River steamers for San Francisco left Sacramento at 2:00 P.M. every day except Sunday. The first westbound Pony Express mail reached Sacramento at 5:25 P.M. on April 13, 1860, and Captain Edward A. Poole of the river steamer Antelope agreed to wait because San Francisco planned a celebration for that first arrival. The second westbound Pony Express trip was also late, arriving about 1:00 A.M. on April 23, 1860, with the next river steamer not leaving for 13 hours. The Sacramento Pony Express agent then decided to send his rider on overland to San Francisco, telegraphing ahead to arrange fresh horses and a new rider at Benecia, and the first stop on this new route was the Solano House.