Our Pick
Posted on @rawstates
Bay Meadows runs the first photo finish in American racing
1934
San Mateo, California
William Kyne opened Bay Meadows in November 1934, the first thoroughbred track in California licensed after the state legalised pari-mutuel betting, and he used it to test machinery the rest of the sport later copied. The strip camera at the wire settled finishes that judges had been guessing at, and Kyne also brought in the totalisator board and a fully enclosed starting gate. Seabiscuit won the track's own handicap in 1937 and again in 1938. The track ran its last race in 2008 and the ground is now a housing and office district that kept the name.
That was 1 of the hidden places.
Location: historic site
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