→History: added date of feature film and earlier history book about famous horse Seabiscuit which ran at this Bay Meadows track
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit
|
m →History: capitalization
|
||
(6 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Auto and horse racing track in San Mateo, California}} |
{{Short description|Auto and horse racing track in San Mateo, California}} |
||
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} |
|||
{{Infobox racecourse |
{{Infobox racecourse |
||
|name = Bay Meadows Racetrack |
|name = Bay Meadows Racetrack |
||
Line 20: | Line 21: | ||
==History== |
==History== |
||
[[File:Bay Meadows 20020930.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the track in 2002 prior to demolition]] |
[[File:Bay Meadows 20020930.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the track in 2002 prior to demolition]] |
||
Built on the site of an old |
Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating [[thoroughbred]] racetrack in [[California]]—having been founded on November 13, 1934—until its closure on August 17, 2008. The innovative William P. Kyne introduced [[Parimutuel gambling|pari-mutuel]] wagering, the popular [[daily double]], the first all-enclosed starting gate, the [[totalizator]] board and the [[Photo finish|photo-finish]] [[camera]] at Bay Meadows.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/looking-back-lost-tracks-san-francisco-bay-area/|title=Looking back: The lost tracks of the San Francisco Bay Area|last=Weatherly|first=Laurence|last2=Roberts|first2=Paul|date=February 1, 2015|website=Thoroughbred Racing Commentary|access-date=May 1, 2017|last3=Taylor|first3=Isabelle}}</ref> |
||
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. |
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 [[United States dollar|$]]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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
||
In 1948, the eventual [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] [[jockey]], [[Bill Shoemaker]], began his career by exercising horses on this track. He won his first [[Graded stakes race|stakes]] race here in 1949.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
In 1948, the eventual [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] [[jockey]], [[Bill Shoemaker]], began his career by exercising horses on this track. He won his first [[Graded stakes race|stakes]] race here in 1949.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
||
⚫ | In 1950 and 1951 the Bay Meadows 150 AAA Indy Car race was run at the track.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
||
In the [[1949]] feature film "[[Come to the Stable]]", a religious drama and comedy it was also mentioned as the place a [[New York City]] notorious gambling criminal boss went to visit (whose name was known by every [[New York Police Department|New York cop]]) after he was prevailed upon by the sisters to do a good deed as he secretly grieved after the presumed death of his soldier son in the recent [[World War II]], who was missing in action near the French nuns' home in [[France]] as he donated the land deed to a [[New England]] estate near [[Bethlehem]] to their [[French Catholic]] [[Roman Catholic]] order of nuns for a [[Children's hospital|children's hospital]] and their new American [[Convent|convent]]. The inspirational film starred [[Loretta Young]], [[Celeste Holm]] and others. |
|||
⚫ | In 1954, 1955 and 1956 the track was used for [[NASCAR]]. In the 1955 event, [[Elias Bowie]] became the first African-American to start a top-level [[NASCAR]] race. |
||
⚫ |
In |
||
⚫ | All of the exterior scenes in Stanley Kubrick's 1956 heist movie ''[[The Killing (film)|The Killing]]'' were filmed at Bay Meadows. The track was renamed as Lansdowne for the movie but the Bay Meadows name is visible in at least one early scene. |
||
⚫ |
|
||
⚫ | 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 and 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 thoroughbred 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).{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
||
⚫ |
All of the exterior scenes in |
||
⚫ | [[Image:2008 Bay Meadows 6th race, San Mateo, CA.jpg|thumb|alt=Bay Meadows 6th Race, August 16, 2008|Bay Meadows 6th Race on Saturday, August 16, 2008.]] |
||
⚫ | Throughout its history, Bay Meadows has also hosted [[harness racing|harness]] and [[quarter horse]] racing meets but due to the low revenue such events generate, they were not run in the final years of the track. At the end, Bay Meadows focused exclusively on thoroughbred racing. [[Olden Times]], [[Silky Sullivan]], [[Citation (horse)|Citation]], [[John Henry (horse)|John Henry]], [[Round Table (horse)|Round Table]] and [[Lost in the Fog]] have raced here. In 1954, [[Determine (horse)|Determine]] won the Bay Meadows Derby then went to take the [[Kentucky Derby]]. [[Wild Again]] ran at Bay Meadows in 1984 and 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 ever in thoroughbred horse racing.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
||
⚫ | There was talk through the 2000s of demolishing Bay Meadows due to plans to build an entirely new racetrack near [[Dixon, California]] to replace the San Mateo race track so 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, California|San Mateo]] on November 7, 2005.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} The plan called for {{convert|1250000|sqft|m2}} of [[office]] space, 1,250 [[residential]] units, {{convert|150000|sqft|m2|-3}} of [[retail]] space, and {{convert|15|acre|m2}} of [[park|public parks]], as well as a rebuilt [[Hillsdale (Caltrain station)|Hillsdale]] [[Caltrain]] station near the site of the old Bay Meadows Caltrain station.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} |
||
⚫ |
Bay Meadows' racing season began in August with the |
||
⚫ |
[[Image: |
||
⚫ |
Throughout its history, Bay Meadows has also hosted |
||
⚫ |
|
||
===Physical attributes=== |
===Physical attributes=== |
||
Line 44: | Line 43: | ||
==Closure== |
==Closure== |
||
[[Image:BayMeadowsDebris.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|One of the piles of debris left over after demolition of the Bay Meadows racetrack. Taken from a passing [[Caltrain]] train in March 2009. ]]After the track failed to acquire a two-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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Meadows-is-photo-finished-will-close-in-2608353.php|title=Bay Meadows is photo finished, will close in November| last=Stumes| first=Larry|date=2007 |
[[Image:BayMeadowsDebris.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|One of the piles of debris left over after demolition of the Bay Meadows racetrack. Taken from a passing [[Caltrain]] train in March 2009. ]]After the track failed to acquire a two-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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Meadows-is-photo-finished-will-close-in-2608353.php|title=Bay Meadows is photo finished, will close in November| last=Stumes| first=Larry|date=March 22, 2007|work=SFGate|access-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref> |
||
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, to 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Bay-Meadows-reprieve-Open-through-2008-Track-2583138.php|title=Bay Meadows reprieve: Open through 2008, Track can run races in '08 on old surface|last=Stumes|first=Larry|date=2007 |
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, to 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Bay-Meadows-reprieve-Open-through-2008-Track-2583138.php|title=Bay Meadows reprieve: Open through 2008, Track can run races in '08 on old surface|last=Stumes|first=Larry|date=July 3, 2007|work=SFGate|access-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref> 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 |
An auction for Bay Meadows paintings occurred from August 23 to 25.<ref name="abc7 may 11">{{cite news |
||
| last = Roman |
| last = Roman |
||
| first = Tomas |
| first = Tomas |
||
| title = Bay Meadows race track closes down |
| title = Bay Meadows race track closes down |
||
| publisher = [[KGO-TV|ABC 7 News]] |
| publisher = [[KGO-TV|ABC 7 News]] |
||
| date = |
| date = May 11, 2008 |
||
| url = http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6136106 |
| url = http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6136106 |
||
| access-date = |
| access-date = May 12, 2008 |
||
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090412212541/http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=6136106 |
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090412212541/http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=6136106 |
||
| archive-date = |
| archive-date = April 12, 2009 |
||
| url-status = dead |
| url-status = dead |
||
}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
||
Construction began on a housing and commercial development in September 2008.<ref name="abc7 may 11"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=107801|title=Developer should clean up its mess|date= |
Construction began on a housing and commercial development in September 2008.<ref name="abc7 may 11"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=107801|title=Developer should clean up its mess|date=March 27, 2009|website=San Mateo Daily Journal|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225900/http://archives.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=107801|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
==Racing== |
==Racing== |
||
Line 95: | Line 94: | ||
[[Category:Bay Meadows Racetrack| ]] |
[[Category:Bay Meadows Racetrack| ]] |
||
[[Category:Defunct horse racing venues in California]] |
[[Category:Defunct horse racing venues in California]] |
||
[[Category:Defunct horse racing venues in the United States]] |
|||
[[Category:Sports venues in San Mateo County, California]] |
[[Category:Sports venues in San Mateo County, California]] |
||
[[Category:History of San Mateo County, California]] |
[[Category:History of San Mateo County, California]] |
Location | San Mateo, California |
---|---|
Date opened | November 13, 1934 |
Date closed | August 17, 2008 |
Race type | Thoroughbred |
Bay Meadows was a horse racing trackinSan Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.
Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating thoroughbred racetrack in California—having been founded on November 13, 1934—until its closure on August 17, 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.[1]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
In 1950 and 1951 the Bay Meadows 150 AAA Indy Car race was run at the track.[citation needed]
In 1954, 1955 and 1956 the track was used for NASCAR. In the 1955 event, Elias Bowie became the first African-American to start a top-level NASCAR race.
All of the exterior scenes in Stanley Kubrick's 1956 heist movie The Killing were filmed at Bay Meadows. The track was renamed as Lansdowne for the movie but the Bay Meadows name is visible in at least one early scene.
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 and 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 thoroughbred 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).[citation needed]
Throughout its history, Bay Meadows has also hosted harness and quarter horse racing meets but due to the low revenue such events generate, they were not run in the final 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 then went to take the Kentucky Derby. Wild Again ran at Bay Meadows in 1984 and 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 ever in thoroughbred horse racing.[citation needed]
There was talk through the 2000s of demolishing Bay Meadows due to plans to build an entirely new racetrack near Dixon, California to replace the San Mateo race track so 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.[citation needed] The plan called for 1,250,000 square feet (116,000 m2) of office space, 1,250 residential units, 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of retail space, and 15 acres (61,000 m2) of public parks, as well as a rebuilt Hillsdale Caltrain station near the site of the old Bay Meadows Caltrain station.[citation needed]
Bay Meadows had a 1 mile (1.6 km) dirt oval and a seven furlong [0.875 miles (1.408 km)] turf oval. The track had a total seating capacity of 12,000 and had stabling for 900 horses on site.[citation needed]
After the track failed to acquire a two-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.[2]
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, to 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.[3] 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 25.[4]
Construction began on a housing and commercial development in September 2008.[4] 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.[5]
Bay Meadows had the following graded stakes events:
And the following important ungraded events.
37°32′36″N 122°17′52″W / 37.543361°N 122.297739°W / 37.543361; -122.297739
AAA National Championship race venues (1905, 1916, 1920–41, 1946–55)
| |
---|---|
Paved ovals |
|
Dirt ovals |
|
Board ovals |
|
Road courses/ Street circuits |
|
1946 Big car tracks |
|
Other tracks |
|