view raw text
TANFORAN PARK TO BE READY Twenty-Five Day Meeting to Begin April 20 Bay Meadows Will Close. IText Tuesday. SAN MATEO; Calif., April 12 The work accomplished on the Tanforan track during the past few days removes any doubt concerning the opening of the San Bruno plant. Racing at the Marchbank course will get under way on schedule April 20 and patrons attending the initial performance will undoubtedly be pleasantly surprised at the many improvements made to the historic course. The track proper, which after all is the most important section of the plant, is rapidly being whipped into condition and should be ready for the exercising of horses by Wednesday, at the latest. Five scrapers are. continually in operation, leveling and grading the strip, and where a week ago little more than a patch of earth was in evidence, a complete, and what promises to be an excellent race track, has taken form. Horsemen who have visited Tanforan recently are of the opinion that the soil over which their animals will race is perfectly safe, despite the fact, that as a general rule, new racing strips are inclined to prove a trifle treacherous. All agree that the Tanforan track will have good footing and the work of finishing it up is only a matter of a few days. The set up for the pari-mutuel machines Is the most elaborate of any track on the coast. A row of machines the entire length of the grandstand is strung along the new mezzanine floor and others sit along the lower floor, while a special room has been built on the north side of the old clubhouse for the convenience of clubhouse patrons. A cocktail room and lounge has been added to the south end of the clubhouse while new boxes have been built along the entire front of the clubhouse and, grandstand. Boards which will be operated electrically for the posting of the odds on the horses have been installed in the clubhouse and on the mezzanine floor of the grandstand while the "tote" board is properly placed in the centerfield. It has been decided to use the old paddock again for the spring session but an outdoor space for saddling of horses may be in operation in the fall. About the only department lacking for space is the judges stand, which is exceptionally small. With Tanforan all set to open one week from Saturday the Bay Meadows meeting will come to a conclusion Tuesday as a few days work is required to move the totalizator equipment from Bay Meadows to Tanforan and install it at the latter track. Racing will be held at Tanforan for twenty-five days, closing date being Saturday, May j