At Home With The Winningest Jockey

     If there were any jockey to help Silver Medallion break through and make his presence felt on the Derby Trail, why not the world's winningest jockey in the likes of Russell Baze. He has 27 riding titles at the track by the Golden Gate Bridge, he now has three straight El Camino Real Derbies and he has a bonafide Derby contender in his charge.  
     Baze was Silver Medallion's fifth jockey, at his fifth track mind you, in only six starts for the Kentucky Derby hopeful. The TYB Stables son of Badge of Silver wasn't highly regarded either. The connections for 1-2 post-time favorite Comma To The Top considered the El Camino at Golden Gate Fields the easier of the  prep races on Saturday.
    When Comma To The Top decided to surge to the front and burn himself out running rank, Silver Medallion and Baze capitalized on the opportunity. Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Comma faded to sixth place and off the board, causing some pretty plump show prices. For Silver Medallion though, having a local expert, and hero, in the irons proved advantageous. Baze slid Silver Medallion into the 4-path and the 6-1 shot cruised to a 1 1/4-length win in 1:50 2/5 for the 1 1/8-miles, just 4 ticks of the track record.  The performance earned him the highest Beyer Speed Figure for all of the Derby preps over the weekend.
     With a first-leg qualifier for the Preakness 5.5 under his belt, and $120,000 graded stakes earnings, the Santa Anita Derby is the likely to be Silver Medallion's next start.

     The El Camino Real Derby is a big race for Golden Gates Fields. It is one of the few graded stakes races the track hosts and, with the inception of the Preakness 5.5, the El Camino gained added significance.  To document the big day, Eclipse Sportswire photographer Bob Mayberger ventured west.  His photographs of some of the sights and scenes around Golden Gate Fields are in the slideshow below.


Scenes From Golden Gate Fields from Stride LIVE on Vimeo.
Eclipse Sportswire photographer Bob Mayberger ventured to Golden Gate Fields this past weekend. As many focused on Santa Anita and Tampa Bay, the three-year-old prep race whose winner scored the highest Beyer Speed Figure was the El Camino Real Derby, and Mayberger was there to document the day.

Golden Gate Kicks Off Preakness 5.5 For Some

     The road to the Kentucky Derby, and possibly a $5.5 million bonus in the Preakness, leads through Golden Gate Fields for CashCall Futurity winner Comma To The Top.  Thanks to a program started this year by MI Developments that included several tracks they operate, one path to the bonus starts with the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby. To be clear, you can win the Kentucky Derby, but that has nothing to do with the $5.5 million.(To read more about Preakness 5.5 click here - http://www.preakness.com/race-info/preakness-55 )

     As much of the country is socked in from up to three feet of snow and Derby Fever is percolating in many race fans, a trip to the February 12^th race could be an opportunity to escape the snow and see some great racing.

    While associated with San Francisco because of the iconic bridge that bears its name, Golden Gate Fields is actually in Berkeley, CA and is only 10 miles from the airport in Oakland. It is 26 miles from the airport in San Francisco.

     Situated along the shoreline of San Franscisco Bay, Golden Gate has a one-mile synthetic track main oval.  Opened in 1941, it has hosted the likes of legendary Lost In The Fog, who is now buried in the infield along with another racing great, Silky Sullivan.  John Henry still holds the track record on the 9/10-mile turf course at the distance of 1 3/8-miles.

     Golden Gate also has several eating venues including the Turf Club which looks out onto the track.  If you visit, keep in mind the dress code, where visitors are reminded – “We strongly discourage:  sweat pants/suits, T-shirts, baseball hats and thong style shoes.  Guests who arrive in shorts of any style, tank tops (sleeveless shirts), or clothing with offensive logos will be denied access into the Turf Club.”

     Once you leave the track, you are only minutes from the epicenter of early ‘70s Hippie-dom. So maybe you don’t have to stop at the tie-dye stand at the corner of Telegraph and Bancroft, but there are plenty of unique shops in Berkeley and great local-flavor restaurants like Cheeseboard Pizza.

    Now, lets get you to the track. Most airlines still require at least seven days prior booking to get a reasonable airfare. So, if this is something journey you want to undertake, act fast. Checks of flights via Southwest and other major airlines from several cities in the Midwest and Northeast reveal flights can still be had for around $300.  If you visit Priceline, you can probably bid on an even cheaper rate.

     Checks of hotels in the Berkeley area reveal numerous above average to excellent hotels ranging in price from $70-$100 a night. The Clarion Hotel Downtown Oakland is an option that can be had for $79 a night. 

       Bottom line, if you have cabin fever or it has just been too long since you saw races run live, in person, Golden Gate Fields is an unexpected option and most likely a delightful surprise.