Bay Meadows
Encyclopedia
Bay Meadows was a horse racing
track
in San Mateo, California
, in the San Francisco Bay Area
in the United States.
racetrack in California
, having been founded on November 13, 1934 until its closure in August 2008. The innovative William P. Kyne introduced pari-mutuel wagering, the popular Daily Double
, the first all-enclosed starting gate, the totalizator board and the photo-finish
camera
at Bay Meadows.
Prior to the track's closure, the Bay Meadows Handicap had been the longest continually run stakes event in California, having been started in 1934. Seabiscuit
won this race twice: 1937 and 1938. The track was allowed to remain open during World War II
because of its agreement to give 92% of its profits towards the war effort. The track generated more than $
4 million for War Relief projects during the war years. Its ability to run during the war accounts for its status as the longest continually operating US racetrack. In 1945, the first racehorse to be transported by plane, El Lobo, was set down in the parking lot.
In 1948, the eventual Hall of Fame
jockey
, Bill Shoemaker, began his career by exercising horses on this track. He won his first stakes
race here in 1949.
In 1954, 1955, and 1956 the track was used for NASCAR.
All of the exterior scenes in Stanley Kubrick's 1956 heist movie The Killing were filmed at Bay Meadows. The track was renamed as Landsdowne for the movie, but the Bay Meadows name is visible in at least one early scene of the movie.
Bay Meadows' racing season began in August with the San Mateo County Fair portion of the meet, which ran two weeks. This was followed by a short break of a few days; until recently this break avoided conflict with the first week-and-a-half of the California State Fair
horse race meet. Racing picked up again on Labor Day
Weekend (or thereabouts) with the main throroughbred meet, which was split into two parts—one in the fall, the other in the spring/early summer (Golden Gate Fields
' meet took place in the interim in the winter/early spring).
Throughout its history, Bay Meadows has also hosted harness
and quarter horse racing meets, but due to the low revenue such events generate, those events were not run in the last years of the track. At the end, Bay Meadows focused exclusively on thoroughbred racing. Olden Times
, Silky Sullivan
, Citation
, John Henry
, Round Table
, and Lost in the Fog
have raced here. In 1954, Determine won the Bay Meadows Derby and then went to take the Kentucky Derby
. Wild Again
ran at Bay Meadows in 1984 and then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic
. On December 1, 2006, jockey Russell Baze
won the fourth race to pass Laffit Pincay, Jr.
as the winningest rider in thoroughbred horse racing.
There was talk through the 2000s of demolishing Bay Meadows due to plans to build an entirely new race track near Dixon, California
to replace the San Mateo race track and Bay Meadows remained open on a year-by-year case basis. The Bay Meadows Phase II Specific Plan Amendment was adopted by the city council of the city of San Mateo
on November 7, 2005 http://www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/dept/planning/bay_meadows/bmspa.html. The plan calls for 1250000 square feet (116,128.8 m²) of office
space, 1,250 residential units, 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²) of retail
space, and 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of public parks
, as well as a rebuilt Hillsdale
Caltrain
station near the site of the old Bay Meadows Caltrain station.
After the track failed to acquire a 2-year extension of the deadline to replace its dirt oval with an artificial surface for the safety of the horses from the California Horse Racing Board
, it was announced that Bay Meadows intended to close November 4, 2006 immediately following its summer-fall season.
However, on July 3, 2007 the California Horse Racing Board unanimously voted to approve a one-year exemption for Bay Meadows to continue horse racing in 2008 on its current racing surface. Bay Meadows was open to race for its last Spring Meet, February 6, 2008 thru May 11, 2008. From May 14 to August 4, simulcasting occurred in Bay Meadows every open day, with free parking on August 4, free admission on August 11, and both on August 18. There were ten final race dates run in August 2008 for the San Mateo County Fair, with the last official race occurring on August 17, 2008. The last day Bay Meadows was open for simulcasting was on August 18, 2008. An auction for Bay Meadows paintings occurred from August 23 to August 25. Construction began on a housing and commercial development in September 2008. Criticism from local newspapers and community groups came when after the demolition of the grandstand and clubhouse, debris waiting to be recycled was left in "unsightly" piles on the site for several months.
of 12,000 and had stabling for 900 horses on site.
And the following important ungraded events.
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
in San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
in the United States.
History
Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating thoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racetrack in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, having been founded on November 13, 1934 until its closure in August 2008. The innovative William P. Kyne introduced pari-mutuel wagering, the popular Daily Double
Daily double
For the game show wager, see Jeopardy!A daily double is a wager offered by horse and dog racing tracks. Bettors wager on the winners of two races, pre-designated by the track for a particular race day. While the Daily Racing Form's glossary defines a Daily Double as two consecutive races, this is...
, the first all-enclosed starting gate, the totalizator board and the photo-finish
Photo finish
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race, when two competitors cross the finishing line at near the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to discriminate between which of the competitors crossed the line first, a strip photo, a series of rapidly triggered photographs, or a video taken at the...
camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
at Bay Meadows.
Prior to the track's closure, the Bay Meadows Handicap had been the longest continually run stakes event in California, having been started in 1934. Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
won this race twice: 1937 and 1938. The track was allowed to remain open during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because of its agreement to give 92% of its profits towards the war effort. The track generated more than $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4 million for War Relief projects during the war years. Its ability to run during the war accounts for its status as the longest continually operating US racetrack. In 1945, the first racehorse to be transported by plane, El Lobo, was set down in the parking lot.
In 1948, the eventual Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
, Bill Shoemaker, began his career by exercising horses on this track. He won his first stakes
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
race here in 1949.
In 1954, 1955, and 1956 the track was used for NASCAR.
All of the exterior scenes in Stanley Kubrick's 1956 heist movie The Killing were filmed at Bay Meadows. The track was renamed as Landsdowne for the movie, but the Bay Meadows name is visible in at least one early scene of the movie.
Bay Meadows' racing season began in August with the San Mateo County Fair portion of the meet, which ran two weeks. This was followed by a short break of a few days; until recently this break avoided conflict with the first week-and-a-half of the California State Fair
California State Fair
The California State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California.- Schedule Change :...
horse race meet. Racing picked up again on Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
Weekend (or thereabouts) with the main throroughbred meet, which was split into two parts—one in the fall, the other in the spring/early summer (Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
' meet took place in the interim in the winter/early spring).
Throughout its history, Bay Meadows has also hosted harness
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
and quarter horse racing meets, but due to the low revenue such events generate, those events were not run in the last years of the track. At the end, Bay Meadows focused exclusively on thoroughbred racing. Olden Times
Olden Times
Olden Times was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won top races on both dirt and grass at racetracks across the United States from 1960 through 1964 at distances from five eighths of a mile to a mile and three quarters. He was sired by Relic, an American multiple stakes race winner who...
, Silky Sullivan
Silky Sullivan
Silky Sullivan was an American thoroughbred race horse best known for his come-from-behind racing style...
, Citation
Citation (horse)
Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
, John Henry
John Henry (horse)
John Henry was an American Thoroughbred race horse who had 39 wins, with $6,591,860 in earnings. He was twice voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984, with his 1981 selection is the only one whereby the victor received all votes cast for that award. John Henry was also...
, Round Table
Round Table (horse)
Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history. He was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, on the night of April 6, 1954...
, and Lost in the Fog
Lost in the Fog
Lost in the Fog was an American thoroughbred race horse. He won his first 10 starts , 11 of his 14 lifetime starts across the country, and career earnings of $978,099 until his life was cut short by lymphoma during his four-year-old season.-Bloodlines:Bred by Susan Seper and foaled in Florida, his...
have raced here. In 1954, Determine won the Bay Meadows Derby and then went to take the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. Wild Again
Wild Again
Wild Again was an American Thoroughbred racehorse by Icecapade out of Bushel-N-Peck . He was broken and initially trained by Tommy Akin, but for the majority of his career was trained by Vincent Timphony...
ran at Bay Meadows in 1984 and then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
. On December 1, 2006, jockey Russell Baze
Russell Baze
Russell Avery Baze is a horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame....
won the fourth race to pass Laffit Pincay, Jr.
Laffit Pincay, Jr.
Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...
as the winningest rider in thoroughbred horse racing.
There was talk through the 2000s of demolishing Bay Meadows due to plans to build an entirely new race track near Dixon, California
Dixon, California
Dixon is a city in northern Solano County, California, United States, located from the state capital, Sacramento. The population was 18,351 at the 2010 census. Other nearby cities include Vacaville, Winters and Davis....
to replace the San Mateo race track and Bay Meadows remained open on a year-by-year case basis. The Bay Meadows Phase II Specific Plan Amendment was adopted by the city council of the city of San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
on November 7, 2005 http://www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/dept/planning/bay_meadows/bmspa.html. The plan calls for 1250000 square feet (116,128.8 m²) of office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
space, 1,250 residential units, 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²) of retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
space, and 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of public parks
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
, as well as a rebuilt Hillsdale
Hillsdale Station
Hillsdale Station can refer to the following train stations:*Hillsdale , California*Hillsdale , New Jersey*Hillsdale , New York, now closed...
Caltrain
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...
station near the site of the old Bay Meadows Caltrain station.
Closure
California Horse Racing Board
The California Horse Racing Board was established in 1933 as an independent agency of the State of California, United States. The CHRB has authority over the regulation of horse racing and parimutuel betting at licensed California race tracks...
, it was announced that Bay Meadows intended to close November 4, 2006 immediately following its summer-fall season.
However, on July 3, 2007 the California Horse Racing Board unanimously voted to approve a one-year exemption for Bay Meadows to continue horse racing in 2008 on its current racing surface. Bay Meadows was open to race for its last Spring Meet, February 6, 2008 thru May 11, 2008. From May 14 to August 4, simulcasting occurred in Bay Meadows every open day, with free parking on August 4, free admission on August 11, and both on August 18. There were ten final race dates run in August 2008 for the San Mateo County Fair, with the last official race occurring on August 17, 2008. The last day Bay Meadows was open for simulcasting was on August 18, 2008. An auction for Bay Meadows paintings occurred from August 23 to August 25. Construction began on a housing and commercial development in September 2008. Criticism from local newspapers and community groups came when after the demolition of the grandstand and clubhouse, debris waiting to be recycled was left in "unsightly" piles on the site for several months.
Physical attributes
Bay Meadows had a 1 miles (1.6 km) dirt oval and a seven furlong [0.875 miles (1.4 km)] turf oval. The track had a total seating capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 12,000 and had stabling for 900 horses on site.
Racing
Bay Meadows had the following graded stakes events:- Grade 3 Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup HandicapBay Meadows Breeders' Cup HandicapBay Meadows Breeders' Cup Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1934 at Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California...
- Grade 3 Bay Meadows DerbyBay Meadows DerbyThe Bay Meadows Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses of either gender on the Longden Turf Course at Bay Meadows Racetrack. Bay Meadows is in San Mateo, California where it opened in 1934 and is home to the longest-running stakes event in California: the Bay...
- Grade 3 California Juvenile StakesCalifornia Juvenile StakesThe California Juvenile Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds held annually at Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California...
- Grade 3 El Camino Real DerbyEl Camino Real DerbyThe El Camino Real Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in February at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. The race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eight miles on Tapeta. A Grade III event, it offers a purse of $150,000.Northern California's premier...
- Grade 3 Seabiscuit Handicap
And the following important ungraded events.
- Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup SprintBay Meadows Breeders' Cup SprintThe Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Sprint is a race for Thoroughbred horses held each year at Bay Meadows in San Mateo, California. The race is open to four-year-olds and up willing to make a six furlong dash on the dirt....
Handicap - California OaksCalifornia OaksThe California Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early January at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, California. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested on Tapeta Footings synthetic dirt over a distance of a mile and a sixteenth .- Records :Speed record: * 1-1/16...
, called Bay Meadows Oaks