ARCADIA, Calif. - When the Golden State Racing meeting at Pleasanton, Calif., was announced for this fall, jockey Frank Alvarado could not have asked for a shorter commute. “I live one mile away,” he said. “When they said racing would go to Pleasanton, I said, ‘Hallelujah.’ ” Alvarado’s commute is about to change. The Golden State Racing meeting lasted a little more than two months, and conducted its final day of racing on Wednesday. Organizers did not seek racing dates for a winter-spring meeting from the California Horse Racing Board citing poor business at the fall meeting. Golden State Racing was formed to provide racing in Northern California following the permanent closure of Golden Gate Fields in June. This winter, daytime Thoroughbred racing will be consolidated at Santa Anita in Southern California. Santa Anita announced on Monday that it will provide racing opportunities for Northern-based stables at its upcoming winter-spring meeting, which begins on Thursday. Alvarado and fellow riders William Antongeorgi and Adrian Castellanos are scheduled to ride at Santa Anita. Antongeorgi is the only one with a mount on Thursday, Berry Valley in the fourth race. Alvarado said he plans to travel to Santa Anita on Thursday and hopes to begin riding on Dec. 27. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Alvarado, 56, has ridden stakes in Southern California in recent years, winning three such races at Santa Anita this year. This will be the first time he has ridden regularly at Santa Anita since the late 1990s. “I want to try it one more time,” he said. “I feel young and I’m healthy.” Alvarado had a busy Friday morning at Pleasanton, working 10 horses, he said. He acknowledges he will have something to prove on a day-to-day basis this winter. “It will be different at Santa Anita,” he said. “I know I can ride and I know I can work.” Antongeorgi described relocating to Santa Anita as “kind of our only option.” Antongeorgi, who rode most recently at Santa Anita on a regular basis in 2014-2015, plans to spend most of his time at Santa Anita in coming months, but will return to Pleasanton to work horses and spend time with family. The details of traveling back and forth and when to be where are coming into focus this weekend as the transition begins. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” he said on Friday from Pleasanton. “I’ll be down there most of the time and come back once a month. “I still have my business at Pleasanton. I want to stay close to that business and the [horses] that are going to run at Santa Anita.” With no winter-spring meeting at Pleasanton, the next live Thoroughbred racing in Northern California will not occur until the fair circuit begins at Pleasanton in mid-June. Alvarado, Antongeorgi, and Castellanos ranked in the top 10 in the jockey standings at the Golden State Racing meeting. The abandonment of a winter meeting at Pleasanton left Antongeorgi angered. He acknowledged that business conditions were always going to be difficult at Pleasanton. “I felt it was an uphill battle,” he said. “Our own people folded and left us without a place to race. It wasn’t done in a good way. It’s heartbreaking.” Some of the other riders in the top 10 of the Golden State Racing meeting are moving out of California. Leading rider Alexander Chavez is booked to ride next week in Kentucky and Ohio. The apprentice jockey Manuel Americano has relocated to Turf Paradise in Phoenix. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Jockeys Luis Jimenez and Santos Rivera are considering moves to Louisiana or Texas, according to their agent, Ramon Silva. Assael Espinoza, who also ranked in the top 10 at the Golden State Racing meeting, moved to Southern California earlier this month. He finished the recent two-week Los Alamitos December meeting with three wins, tied for sixth in the standings. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.