Sports
Horse Racing Halted At Golden Gate Fields
No spectators have attended races since the first shelter-in-place order, but racing continued with remote betting until this week.
ALBANY, CA — The Golden Gate Fields horse racing track in Albany suspended all racing activities Thursday due to the novel coronavirus pandemic after being contacted by the Alameda County Public Health Officer.
The track has been closed to the public since mid-March but was still running races that people could watch and bet on remotely.
"We've had no public here whatsoever since the 12th of March," said track General Manager David Duggan. "The place is effectively shuttered."
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It's unclear why the track was still operating since the Bay Area has been under a shelter-in-place order that required, among other things, all non-essential businesses to close.
In a news release, track officials said, "In accordance with instructions received this morning from the Alameda County Public Health Officer, Golden Gate Fields will temporarily close for live racing effective immediately in response to the COVID-19 pandemic."
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Officials with Alameda County didn't immediately respond to a request for additional information.
On Tuesday, health officers in several Bay Area counties and cities on extended the shelter-in-place order through May 3 to try to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the region.
The previous order, issued earlier this month, was set to expire on April 7. The new order covers six counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara — as well as the city of Berkeley.
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