California's only remaining synthetic meet opens Friday

Golden Gate Fields opens its 98-day winter-spring meeting on Friday as the only synthetic-surface track in California and with one of the best horses in the country training on it. Shared Belief, who finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic after a seven-win run to start his career, is based at Golden Gate with trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Shared Belief may not race at Golden Gate during the meeting, but plenty of good horses will, including Pepper Crown. Pepper Crown won stakes at each of the three Golden Gate meetings in 2014 – taking the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile, Rolling Green, and Grade 3 Berkeley – and he is expected to defend his titles in those races.

Russell Baze will be seeking his 51st Golden Gate riding championship and Hollendorfer will be seeking his 49th training title.

Things went well enough in 2014 that Golden Gate was able to return the $75,000 Alcatraz to the stakes schedule this year. Golden Gate offers 12 stakes with more than $1 million in total purses during the winter-spring meet, highlighted by three Grade 3 stakes: the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby on Feb. 14, $100,000 San Francisco Mile on April 25, and $100,000 All American May 25.

Three other stakes will offer a purse of $100,000: the California Derby on Jan. 17 and the Campanile and Silky Sullivan, a pair of turf stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds, on April 26.

The Campanile and Silky Sullivan give Golden Gate a mini-turf festival in conjunction with the San Francisco Mile the day before. Early in the meet, the stakes emphasis is on 3-year-olds, with the California Derby and the El Camino Real Derby.

Calvin Rainey, vice president and general manager, said Golden Gate will examine the possibility of adding stakes during the meet.

He hopes that there will be carryover from the excitement created by California Chrome in the 2014 Triple Crown. Winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, California Chrome is trained by Art Sherman, who was based in Northern California for many years.

Rainey noted that there was an increase in betting through advance-deposit wagering at last year’s meet. He is hoping to get more people to the track this season.

“We are attracting attention from all over, but we’re trying to get more people to come to live racing,” Rainey said.

The Dollar Sunday program has proven very popular. Golden Gate charges $1 for parking, general admission, programs, hot dogs, beer and sodas. It has brought new fans to the track, Rainey said.