Golden Gate Fields Horse Racing Track To Shut Down Following Years Of Protests Due To Horse Deaths
On Sunday, the Stronach Group declared that it will halt racing activities at the Golden Gate Fields (GGF) horse racing track located in Berkeley and Albany, with the shutdown effective at the end of its 2023 racing meet. The horse-racing/wagering-based company claims this decision is part of a strategic plan to bolster racing at Santa Anita Park in Southern California, another track owned by the Stronach Group.
With almost 400 miles between the two racetracks, activists point out that the logic of Stronach’s explanation is tenuous at best. For years, activists with the Berkeley-based animal rights network, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), have utilized a wide range of tactics to advocate for the closure of this deadly horse racing track.
In 2021, four DxE activists chained themselves together across the track to raise awareness about the cruelty of horse racing, and stopped a horse race from occurring at GGF— which led to legal backlash from GGF that they are still battling.
Every time a horse dies at GGF, activists hold a memorial protest and call on residents of Berkeley and Albany to join them in demanding the track’s permanent closure. Tragically, a total of eight horses were killed in the first half of 2023.
Residents and local politicians also recently took the policy route to combat GGF’s animal cruelty. DxE is one of a number of groups working on a ballot initiative, launched last month, that would ban Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Berkeley, including the GGF stables.
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