The stables at the Alameda County Fairgrounds will soon shutter, and those living there must find a new place to live. The stables officially close Friday, forcing hundreds of people to move. On Thursday, many said they don’t know where they’ll go or where they’ll work. The closure comes after weeks of back and forth between the fairgrounds and workers trying to keep the track open. This marks the second time in less than a year that Ricardo Ruiz has to pack up and move. Last year, it was due to the closure of Golden Gate Fields. This year, it’s the track closing at the fairgrounds. “In less than one year two racetracks shut down,” he said. “It’s not right.” Working with horses is in his DNA – four generations in the horse racing business to be exact. Ruiz, who lives at the fairgrounds, said he has no other option but to move his family to San Diego to continue working. “I don’t want to find another job out of the racetrack because I work with horses all my life,” he said. “I love to do this, what I do. I follow the horses. I go with them.” Pleasanton Mar 25 Horse track at Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton shutters Alameda County Mar 10 Race horses forced out of Alameda County Fairgrounds leaving owners, trainers scrambling The racetrack shutting down also means some families are being split apart. “My family, right now, we are separated,” Jenn Antongeorgi said. “My husband is a jockey, William Antongerogi. He has chosen to go down south to Santa Anita. He stays down there everyday. My youngest daughter, we drive down.” More than 500 people were living at the fairgrounds. While hundreds have left, many still live there in RVs. Those people expect their rent to double next month. Without jobs, advocates said it could force people into homelessness. “They were told that they would have jobs and a place to live for five years,” one advocate said. “They got here and within months they received eviction notices and job termination…There are legal ways that we can fight to keep these folks at least able to stay here. They have nowhere to go.” In a statement, the fairgrounds said, in part, that it made every effort to find a path forward and is disappointed in the outcome and will support those affected by the transition. ...read more read less