California Derby

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The California Derby is a race for thoroughbred horses held in early March at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it's open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. The Derby offers a purse of $100,000.

This race was formerly known as the Golden Gate Derby. Mollie McCarty won the 1876 edition and in 1909, African-American jockey James Lee won the race aboard High Private.