William P. Kyne, who was a native San Franciscan, discovered the site of the former Curtiss Wright airfield on the south side of the city of San Mateo. The airport and flying school, established in 1929, had proved unsuccessful, and the land was then put up for sale.
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Between the beginning of World War II and 1950, San Mateo’s population grew from less than 20,000 to almost 50,000. To accommodate its booming citizenry, San Mateo began annexing land to the south, including several hundred acres of the former McClellan Ranch. McClellan Ranch was formerly a horse ranch during the 1930's and '40's and some of this land later went on to become part of the Bay Meadows Racetrack.
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When the California Racing Act was prohibited all methods of betting other than pari-mutuel wagering required racetracks in California to hold charitable events and created a California Horse Racing Board as a governing body. The stated purpose of the racing law was the “encouragement of agriculture and breeding of horses”. After the passage of the Racing Act, Bay Meadows became the state’s first thoroughbred pari-mutuel horse track to be completed.
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In March of 1934, the California Air Terminal Company, Ltd. leased its land to H. Carlson Crocker of the First Federal Trust Company, and on April 4, 1934, the California Jockey Club assumed control of the lease. Located in San Mateo, California, the track was constructed in 1934 from the designs of Maury I. Diggs after racing was again legalized in the state. It was initially modeled after racetracks and clubhouses at Belmont Park in New York and Arlington Park in Illinois. Bay Meadows officially opened on November 3, 1934 and went on to become an overall reflection of horse racing in California.
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The San Mateo County Products and Floral Fiesta opened at Bay Meadows in October 1935. It attracted 60,000 visitors over a 3-day period and featured a parade, beauty contest, polo games, an orchid display, a pageant put on by school children, and fireworks. Apart from an interruption during World War II, the fair was held continuously at Bay Meadows until 1947.
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Seabiscuit broke two track records at Bay Meadows in 1936 and 1937. In November, he raced in the Bay Bridge Handicap setting his first record, finishing five lengths in front of the second place horse. Two weeks after this race, Seabiscuit broke his own record once again at Bay Meadows by winning the $10,000 World’s Fair Handicap. He went on to become a national figure in racing.
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Installed in 1937, the cameras were located on the inside and outside of the track.
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When the United States entered World War II, all race tracks were closed and several were used for military purposes. With the support of the California Horse Racing Board, William P. Kyne, who managed the Bay Meadows facility from 1934 until 1957, reopened the race track on October 2, 1942. Bay Meadows became the only major track on the West Coast permitted to hold full season races each year between 1942 and 1945.
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A major expansion and remodel, prepared by Structural engineer N.B. Ellery of San Francisco and architect Arthur Froelich, included expanding the grandstand on the north, south, and west, a new paddock Building, rebuilding the club house, building the Turf Club, and creating new entrances and lobbies. The streamlined modern design of the extensive 1949 remodel obscured virtually all of the Spanish Colonial Revival/Art Deco features of the original grandstand and club house.
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In 1954, 1955, and 1956 Kyne also sponsored off-season automobile and motorcycle races at the track. The 20-mile National Championship Motorcycle race was held at Bay Meadows, but was later discontinued because it damaged the turf.
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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.
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The 87-acre stable area and practice track (Phase I) was re-zoned for development into the Franklin Templeton headquarters, 735 residential units and 272,000 SF of office and retail, including a Whole Foods Grocery. It was officially completed with the construction of the Kaiser Medical Center in 2011.
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On November 7, 2005 Bay Meadows Phase II Specific Plan Amendment was adopted by the City Council of the City of San Mateo with Wilson Meany Sullivan as the project developer and Stockbridge Capital Group as the owner. The plan approved 1,250,000 square feet of office space, 1,250 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail space, and 15 acres of public parks.
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In September 2008, demolition of the track commenced and construction of the infrastructure began shortly thereafter. The final development was designed to include approximately 1,171 residential units, 750,000 rentable square feet of office space and approximately 90,000 square feet of retail space.
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TRI Pointe Homes (TPH) purchased the first residential parcel available at Bay Meadows as a 63-home residential development. The project plan consists of two- and three-bedroom townhomes replete with porches and balconies in an updated expression of traditional Bay Area architecture, designed by KTGY Architecture + Planning. Shea Homes purchased the second parcel of land available and set forth plans to build a 93-unit community available in eight floor plans with a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes from 1,150 up to 2,200 square feet. Both buildings are expected to begin during summer 2012.
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