Tanforan Assembly Center
Tanforan Racetrack
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| Location |
San Bruno, California, United States |
|---|---|
| Date opened | September 4, 1899 |
| Date closed | July 31, 1964 (fire) |
| Course type | Flat for Thoroughbreds |
| Notable races | Tanforan Handicap |
Tanforan Racetrack was a thoroughbred horse racing facility in San Bruno, on the San Francisco Peninsula, in California. It was in operation from September 4, 1899 to 1964. The horse racing track and buildings were constructed to serve a clientele from nearby San Francisco.
The racetrack was destroyed by fire on July 31, 1964. The site is now the location of The Shops at Tanforan shopping center. The mall has a Tanforan Racetrack historical plaque, the Tanforan Assembly Center commemorative garden, and a statue of Seabiscuit.
The facility was named after Toribio Tanforan, the grandson-in-law of Jose Antonio Sanchez, the grantee of the Rancho Buri Buri Mexican land grant.
In addition to horse racing, dog,motorcycle, and auto races were also held at the track during its early years. On January 25-26, 1910, the Tanforan Racetrack served as the site for the Second International Air Meet in America, organized by the Pacific Aero Club and attended by aviation notables Louis Paulhan and John J. Montgomery.
On January 18, 1911, Eugene Burton Ely took off from Tanforan in his Curtiss Model D airplane, and landed on the USS_Pennsylvania_(ACR-4) armored cruiser anchored in the San Francisco Bay. This was the first ever successful shipboard landing of an aircraft, and the first to use the tailhook system, leading to today's aircraft carrier technology.
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