Anti-racing protestors disrupted the action at Golden Gate Fields March 4 by laying on the racetrack, resulting in a cancellation of the day's first race and delaying six others by more than six hours.
The incident, live-streamed by organizers Direct Action Everywhere on social media, showed four protestors scaling a fence approximately three-eighths of a mile away from the finish at roughly 11:30 a.m. PT. The protestors then locked arms in a circle, strengthening the link between them with PVC pipe. They also appeared to have ignited smoke canisters.
As of 2 p.m., they remained on the track, though police were on-site.
At 3:15 p.m., 2 1/2 hours after the scheduled first post, Golden Gate track announcer Matt Dinerman announced that the first race was canceled and a decision on the remaining six races was to come later in the afternoon. It eventually did, and the day's initially planned second race, which became the opener, went to post at 7:28 under lights with a field of four following two scratches. The other races were also completed in the evening.
Cassie King, a spokesperson for Direct Action Everywhere on its Facebook live stream, said the demonstration was in response to a high number of equine deaths at the Northern California track. There have been five fatalities at Golden Gate this year, according to California Horse Racing Board statistics. Four of those were during training and another in a classification the CHRB refers to as "other," which can include barn accidents and from ailments such as colic.
Last year, Golden Gate had 27 fatalities, second highest in the state behind Los Alamitos Race Course in Southern California. Nineteen of Golden Gate's 27 fatalities were related to training or racing, according to CHRB statistics.
Outside the racetrack, at least a dozen anti-racing demonstrators carried signs calling for the end of racing at Golden Gate, shouting in megaphones at passing motorists. Activists also gave numerous television interviews to local news stations that converged upon the track. At least one local television station filmed the protest with video from a helicopter.
Four animal rights activists, seeking to shut down Golden Gate Fields, are reportedly on the track’s backstretch, arms joined and cuffed inside PVC pipes, trying to prevent racing today. 20 more with signs protesting outside. pic.twitter.com/gMYTAyUPtU
— Michael Cabanatuan (@ctuan) March 4, 2021
The disruption by Direct Action Everywhere included drone video footage that live-captured the incident, and its commentators conveyed their message on social media. Not all the information distributed by the organization on its video feed was factual.
The protests also affected more than racing. A COVID-19 vaccine clinic on-site canceled some appointments and paused its services for a period Thursday afternoon amid the disruption. It resumed operations later in the day.
Golden Gate posted several statements on Twitter, writing in one just before 7:00 p.m: "Golden Gate Fields is committed to the safety of the horses and the people who care for them, and the types of actions exhibited today run directly counter to the safe environment we are trying to create.
"Thoroughbred horse racing is a highly regulated, legal sport. Trespassing and endangering others are completely inappropriate and illegal methods to express opposition to the sport. Further, bringing incendiary devices onto the property is inherently dangerous to human life, the more than 1,200 horses stabled here and the hundreds of people who care for them. This behavior will not be tolerated. We encouraged those responsible to find an appropriate way to air their grievances rather than endangering the lives of thousands, including the horses they claim to want to protect."
The track later thanked its horsemen and employees on Twitter, appreciative of their "commitment and patience under extremely trying circumstances today."
The moves by the protestors follow a series of outside-racetrack protests, mostly in 2019 in Southern California, after a spike of fatalities at Santa Anita Park that year. Since that time fatalities have been reduced in California amid changes by track management and horsemen and from increased CHRB regulation.
Golden Gate Fields is owned by The Stronach Group, which also owns Santa Anita Park in the state.
Craig Fravel, CEO of racing operations for TSG, declined comment beyond Golden Gate's Twitter statement.
