GOLDEN GATE FIELDS WINNER"S CIRCLE

BERKELEY, CA

Client: Golden Gate Fields

A new Winner’s Circle has been built at Golden Gate Fields in an effort to enhance the experience and start up a continuous pattern of improvement over time at the famous bayside racetrack. The previous Winner’s Circle had over-grown shrubbery, natural turf which consumed water, chemicals, and labor, and was divided up into several smaller non-functional spaces. It lacked a formal location for photography of the winning entry and owners.

The new winner’s circle was designed to create a single, central space that provides facilities for all of the individual functions, such as winners’ photos and jockey’s weigh station. In addition to being used every race day, the larger, unified area will provide ample space for special events. The landscape design utilizes synthetic turf which provides a lush green look year-around, without using precious water supplies. The area is defined by a formal planting of low hedgerows including boxwood, lavender, and liriope. Accents are provided by the Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees which will grow slowly and stay low so as not to interfere with spectators’ sight lines. These improvements freshen up the experience of winning a race for all parties involved with a winning racehorse.

“We want to enhance the Golden Gate Fields experience for everyone,” said Vice President and General Manager David Duggan. “Our staff and horsemen are working extremely hard every day. Our dedicated horseplayers and fans, both on and off track, should be served the best possible product and we will continue to preach that as we work on making this product great for them.”