San Francisco Mile tops 6-stakes card

Golden Gate Fields has made big changes to its winter-spring meet stakes schedule, adding a wrinkle to the El Camino Real Derby and scheduling six stakes for one card.

The Grade 3 San Francisco Mile is the top race among the six stakes on Saturday, April 27. The purse for the Mile was increased $50,000, and its date was pushed back one month from last year’s March running.

Also to be run April 27 are the California Derby for 3-year-olds and California Oaks for 3-yearold fillies, both at 1 1/16 miles on the main track; the Golden Poppy for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf; the Camilla Urso for fillies and mares at five furlongs on the turf; and the Lost in the Fog for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs on the main track.

The California Derby and California Oaks purses will be $100,000, with the purses for the other four races raised from $50,000 in 2018 to $75,000 in 2019.

Last year, the California Derby was run in January, with the California Oaks and Lost in the Fog in February, the Camilla Urso in March, and the Golden Poppy in May.

Two $100,000 stakes for 3-year-old California-breds will be run on Sunday, April 28: the Campanile for fillies and the Silky Sullivan. Both races are at one mile on turf races and are part of the Golden State Series of stakes.

“It’s going to be a big festival weekend for us,” said David Duggan, Golden Gate Fields general manager. “We’re trying to attract overseas runners and have had some interests from stables in Ireland and the UK.”

The $100,000 El Camino Real Derby lost its graded status last year, but Duggan hopes a new perk for the winner of the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds will help upgrade the field in 2019. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the May 18 Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown. The El Camino Real Derby will be run on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Pimlico, the site of the Preakness, is owned by the Stronach Group, which also owns Golden Gate Fields.

The final three stakes of the meet are the $75,000 Alcatraz for 3-year-olds going one mile on turf on May 19; the Grade 3, $100,000 All American for 3-year-olds and up going a mile on the main track on May 27; and the $50,000 Albany, a fivefurlong turf sprint June 8, the second-to-last day of the meet.