Bay Meadows opens

Bay Meadows opens Wednesday under the management of its

property owner, Bay Meadows Land Company, which for the last five years leased

the track to Magna Entertainment Corp. The 71-day meet continues through May 8 with

Mondays and Tuesdays dark. There will be a special Presidents Day card on

February 21.

Saturday's $100,000 Seabiscuit Breeders' Cup H. (G3) is the opening weekend

feature. A new stakes on the schedule is the March 19, $125,000 Stanford

Breeders' Cup H. (G3), which will be decided at 8 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Other highlights include the March 12, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby (G3) for

three-year-olds, and the April 23, $150,000 San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile

(G2) on the turf.

Minimum purses for stakes races have been raised from $50,000 to $55,000.

As usual, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and jockey Russell Baze figure to be

formidable. Hollendorfer is fresh off his 25th consecutive training title at

Golden Gate Fields, which concluded its meet on Sunday. Baze, second on the

all-time victory list for jockeys, captured his 26th riding title at that track, booting

home 80 winners.