Golden Gate Fields commenced its inaugural meet on February 1, 1941. . . on a clear day, from the back of the Golden Gate grandstand, one has a fine view of San Francisco Bay. . . during the latter part of the 19th century, the property was the site of the Giant Power Company, which manufactured dynamite and nitroglycerine, and blew up four times between 1879 and 1892. . . the Golden Gate track record for 1 1/4 miles is 1:58 1/5, set by Noor when he beat Citation in the Golden Gate Handicap on June 24, 1950; Noors standard was actually a world record for the distance, and it stood as such for nearly 20 years. . . the Golden Gate Cap later became a turf fixture; at age nine, John Henry was a two-length winner of the 1984 renewal. . . going into 1999, Russell Baze had won the riding titles at 11 consecutive Golden Gate meets, and 19 out of the last 22 meets all told. . . entering `99, Jerry Hollendorfer had been the leading Golden Gate trainer at 17 consecutive meets.