Fourteen official and four unofficial entrants were announced on August 3; Grace was not part of the group. The draw for starting position in the Dole race was held on 8 August in the office of C. W. Saunders, California director of the National Aeronautics Association, at the Matson Building in San Francisco. Of the eighteen entries, fifteen made the official draw; contestants could choose to take off from Mills Field near San Francisco or Oakland Municipal Airport, but the contestants later decided the air currents at Mills were too dangerous and all aircraft would take off from Oakland instead.