himself set a world record in winning the Golden Gate Mile Handicap in 1:33 3 ⁄ 5 in a race that Noor sat out. Citation was brought back by his owners one more time at age six in 1951 in an attempt to become

172-670: A more popular medium for betting purposes. Weather conditions affect the speed of the different surfaces too, and grading systems have been developed to indicate the track condition (known as the "going" in the UK and Ireland ). Turf surfaces are the most affected by changes in the weather, and many turf horses will have a strong preference for a specific type of going. Synthetic surfaces allow racing to take place in bad weather conditions, when it may otherwise be cancelled, and for this reason are sometimes referred to as All Weather surfaces. Manufacturers of synthetic racetrack surface materials promote

215-483: A row, Peppers Pride in 2008 and Zenyatta in 2010; Rapid Redux then surpassed their records in 2012 with 22 straight wins, although not against major stakes competition). His owner, Calumet Farm , had brought Citation back from his injury in 1950 with the intention of making him the first horse to earn $ 1 million, but he came against the English import Noor , who defeated Citation four times (Citation carrying more weight in

258-534: A sloppy track. He won by three-quarters of a length in :54 1/5. He broke the Arlington Park track record over five furlongs in his third start. For the year, he raced nine times, winning eight starts and earning $ 155,680. His only loss came at the heels of his stablemate, Bewitch , in the Washington Park Futurity, which the filly won in stakes-record time for six furlongs. Citation racked up victories in

301-638: A top handicap star such as Armed. After Citation won the Everglades Stakes and the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park , Snider drowned while fishing off the Florida Keys . Calumet Farm hired Arcaro, one of Snider's friends. In Arcaro's first start on Citation, they lost to Saggy in the Chesapeake Trial Stakes. This was the last race that Citation lost for almost two years. Citation reversed

344-466: A total of 5,765 races at Golden Gate Fields during his career. Shared Belief , the Champion 2-year-old colt of 2013, was based at the track and won several races there. With the loss of Bay Meadows to developers in 2008, Golden Gate Fields has become Northern California's only major racetrack (aside from the racetracks associated with the summer fair circuit). The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) sets

387-409: Is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: The style of racing differs between surfaces, with dirt races tending to have the fastest pace, while turf racing often comes down to a sprint in the stretch. Races on artificial surfaces tend to play out somewhere in between. Anecdotally, American bettors consider dirt racing to be more predictable, which makes it

430-706: The City of Albany . To the east is Interstate 80 and to the south, the Berkeley Meadow. This tract lies on what was once a part of the slough into which three creeks drain: Schoolhouse Creek , Codornices Creek and Marin Creek . The tract had originally been that portion of the Rancho San Antonio owned by José Domingo Peralta . He sold it in July 1852 to John Fleming, who used it as a transhipment point for sending his cattle across

473-657: The Jockey Club Gold Cup at 2 miles (3.2 km), which he won by seven lengths over 1947 Preakness winner Phalanx. He then won the Empire City Gold Cup. In Citation's next start, he deterred potential challengers and won the Pimlico Special in a rare walkover. Citation then traveled to California, where he finished the year with two wins, including in the Tanforan Handicap at Tanforan Racetrack . By

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516-688: The California Thoroughbred Trainers and the Thoroughbred Owners of California, expressed disappointment following The Stronach Group's announcement. The last day of thoroughbred racing at Golden Gate Fields is scheduled to take place on December 18, 2023. During a committee meeting of the California Horse Racing Board in August 2023, the Thoroughbred Owners of California proposed a plan to keep Golden Gate Fields open until

559-571: The Elementary Stakes, Futurity Trial, Futurity Stakes , and Pimlico Futurity. He was named champion two-year-old. Citation started the 1948 racing season with two victories over older horse Armed , who had been named Thoroughbred racing's 1947 Horse of the Year , in an allowance race and the Seminole Handicap. It is rare for a three-year-old to defeat older horses so early in the year, let alone

602-563: The Preakness Stakes winner Gate Dancer . Citation was trained by the Hall of Fame inductee Ben Jones and his son, Hall of Famer Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones . The horse was originally ridden by Al Snider and later by Eddie Arcaro and Steve Brooks . Citation won his first start as a two-year-old at the Havre de Grace racetrack on April 22, 1947. The race was a 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 -furlong sprint on

645-606: The age of 25 and was buried in the horse cemetery at Calumet Farm. In 1959, Citation was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame . In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the Top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century , Citation was ranked #3. Around the time of Citation's death, Jim Taylor, a marketing executive at Cessna Aircraft Company , convinced chairman Dwane Wallace to use Citation's name for

688-617: The bay to San Francisco for slaughter and processing. Later in the 19th century, it was the site of the Giant Powder Company , a manufacturer of dynamite and nitroglycerin . Between 1879 and 1892, the plant blew up twice. Competitive horse racing in this part of the East Bay originated with the Oakland Trotting Track about 2 miles south of the site of Golden Gate Fields, in what is now Emeryville . The Oakland Trotting Track

731-460: The eight races by on-track patrons and simulcast/advance-deposit wagering players. Golden Gate Fields racetrack was situated on a tract of land bordered on the west by Fleming Point , a rocky promontory which lies on the eastern shoreline of San Francisco Bay . On the north, it is bordered by the Albany Bulb , Albany Beach and Albany Plateau, undeveloped terrain over a former landfill, owned by

774-444: The end of his three-year-old season, Citation had a record of 20 starts, 19 wins and $ 709,470, for a new single season record. His total career record now stood at 27 victories and two seconds in 29 starts and earnings of $ 865,150. He had also amassed a 15-race winning streak. For his performances, Citation was named Horse of the Year , gaining 161 of a possible 163 votes in the poll conducted by Turf and Sport Digest magazine. Toward

817-406: The end of his three-year-old season, he developed an osselet . The osselet injury kept Citation from racing in 1949, but he came back to race in 1950, winning his 16th race in a row at Santa Anita Park (a streak that stood alone among major North American stakes horses until Cigar equaled the feat in 1994–96; Zenyatta and Peppers Pride both later broke the mark by winning their 19th race in

860-457: The fact that synthetic tracks have drainage attributes that are better than natural surfaces. There is also evidence that synthetic surfaces are significantly safer than dirt in terms of equine breakdowns, though there are many variables that come into play. The statistics for North America in 2015 showed 1.18 fatalities per 1,000 starts on synthetic surfaces, 1.22 on grass courses, and 1.78 on dirt tracks. The breakdown rates were down for each of

903-693: The first $ 2 million day in Northern California was held on California Derby Day . In 1984, the great gelding John Henry set a course record winning the Golden Gate Handicap. Before his death in 2006, Lost in the Fog was based here. On September 17, 2006, he was euthanized due to inoperable tumors found on his spleen and along his spine. Prior to his early death, Lost in the Fog ran three races at his home base — winning twice, and placing once. On September 30, 2006, Golden Gate Fields held

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946-638: The first racehorse to win a record one million dollars. After two third-place finishes, Citation finished out of the money for the first time in the Hollywood Premiere Handicap . After another loss in the Argonaut Handicap, he returned to form with victories in the Century Handicap, American Handicap, and Hollywood Gold Cup , winning over his stablemate, the mare Bewitch. The Gold Cup victory put him over $ 1 million in career earnings, and he

989-676: The first three encounters), in the Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1 ⁄ 4 miles, the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at 1 3 ⁄ 4 miles in world record time, the Forty Niners Handicap at 1 1 ⁄ 8 miles in track record time, and the Golden Gate Handicap . In the latter event, Noor conceded weight to Citation and set a world record of 1:58 1 ⁄ 5 which stood as an American record on

1032-449: The following summer in an effort to provide short-term continuity for thoroughbred racing in the region. Aidan Butler, CEO of 1/ST Racing (parent company of The Stronach Group), said afterward that a winter-spring meet at Golden Gate in 2024 would be "completely contingent on the outcome of a sitdown ." The following month, it was announced that the closing of Golden Gate Fields would be tentatively postponed until June 2024. AC Transit ,

1075-424: The horse Silky Sullivan came to the track and with him came the excitement that followed him throughout his life. Until the death of Lost in the Fog , he was also the only horse to be buried in the infield. Lost in the Fog's plaque is the third to be placed at Golden Gate Fields, found near the one for Silky Sullivan and that for Bill Shoemaker . The infield turf course was opened on February 22, 1972. In 1974,

1118-625: The last year of racing at Golden Gate Fields. In their announcement, The Stronach Group president and chief executive Belinda Stronach said that the future success of California racing "depends on a business model that encourages investment in Southern California," referring to Santa Anita Park and the San Luis Rey Downs training facility. The leaders of groups representing owners and trainers of thoroughbred horses in California, including

1161-523: The local public transit agency, provided a seasonal bus service, line 304, between the track and North Berkeley BART station until 2008. The track is also accessible from the Gilman Street and Albany exits of the Eastshore Freeway , as well as from adjacent city streets. The San Francisco Bay Trail , a bicycle and walking path passes between the bay and the stands. In 2009, East Shore Charter Lines

1204-642: The loss to Saggy in the Chesapeake Stakes at Havre de Grace Racetrack , which he won over Bovard by 4 1 ⁄ 2 lengths, with Saggy well back. Citation followed with his final Kentucky Derby prep, a win in the Derby Trial Stakes . In the Kentucky Derby , ridden by Arcaro, Citation won by 3 1 ⁄ 2 lengths over his stablemate, eventual 1949 Horse of the Year Coaltown, and Arcaro gave

1247-599: The new business jet Cessna was designing. Cessna has continued to use the Citation name and trademark horseshoe logo for an entire series of jet aircraft that comprise the Cessna Citation family . A famous statue of Citation can be found at Hialeah Park . This statue is shown in Godfather II as Michael Corleone travels to Miami to visit Hyman Roth . In 2020, as part of a fundraiser for emergency relief efforts due to

1290-669: The period just before the war, the track was used as the scene of the crime central to the plot of the movie Shadow of the Thin Man . With the onset of World War II, the United States Navy took over the property as the Naval Landing Force Equipment Depot, Albany for storing hundreds of landing craft destined for use in the Pacific theater. After the war, Golden Gate Fields resumed horse racing. Golden Gate Fields

1333-519: The specific racing dates each year, but there is customarily a long winter/spring meet running from late December to mid-June, and a fall meet running from mid-October to mid-December. Starting in 2010, a summer meet was added with dates based around the summer fair circuit. On June 15, 2016, the CHRB presented a proposed 2017 calendar that would eliminate the summer meet. On July 16, 2023, Golden Gate Fields owners The Stronach Group announced that 2023 would be

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1376-530: The surfaces compared to 2014. The first synthetic surface used for thoroughbred racing was Tropical Park 's Tartan turf, a synthetic surface similar to Astroturf installed in 1966. Tartan turf was never a success with horsemen. The first synthetic surface to replace dirt in the United States was installed at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1963. This surface, called Tartan,

1419-597: The widow of former jockey Al Snider a share of his Derby purse money . Citation was then sent to Baltimore where he won the Preakness Stakes by 5 1 ⁄ 2 lengths. There was a 4-week gap between the Preakness and Belmont and Citation's trainer thought he should run in a race during that time as a "warm-up" for Cy's Belmont. It was decided Cy would run in the Jersey Stakes which he won by an easy 11 lengths. Now he

1462-558: Was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eighth winner of the American Triple Crown . He won 16 consecutive stakes races and was the first horse in history to win US$ 1 million. Owned and bred by Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky , Citation was a bay colt by Bull Lea from the imported mare Hydroplane (GB), who was by the leading sire Hyperion . Although Citation

1505-479: Was bred in Kentucky, his pedigree was largely European. He also traces back through his father Bull Lea to two outstanding horses from New Zealand (Trenton and Carbine), both sired by English sire Musket, the much loved and revered superstar of the late 1800s. As a descendant of the broodmare Glasalt, Citation was related to the 2000 Guineas winner Colorado : the same branch of Thoroughbred "Family" 3-l later produced

1548-433: Was called Tapeta and was installed in the summer of 2007. [1] On July 16, 2023, The Stronach Group announced that Golden Gate Fields would close at the end of the 2023 race meet. The closing was later delayed tentatively until June 2024. On June 9, 2024, Golden Gate Fields in the East Bay city of Albany, staged its final card, ending an 83-year run. A total of 5,936 people came to say farewell, with $ 3,057,912 wagered on

1591-449: Was contracted to provide the racetrack with a new free service from the BART station. The following Graded events were held at Golden Gate Fields in 2020. Grade III The following are black type listed stakes: It hosts numerous overnight handicaps and ungraded stakes events. Tapeta Footings The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track

1634-514: Was found to be unsatisfactory and removed and replaced with a traditional limestone surface in 1975. Hollywood Park (closed down) Courbold Park, Sunshine Coast Toowoomba, Queensland Klampenborg, Denmark Taby Galopp, Sweden (closed) Al Khor Horse Breeders Park, Qatar Lyon La Soie (France) Pornichet (France) Citation (horse) Triple Crown race wins: Kentucky Derby (1948) Preakness Stakes (1948) Belmont Stakes (1948) Citation (April 11, 1945 – August 8, 1970)

1677-422: Was open from 1871 until it was forced to close in 1911 when the state banned horse racing. A fire in 1915 destroyed what remained of its structures. In 1933, the state repealed the ban on horse racing. Just before World War II , Golden Gate Fields built its grandstand up against the eastern slope of Fleming Point, and adjacent marshland was filled in for the track. The inaugural meet was on February 1, 1941. In

1720-565: Was owned and managed for 25 years by San Francisco foreign car importer and horseman Kjell Qvale . In 1989, Golden Gate Fields was acquired by UK-based Ladbroke Racing . It was later acquired in 1999 by Magna Entertainment Corp. , as Ladbroke wanted to divest of its non-European holdings. In March 2009, Magna filed for bankruptcy. The Stronach Group, the current owners, acquired Golden Gate Fields on July 3, 2011. Golden Gate Fields made history in 2016 when it hired 29-year-old Angela Hermann as its track announcer, succeeding Michael Wrona . Hermann

1763-698: Was ready to go to Belmont Park in New York . On June 12, 1948, Citation became the eighth Triple Crown winner by capturing the Belmont Stakes , winning it by 8 lengths and tying the stakes record of 2:28 1 ⁄ 5 set by the sixth Triple Crown winner, Count Fleet . Citation then won the Stars and Stripes Handicap, equaling Armed's track record. He next won the American Derby and the Sysonby Mile. After that came

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1806-479: Was the first full-time female race caller in the United States since Ann Elliott worked in the 1960s at Jefferson Downs near New Orleans. Currently, 28-year-old Matt Dinerman is the race announcer and track handicapper at Golden Gate Fields. In 1950, Citation and Noor met in the Golden Gate Handicap. The English bred Noor beat the great Triple Crown winner Citation, prompting Citation's rider, Steve Brooks , to say, "We just can't beat that horse." In 1957,

1849-611: Was then retired to stud. Citation retired after the Hollywood Gold Cup. As a sire at Calumet Farm, he produced a number of noteworthy offspring including the Hall of Fame filly Silver Spoon , Get Around (won $ 164,868), Guadalcanal (won $ 243,337) and 1956 Preakness Stakes winner Fabius . While at stud at Calumet Farm, he was said to be afraid of owner Lucille P. Markey 's Yorkshire Terrier Timmy Tammy. The dog reportedly nipped at him on several occasions. He died on August 8, 1970, at

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