Super Likit finish a game second on opening day at Golden Gate Fields on Wednesday in closing fashion on a day when speed dominated on the new Tapeta surface.
As reported in the popular racing press, times were fast and the maintenance crew took steps to slow it down over the next few days. By Sunday, closers were dominating, although some attributed the change to rain the track took Saturday night.
One other item of note has been field size. This welcome change in the NorCal racing product did create one notable SNAFU. [style guide gurus please advise if snafu has ceased to be an acronym] Sunday's sixth race was originally scheduled for turf at a mile and drew twelve entrants. When the race was washed off the turf due to rain, no one scratched. This created a problem because only 10 horses are permitted to go postward in a one mile race on the main track due to how close the start would be to the clubhouse turn. Since no one scratched the stewards were in quite a predicament. They decided to simply run the race with all twelve. What was immediately clear was that the race was no longer a one mile race, though. The starting gate was set some fifty yards farther back from where it would be for a true mile race. At Golden Gate Fields, a one mile race on the main track almost always has a run up, but on Sunday this run up was significantly longer than usual. It is a shame the betting public was not made aware.
Picture of the Golden Gate Bridge taken from Golden Gate Fields
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