Bay Meadows Racetrack facts for kids
| Location | San Mateo, California |
|---|---|
| Date opened | November 13, 1934 |
| Date closed | August 17, 2008 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
Bay Meadows was a famous place for horse racing in San Mateo, California. It was a special track where Thoroughbred horses raced. Bay Meadows was open from 1934 until 2008. It was located in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.
Contents
A Look Back at Bay Meadows
Bay Meadows Racecourse was built on the land of an old airfield. It was the longest-running thoroughbred racetrack in California. This means it stayed open without stopping from its start on November 13, 1934, until it closed on August 17, 2008.
A man named William P. Kyne brought many new ideas to Bay Meadows. He introduced a betting system called pari-mutuel wagering. He also started the popular "daily double" bet. Other new things included the first fully enclosed starting gate for horses. He also brought in the totalizator board, which showed race information. And he added the photo-finish camera to see who won close races.
Famous Races and Horses
The Bay Meadows Handicap was a very important race. It was the longest-running special race in California. The famous horse Seabiscuit won this race twice, in 1937 and 1938.
During World War II, many places closed. But Bay Meadows stayed open. This was because it agreed to give 92% of its profits to help with the war. The track raised over $4 million for war relief. This helped it become the longest continuously open racetrack in the U.S.
In 1945, something new happened. The first racehorse to travel by plane arrived. Its name was El Lobo, and it landed right in the parking lot!
Racing Legends and Other Events
In 1948, a young jockey named Bill Shoemaker started his career here. A jockey is a person who rides horses in races. Bill Shoemaker later became a legend in horse racing. He won his first big race at Bay Meadows in 1949.
Bay Meadows wasn't just for horse racing. In 1950 and 1951, it hosted the Bay Meadows 150 AAA Indy Car race. From 1954 to 1956, NASCAR races were held there too. In 1955, Elias Bowie made history. He became the first African-American to start a top-level NASCAR race.
The racetrack was even used in a movie! All the outdoor scenes for the 1956 film The Killing were filmed at Bay Meadows. In the movie, the track was called Lansdowne. But you can still see the Bay Meadows name in some parts of the film.
Over the years, many famous horses raced at Bay Meadows. These included Olden Times, Silky Sullivan, Citation, John Henry, Round Table, and Lost in the Fog. In 1954, Determine won the Bay Meadows Derby. Then, he went on to win the famous Kentucky Derby.
On December 1, 2006, jockey Russell Baze won a race at Bay Meadows. This win made him the rider with the most wins ever in thoroughbred horse racing. He passed another great jockey, Laffit Pincay, Jr..
Track Features
Bay Meadows had a dirt track that was 1 mile (1.6 km) long. It also had a grass track that was about 0.875 miles (1.4 km) long. The track could seat 12,000 people. It also had stables for 900 horses.
Why Bay Meadows Closed
In the 2000s, there was talk about closing Bay Meadows. Plans were made to build a new racetrack somewhere else. The track needed to replace its dirt surface with a safer artificial one. But it could not get enough time to do this.
So, it was announced that Bay Meadows would close on November 4, 2006. However, the California Horse Racing Board allowed it to stay open for one more year. Bay Meadows had its last Spring Meet from February 6 to May 11, 2008.
The very last official horse race at Bay Meadows happened on August 17, 2008. The track closed for good on August 18, 2008.
After it closed, construction began in September 2008. New homes and businesses were built on the site.
Important Races Held at Bay Meadows
Bay Meadows hosted several important races, known as graded stakes events:
- Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Handicap
- Bay Meadows Derby
- California Juvenile Stakes
- El Camino Real Derby
- Seabiscuit Handicap (Bay Meadows)
Other important races included:
- Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Sprint Handicap
- California Oaks, also called Bay Meadows Oaks
See also
- Bay Meadows II (Neighborhood)
