- 11/01/2011

Film Showing "The Last Train from Bay Meadows"

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will play host to a pair of screenings of the documentary film “The Last Train from Bay Meadows” on Wednesday, Nov. 2 and Thursday Nov. 3. The film will be presented at 7 p.m. both nights in the Museum’s Hall of Fame Gallery free of charge. A discussion of the documentary with producer and director Jon Rubin will follow the screening each night. Produced in association with the San Mateo County Historical Association, National Image Works and KM2 Communications, “The Last Train from Bay Meadows” portrays the rich history and the eventual closure of the longest continually running Thoroughbred track in California. The San Mateo-based track closed in 2008 after nearly 75 years of operation. After the legalization of horse racing in California in 1933, Bill Kyne built Bay Meadows in San Mateo. Kyne, a bookmaker who went straight, was the free-wheeling impresario who helped prod California into launching the pari-mutuel betting era in the 1930s. He also introduced innovations including the photo finish. From the guy-next-door to celebrities such as Joe DiMaggio, George Raft, Mickey Rooney, Jack Dempsey, Betty Grable, Robert Wagner, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, and Clint Eastwood, the track was the place to be as it hosted some of the most famous horses and jockeys of its day. This feature-length documentary chronicles the long history of Bay Meadows from its opening in 1933 through its final months, including its very last race run in 2008. Featuring interviews and recanting some of the track’s storied history, the film depicts a personal and behind-the-scenes look at Bay Meadows from its ground-breaking to its sad and emotional demise in 2008. The film starts at Bay Meadows’ final few days, including the running and Michael Wrona’s emotional call of the track’s final race. Other colorful stories of Bay Meadows included are of Hall of Famer Ralph Neves, who in 1936 was the leading contender to win the meet’s jockey competition and a gold watch from no other than Bing Crosby. Near the end of the meet, Neves had a horrific spill, was trampled and pronounced dead on the track. The film documents the happy ending to Neves’ apparent demise after a doctor in the county morgue ignored the toe tag and shot some adrenaline into the lifeless body of Neves, who sprang to life and wound up racing the next day. Then there’s the Ron Hansen story, about the troubled jockey disappearing off the end of the San Mateo Bridge; the story about Hall of Famer Seabiscuit, who was undefeated in five starts at the track; and the Tom Chapman story, about how he replaced Hansen in a big race, painted the winning horse and jump-started an artist’s career. Lost in the Fog, one of the last great horses to run at Bay Meadows, also gets his due, as does his jockey, Hall of Famer Russell Baze, who won many of his 11,000-plus races there. As Bay Meadows was facing the end of its days because of the changing times, economics and technology in 2008, the San Mateo County Historical Association wanted to document the lives affected by the track’s closing. Featuring breathtaking images and poignant interviews, the life and times of Bay Meadows is explored. The film provides an up-close and personal, behind-the-scenes perspective of operations at the track and the people who called Bay Meadows home. It is an in-depth look at its fascinating and rich history and eventual closure.