Bay Meadows to close

The news sent a shock wave through the tight community at the storied 73-year-old track who learned of the decision steadily throughout the day.

"For racing in California, this is a day of infamy. Racing in Northern California will never exist as in the past,” Bay Meadows President Jack Liebau said in a statement yesterday.

The track has been approved for future development, still years away. Many believed the track would be granted an exemption and operate for another year or two while the Bay Meadows Land Company solidifies the specific redevelopment of its 83.5-acre property in the heart of the city.

But that was not to be.

In a 4-2 vote yesterday, the California Horseracing Board denied a request by the Bay Meadows Racing Association for a two-year waiver to install synthetic racing surface. Track operators were seeking the extension to avoid spending an estimated $8 million to $10 million on the new track when it expected to close it in approximately two years anyway. The Bay Meadows Land Company has a development agreement with San Mateo to construct residential, commercial and parks, but previously stated it would run the race track as long as possible.

The board mandated in 2006 that all racing associations with four weeks or more of continuous racing must have a synthetic surface to be granted a license in 2008. Hollywood Park, also owned by Bay Meadows Land Company, already installed the new track. Del Mar is in the process and both Golden Gate and Santa Anita are planning to install it this summer.

Officials yesterday announced the track will close after its fall season Nov. 4. It will affect both San Mateo city and county budgets and marks an end of an era when horseracing put San Mateo on the map by helping to strengthen the Northern California racing scene in the 1930s and 1940s.

The decision means the track will close at the end of its fall season because the board will not grant a license for the 2008 season. The company will continue to exhaust its options, but those are "theoretical” at this point, said Adam Alberti, spokesman for Bay Meadows Land Company.

‘A sad, sad day’

While city and county officials scrambled to examine what the decision means for tax revenue, employees learned of the decision for the first time yesterday afternoon.

"It’s sad. It’s really sad. I enjoy working here,” said employee Ida Jennings. "[Racing] has been my whole life. It’s been my family’s whole life. … It’s very sad to see it go. I’m not giving up yet. I’d like to think there’s a trick in the old hat. I’m honestly in denial.”

Jennings began working at the track in 1988 and is three to four years from retirement. Like other employee, she also works at Golden Gate Fields, but doesn’t really know where she’ll end up come 2008.

She is one of approximately 600 employees at Bay Meadows. Some have worked at the track for a lifetime and many belong to families with generations of Bay Meadows employees.

"It’s a sad, sad day. It’s horrible. People who have been out there for a long time,” said Ernie Yates of Teamsters, Local 665 that represents approximately 100 employees at Bay Meadows.

Other union representatives had a harder time putting words to the emotions of seeing Bay Meadows close. Richard Castro, of the Parimutuel Employees Guild, Local 280, attended yesterday’s meeting and was busy figuring out the ramifications for his members by early afternoon.

City and county officials both said finding jobs for the employees is a top priority.

"That has to be a top priority at this point, to find jobs for those employees,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Jerry Hill.

Lost revenue

San Mateo County collects approximately $500,000 a year from race days held during the annual county fair. The county also stands to make a lot more when the simulcast operation is transferred to the county after the track closes, Hill said.

Bay Meadows Land Company and the county drafted the agreement for the transfer of the simulcast operation last year.

The county is currently looking to contract with another area race track to maintain its race days and find a way to hang on to its money. The county will also take over Bay Meadows’ simulcast operation, which will continue to run after Bay Meadows closes its doors. The county will likely have to move the physical location of the simulcast to the adjacent Expo Center or contract with Bay Meadows to keep it there until development begins, Hill said.

The city of San Mateo collects approximately $600,000 a year from racing revenue. Stopping racing this year will affect the city’s general budget during the next fiscal year, said San Mateo Finance Director Hossein Golestan.

"We are evaluating what the impact will be. We expected this to come in a year or two,” Golestan said.

The city will be able to collect nearly half its annual handle because the track will operate five months into the next fiscal year, Golestan said.

Battle to save the track

The future of Bay Meadows came into question more than 10 years ago with thoughts of developing the practice track and some stables. The development of Bay Meadows Phase I began in the late 1990s and was completed in the early 2000s.

The development proposal of the remaining track, commonly known as Phase II, stirred much more debate. After years of planning, the 2005 unanimous City Council approval of the project was challenged by a referendum petition by a group of citizens calling themselves Friends of Bay Meadows. A San Mateo County Superior Court judge ruled last year there were not enough valid signatures to send the proposal to the voters. Friends of Bay Meadows is seeking a reversal of that judgment in the State Court of Appeals.

The Bay Meadows Land Company plans to replace the track on Delaware Street near Hillsdale Boulevard with 1,250 residential units, 1.25 million square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail space. It will also have 15 acres of parks. It is considered a transit-oriented development, but opponents believe it will create traffic problems while destroying the landmark.

A long history

Bay Meadows opened on Nov. 3, 1934 by racing enthusiast William Kyne. It became a top racing destination in California. By the time of his death in 1957, Kyne was known for the creation of the daily double, night racing, quarter horse racing and the legalization of parimutuel betting.

During its first day, Bay Meadows collected $100,000 in wagers. It later became a leading force in racing and was the first track in California to use the "tote” adding machines, simplified parimutuel betting, photo finishes and electric starting gates.

The race track also played host to a number of famous jockeys such as Joe Ferguson and horses including Seabiscuit. Hall of Famer Russell Baze made history at Bay Meadows in December for the all-time most wins — 9,530. He also rode the popular Lost in the Fog. Though history was made at the track, all attempts by Friends of Bay Meadows to register it as a historical site failed.

"I sort of have mixed emotions. It means the Bay Meadows development will proceed and that’s in the best interest of the community,” said Mayor Jack Matthews. "And it will be an end of an era. There are people that will miss the track.”

Even if the lawsuit succeeds in overturning a lower court decision and sends the council’s decision to the voters, a ballot measure will not do anything to save racing.

If it’s overturned, however, the referendum measure could appear on the Nov. 13 ballot — which will be nine days after Bay Meadows closes its doors, said Friends of Bay Meadows member Linda Schinkel.

"It could be an interesting situation if the developer decides they’re not going to race in 2008 and the redevelopment is rejected by the voters,” Schinkel said.

However, the chances of the valuable land remaining unused for long seems unlikely.

"You can’t hold everything fixed in time,” Matthews said.

Heather Murtagh contributed to this story..

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.