One of San Mateo's newest neighborhoods sits on some of its most storied ground. Bay Meadows is a walkable, transit-oriented community next to the Hillsdale Caltrain station, but for seventy-four years this was the home of California's longest-running horse racetrack.
For most of the twentieth century, Bay Meadows meant one thing in San Mateo: the races. The Bay Meadows Racetrack opened in 1934 on the site of a former airfield, founded by racing promoter William P. Kyne, and became the longest continually operating thoroughbred track in California. Kyne was an innovator, and Bay Meadows introduced pari-mutuel wagering to the state, the daily double, the first fully enclosed starting gate, the totalizator board, and the photo-finish camera. Its most famous visitor was Seabiscuit, who won the Bay Meadows Handicap in both 1937 and 1938. The track ran its final race on August 17, 2008, during the San Mateo County Fair, unable to afford a state-mandated synthetic racing surface.
The racetrack always sat right next to the San Mateo County Fairgrounds, and the fair still comes to the Event Center next door every summer. Getting around here looks nothing like it used to. Delaware Street once dead-ended at the track before it was pushed through to Pacific Boulevard, and cross streets like 28th and 31st Avenues, which used to stop at El Camino Real, were extended east across the Caltrain tracks to meet it. Drive the length of Delaware today and it tells the whole story: the rail blocks, condos, and apartments on one side, a park on the other, and newer anchors like Fieldwork Brewing giving the rebuilt Bay Meadows its own rhythm, all on the same eighty-three acres where the horses once ran, steps from the Hillsdale Caltrain.
Family-run mezze and wood-fire Mediterranean plates paired with a focused wine list.
High-energy all-day brunch with many Benedict varieties, a big American/Mexican menu, a patio, and brunch cocktails.
More than 20 rotating fresh taps and Detroit-style pizzas on an industrial-style patio near the Hillsdale Caltrain stop.
A modern park in the Bay Meadows village with a full-size soccer field, a wildlife pond, and a looping walking path.
A newer park with a fenced playground for ages 5-12, a toddler play area, a sand-and-water play zone, a half basketball court, and a BBQ area.
High-intensity interval training studio in Bay Meadows, with quick treadmill-and-strength group classes.
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