Everything about Tanforan Racetrack totally explained
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 Torribio Tanforan, the grandson-in-law of Jose Antonio Sanchez, owner of
El 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.
World War I and II
Tanforan was temporarily converted into a military training center during
World War I. Closed again during
World War II, one hundred and seventy
barracks were built in the infield to serve as a
internment center for approximately eight thousand
Japanese Americans.
(External Link
)
Famous race competitors
Some of Thoroughbred racing's most notable owners and
trainers 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 of 1954.
In 1932, the great
Australian champion
Phar Lap was brought to Tanforan to rest from his long ocean voyage 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 for a time.
Citation, another future Hall of Fame inductee, won the 1948
Tanforan Handicap and went on to sweep that year's
U.S. Triple Crown. 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
furlongs and set a new track for 9 furlongs.
Tanforan Racecourse burned down in 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tanforan Racetrack'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://tanforan_racetrack.totallyexplained.com">Tanforan Racetrack Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
