Golden Gate Fields Starts Winter Meet Dec. 26

(from Golden Gate Fields release)
After a seven-day break for the holidays, Thoroughbred racing in the Bay Area resumes Tuesday when Golden Gate Fields opens its 2006-2007 winter meeting, a 31-day stand that will run through Feb. 11.

There will be an early post time of 12:15 p.m. for the opening-day program at Golden Gate Fields and a special noon post at Santa Anita, which also opens its season Dec. 26.

The standard post time at Golden Gate Fields will be 12:45 p.m. with the only other exceptions being Sunshine Millions Day (Jan. 27, 12:15 p.m.) and Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 4, 11:15 a.m.).

There will be a quartet of four-day racing weeks during the six-week season, with the track opening for simulcast wagering only on the following Wednesdays: Jan. 10, 24, and 31, and Feb. 7. There will be special Monday cards on Jan. 1 and Jan. 15.

Seven stakes are scheduled for the winter season, with the $150,000 California Derby and $100,000 California Oaks headlining the stakes slate. The California Derby is a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds that will be run on Jan. 28. The California Oaks, also a 1 1/16-mile event, is for 3-year-old fillies and will be run Feb. 10.

The opening-day feature is the $50,000 Union Square Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up. McCann's Mojave, winner of the 2005 California Cup Classic, heads a field of six.