Workers at Golden Gate Fields face uncertain future with end of NorCal horse racing
The announcement that Golden Gate Fields will shut down in December has hundreds of workers scrambling to respond to the imminent loss of their jobs.
Thoroughbred trainer Jacqui Navarre said she is worried about her future.
"The logistics of it all are just a little bit scary. It was so sudden," Navarre said. "Six months is a pretty quick notice that your life is going to change completely."
Navarre and her husband, race official Steve Fisher, both work at Golden Gate Fields. The couple isn't sure what they'll do or where they will go for work.
There are many others who not only work at the track but also live in dorms or trailers near the stables.
"I feel terrible for all the people, the workers on the backside," Fisher said. "Where are they going to go?"
Golden Gate Fields opened in the 1940s. In recent years, it has been the target of animal rights protests. Eight horses have died at the track this year including three racing deaths according to the California Horse Racing Board.
The Stronach Group, which owns the track, said it's consolidating racing operations at its higher-profile tracks in Southern California, Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs. The closure will leave Northern California without a major racetrack. Bay Meadows, which opened in 1934, shut down and was turned over to developers in 2008.
Jacqui and Steve say they probably won't make the move.
"The only ones who might have jobs at Santa Anita are the Golden Gate employees who work in the office," she said. The rest of us who work back here? We're on our own."
Navarre said the horse racing industry is shrinking, and much of that is caused by the rise in off-track betting.
Although they don't know what's around the corner, Navarre says for her and Fisher, it's been a good run.
"We just love being with the horses," Fisher said.