State bonds will remake California horse track into a park

Berkeley Mayor’s Office.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a budget trailer bill designating $125 million from a statewide bond measure to turn the former Golden Gate Fields horse racing track near Berkeley into a public park. 

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The track on the shore of San Francisco Bay closed its doors in 2024 following an 83-year run. The state bond funds are to help the transformation of the Bay Area’s last major horse racing venue into public parkland and open space.

The funding stems from Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond measure for “Water, Wildfire Prevention, and Protecting Communities and Natural Lands From Climate Risks.”

It was approved by almost 60% of California voters in 2024. 

The state bond funds bring the fundraising effort to acquire the park most of the way home. The Trust for Public Land in March announced its $175 million option to buy the land in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District. Other funding includes $20 million from the park district’s 2008 Measure WW bond authorization.

California state Sen. Jesse Arreguín, who was mayor of Berkeley when the racetrack closed, strongly championed public acquisition of the parcel.

“For years, our community has fought for a future where Golden Gate Fields belongs to everyone, restoring natural habitats and strengthening coastal resiliency,” Arreguín said in a statement. “I am grateful for the governor’s leadership which will allow us to turn this former racetrack into a world-class waterfront park that all Californians can enjoy for future generations.”

The racetrack property is split between Berkeley and the neighboring city of Albany, where the track and grandstands are. With 19,000 residents, one-sixth of Berkeley’s population, Albany by the property tax revenue that will be lost when the parcel leaves private hands, as well as sales and other taxes once collected from the track when it operated.

The site is approximately 161 acres, 31 submerged under water, surrounded on both sides by McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.

Opening the the site to public access will close the remaining gap in an interconnected shoreline park system linking Richmond to Oakland, according to the park district.

The transfer of the property to the park district is expected to be complete by spring. Once the property is under ownership, the park district will launch a public engagement process in partnership with the cities of Albany and Berkeley to envision how different uses can be integrated on the site to create a world-class shoreline park that will serve generations to come.

Upon acquisition, the property will be transferred to the park district, which will manage the long-term development, ecological restoration, and maintenance of the new parklands.

For decades, Golden Gate Fields was a prominent regional landmark, but its closure in 2024 sparked extensive discussions among community members, environmental advocates, and municipal leaders regarding the future of the shoreline.