Tanforan Racetrack
Encyclopedia
Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, California
was a thoroughbred horse racing
facility that operated from September 4, 1899 to July 31, 1964. Tanforan was constructed to serve a clientele from the nearby city of San Francisco. The facility was named after Toribio Tanforan, the grandson-in-law of Jose Antonio Sanchez, the grantee of Rancho Buri Buri
.
In addition to horse racing, dog, motorcycle, and auto
races were also held at the track during its early years.
Closed following California's 1911 anti-gambling legislation, it reopened without betting for the 1923 and 1924 seasons through the subsidy of prominent area businessmen led by sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels
. After 1924, it would be another ten years before a full racing season was held once the ban on parimutuel betting
had been lifted.
Hollywood film director
Frank Capra
filmed scenes for two of his films, Broadway Bill
and Riding High
, at the racetrack.
and eventually was used as an assembly center during the early days of the Japanese American internment
. Approximately 8,000 people of Japanese ancestry (mostly native-born Americans) were housed in Tanforan's stables, grandstands and in one hundred and seventy barracks
which were built in the infield, prior to their being sent to internment camps in other parts of the country.
competed at Tanforan Racetrack including owner/breeder James Ben Ali Haggin
, and owner/trainer Sam Hildreth
. Trainer Noble Threewitt
set a record when he won with nine consecutive starters at Tanforan in April 1954.
In 1932, the great Australia
n champion Phar Lap
was brought to Tanforan to rest from his long ocean voyage and then conditioned before being shipped in late January to Agua Caliente Racetrack
in Tijuana
, Mexico
to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap
.
Over the years, Tanforan Racecourse saw a number of famous horses compete on its track. Among them, future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee Seabiscuit
was stabled at Tanforan after recovering from an injury where he bewgan training for a comeback.
.
In 1948, future U. S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee Citation
set a new Tanforan track record of 2:02 4/5 for a mile and one quarter in winning the Tanforan Handicap. Two years later his Calumet Farm
stablemate and Kentucky Derby
winner, Ponder
, also won the race.
In 1956, Bobby Brocato won his second straight Tanforan Handicap. That same year, he equaled the Tanforan track record for 8.5 furlong
s and set a new track for 9 furlongs.
Tanforan Racecourse burned down on July 31, 1964. In its place today is a shopping mall known as The Shops at Tanforan
. Today, a statue of Seabiscuit may be found on the grounds.
San Bruno, California
San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 41,114 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport and Golden Gate National Cemetery.-Geography:San Bruno is located at...
was a thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
facility that operated from September 4, 1899 to July 31, 1964. Tanforan was constructed to serve a clientele from the nearby city of San Francisco. The facility was named after Toribio Tanforan, the grandson-in-law of Jose Antonio Sanchez, the grantee of Rancho Buri Buri
Rancho Buri Buri
Rancho Buri Buri was a Mexican land grant in present day San Mateo County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Antonio Sánchez. The name derives from the Urebure village of the Ramaytush speaking Yelamu tribe of Ohlone people who were settled by the banks of San Bruno Creek...
.
In addition to horse racing, dog, motorcycle, and auto
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
races were also held at the track during its early years.
Closed following California's 1911 anti-gambling legislation, it reopened without betting for the 1923 and 1924 seasons through the subsidy of prominent area businessmen led by sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels
Adolph B. Spreckels
Adolph Bernard Spreckels was a California businessman who ran Spreckels Sugar Company and who donated the California Palace of the Legion of Honor art museum to the city of San Francisco in 1924. His wife Alma was called the "great grandmother of San Francisco".-Biography:His father was Claus...
. After 1924, it would be another ten years before a full racing season was held once the ban on parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
had been lifted.
Hollywood film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
filmed scenes for two of his films, Broadway Bill
Broadway Bill
Broadway Bill is an American horse-racing - comedy film from 1934, directed by Frank Capra and starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy. In the UK the film was released as Strictly Confidential...
and Riding High
Riding High (1950 film)
Riding High is a black and white musical racetrack film featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra in which the songs were actually sung as the movie was being filmed instead of the customary lip-synching to previous recordings. The movie is a remake of an earlier Capra film called...
, at the racetrack.
World War I and II internment center
Tanforan was temporarily converted into a United States military training center during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and eventually was used as an assembly center during the early days of the Japanese American internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
. Approximately 8,000 people of Japanese ancestry (mostly native-born Americans) were housed in Tanforan's stables, grandstands and in one hundred and seventy barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
which were built in the infield, prior to their being sent to internment camps in other parts of the country.
Famous race competitors
Some of Thoroughbred racing's most notable owners and trainersHorse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
competed at Tanforan Racetrack including owner/breeder James Ben Ali Haggin
James Ben Ali Haggin
James Ben Ali Haggin was an Turkish Americanattorney, rancher, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing...
, and owner/trainer Sam Hildreth
Sam Hildreth
Samuel Clay Hildreth was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.Born in Independence, Missouri, Sam Hildreth began his training career in 1887, competing at racetracks in the Midwestern United States with such horses as the good racemare Hurley Burley, the dam of...
. Trainer Noble Threewitt
Noble Threewitt
Noble Threewitt was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who conditioned horses for seventy-five years before retiring on his ninety-sixth birthday...
set a record when he won with nine consecutive starters at Tanforan in April 1954.
In 1932, the great Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n champion Phar Lap
Phar Lap
Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...
was brought to Tanforan to rest from his long ocean voyage and then conditioned before being shipped in late January to Agua Caliente Racetrack
Agua Caliente Racetrack
The Agua Caliente Racetrack is a greyhound racing and former horse racing track in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million.One year before, the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel opened in June 1928....
in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to run in the Agua Caliente Handicap
Agua Caliente Handicap
The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the richest race in North America...
.
Over the years, Tanforan Racecourse saw a number of famous horses compete on its track. Among them, future U.S. Racing 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...
inductee 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...
was stabled at Tanforan after recovering from an injury where he bewgan training for a comeback.
.
In 1948, future U. S. Racing 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...
inductee 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...
set a new Tanforan track record of 2:02 4/5 for a mile and one quarter in winning the Tanforan Handicap. Two years later his Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
stablemate and 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...
winner, Ponder
Ponder (horse)
Ponder , an American Thoroughbred racehorse, was the son of the 1944 Kentucky Derby winner, Pensive and sire of the winner of the 1956 Kentucky Derby, Needles. Ponder, himself, won the Derby in 1949...
, also won the race.
In 1956, Bobby Brocato won his second straight Tanforan Handicap. That same year, he equaled the Tanforan track record for 8.5 furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
s and set a new track for 9 furlongs.
Tanforan Racecourse burned down on July 31, 1964. In its place today is a shopping mall known as The Shops at Tanforan
The Shops at Tanforan
The Shops at Tanforan is a redeveloped, regional shopping mall in San Bruno, California. It is located in the Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area, 10 miles south of San Francisco. It is served by the adjacent San Bruno Bay Area Rapid Transit station, as well as several local SamTrans bus...
. Today, a statue of Seabiscuit may be found on the grounds.