California Chrome was 4-1 on the morning line, second favorite to Shared Belief. In the race, Bayern bumped into Shared Belief at the start, then took the lead for the duration of the race. California Chrome was clear of traffic, maintained third place for most of the race, was closing at the end, and finished a very close third, only a neck behind winner Bayern, who won by a nose over second-place finisher Toast of New York. Shared Belief was fourth. Post race analysis noted that California Chrome stayed on the outside throughout the race, and actually ran 44 feet farther than the winner. Sherman spoke in positive terms of the horse's finish, stating, "My horse ran his eyeballs out. He was right there, right down to the money. I thought it was a great effort. He came back strong." Espinoza was less enthusiastic: "On the backstretch I thought I had a chance to win... The last sixteenth [California Chrome] was digging as hard as he could, but getting just a little tired. I wish he had one more race. It was a little too much for him today." Coburn visited the colt the following day and stated, "He was full of himself. I think he thought he won. And if the race had been just a little bit longer, I believe he would have." Later in the month California Chrome shipped to Del Mar, and following workouts on the turf course Sherman entered him in the Hollywood Derby on November 29. It was his first start on a grass race track. Sherman believed that California Chrome would do well running on grass, and it also would open up a variety of potential races to enter in 2015. He was the morning line favorite, with his toughest competitor viewed as Lexie Lou, a filly who defeated colts to win Canada's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, the Queen's Plate. California Chrome won by two lengths, and the Canadian filly was second. With the win, California Chrome earned four Grade I races for the year and was the only horse in the United States to have Grade I wins in 2014 on both dirt and turf tracks. Espinoza summed up the race by saying, "he's back." California Chrome had a tumultuous four-year-old season. The horse began 2015 at Santa Anita in the San Antonio Stakes on February 7, a return matchup with Shared Belief, whose traffic problems in the Classic prevented a true match against California Chrome. Art Sherman and Shared Belief's trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer, were longtime friends and rivals from the Northern California racing circuit, and each anticipated the rivalry between their two horses.