Horse Racing Premiere Draws Crowds to Pleasanton Fairgrounds

From the Alameda County Fairgrounds:

Pleasanton, CA – Oaktree Fall Horse Racing & Festival made its debut at Pleasanton Fairgrounds on September 23 and the fans turned out. Attendance for the six-day event totaled 11,959 – a 77% increase over last year’s racing attendance at the San Joaquin County Fair, the original site of the race meet.

The fall racing event was the first to take place at the Pleasanton track outside of the annual Fair. Oaktree at Pleasanton was awarded the meet by the California Horse Racing Board earlier this year after the San Joaquin County Fair opted out of its 2016 schedule.

“We were excited for the opportunity to host a second race season this year believing that fans would support it -- and they did,” said Jerome Hoban, Fairgrounds CEO. “The festival not only attracted core fans but also many new to the sport who came to enjoy the wine & beer events. We consider it a big success and look forward to opportunity to do it again.”

Oaktree at Pleasanton Fall Horse Racing ran Friday through Sunday for two consecutive weekends in September & October and included a $50K Stakes Race, $10K Handicapping Tournament, wine & craft beer festivals, sports lounge, kids activities, food & drink specials and more.

Horse racing will return in June at the 2017 Alameda County Fair. For updates on the 2017 horse racing schedule and other events, visit here.

2016 Fall Racing Highlights:

• The Sip, Savor and Wager Wine Fest (9/24) and Craftoberfest craft beer festival (10/1) both served large crowds. The Wine Festival and the Brew Fest will both return to the 2017 Alameda County Fair.
• Dangerfield (#7), a young horse from Southern California, took first place at the $50,000 Oak Tree Juvenile Stakes Race presented by Medea Vodka on Saturday, October 1.
• The Fan Cave presented by 95.7 The Game, offered a pub & lounge area on the 2 floor with continuous live sports daily.
• Family Fun Sundays offered fun & games for kids including Hippity Hop races, Game truck, STEAM-themed arts & crafts, bouncy houses and Pokemon Poke-stops.
• Festival Latino with Univision featured live music by Banda Corazon Ranchero and Corona beer specials.

The Alameda County Fair is operated by the non-profit Fair Association without any tax funding from the government. It is ranked one of the Top 50 North American Fairs and the 7 largest Fair in California. The Fairgrounds is home to the Oldest One-Mile Race Track in America

Alameda County Fair, 4501 Pleasanton Ave, Pleasanton, Ca, 94566

Image via Shutterstock