Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Bay Meadows Plate |
Object Name |
Plate, Commemorative |
Description |
Bay Meadows Plate. Round, concave, porcelain plate with picture and information about the race horse Native Diver. The plate a a small gold edge with a white ring. Printed onto the middle and the main feature of the plate is a black and white photo of a dark colored race horse ridden by a jockey in what appears to be white colored pants and patterned shirt. The shape of the photo is round to match the shape of the plate. The picture shows the horse running with three hooves off the ground; the scene is presumably taking place during a race at Bay Meadows. Just below the horse is printed "Native Diver / Bay Meadows, Cal. 9/27/61 R. Neves, Up / El Peco (2nd) 6 Fur. 1:0:09.4 Crafty Pupil (3rd) / Mr. & Mrs. L.K. Shapiro, Owners M.E. Millerick, Trainer." On the back of the plate, printed in black, reads "Native Diver / On September 27, 1961, in his first start, Native / Diver broke his maiden at Bay Meadows. In five career / starts at Bay Meadows, Native Diver went undefeated, / including victories in Hillsdale, Salinas, San Jose and / Redwood City Handicaps. / Over a career spanning seven years, / he amassed the following record: / 81 Starts 37 Wins / $ 1,026,500 Lifetime Earnings." There is a sticker on the underside of the plate's concave which reads, "World Sports / (949)221-0690 / Made in China." |
Creator |
World Sports |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
2016.033.012 |
Dimensions |
H-10 W-10 D-1.125 inches |
Collection |
3D - Documentary Objects |
Inscription Text |
"NATIVE DIVER / Bay Meadows, Cal. 9/27/61 R. Neves, Up / El Peco (2nd) 6 Fur. 1:0:09.4 Crafty Pupil (3rd) / Mr. & Mrs. L.K. Shapiro, Owners M.E. Millerick,Trainer" (Printed in black ink, horse's name is printed in bold and in a larger font than the rest, font is a type font"; "Native Diver / On September 27, 1961, in his first start,Native / Diver broke his maiden at Bay Meadows. In five career / starts at Bay Meadows, Native Diver went undefeated, / including victories in Hillsdale, Salinas, San Jose and / Redwood City Handicaps. / Over a career spanning seven years, / he amassed the following record: / 81 Starts 37 Wins / $ 1,026,500 Lifetime Earnings" (printed in black, Native Diver is underlined); ""World Sports / (949)221-0690 / MADE IN CHINA" (printed in black ink, the o's are replaced with different types of sports balls). |
Provenance |
A commerative plate honoring the racing career of Native Diver, who first raced at Bay Meadows Racetrack. |
Notes |
"Of all the Bay Area’s lost tracks, amongst the famous and most mourned is that of Bay Meadows; it is certainly that freshest to memory. Until its closure in 2008, it was not only California’s oldest racecourse in constant operation, but also its most progressive. It introduced the automatic totalisator to the West Coast, pioneered the electric, fully-enclosed starting gate and photo-finish camera, and in 1945, hosted El Lobo, the first horse to travel by air to a race, who, after landing on the airstrip adjacent to the track, went on to triumph in the Burlingame Handicap. Bay Meadows was the brainchild of Bill Kyne, one of the principal champions of the successful campaign to legalise pari-mutuel betting in California in 1933. Less than a year after the passage of the Woolwine-Maloney Bill, Kyne broke ground on the site of the former Curtis-Wright airport. After 209 days of construction, Bay Meadows opened to a crowd of 15,000 on Nov. 4, 1934. The track was fast, a mile-long oval with a half-chute, and was overlooked by a grandstand and clubhouse capable of seating 6,500. The steel and concrete grandstand ran 400 feet in length, with three levels of tiered seating. Its façade was adorned with Art Deco detailing, a feature shared by the timber-framed, stucco-clad clubhouse. This was smaller than the grandstand, at 123 feet in length, and mostly occupied by a single club room. The totalisator was a major attraction at the course; Kyne called it his "mechanical preventative of racetrack chicanery." Under Kyne’s tenure, Bay Meadows enjoyed success after success. It drew celebrities of the equine world such as Seabiscuit, Citation, Determine, John Longden, and Bill Shoemaker, watched by the celebrities of Hollywood including Al Jolson, Mae West, Clark Gable, and Bing Crosby. Thanks to Kyne’s negotiations with the federal government, Bay Meadows remained open throughout World War II, the only major racecourse on the West Coast sanctioned to do so. Certain conditions were imposed upon it, though, not least that 92 percent of profits be donated to the war effort. By 1945, more than $4 million had thereby been raised. Bay Meadows’ 1949 season welcomed a $1.2 million remodelling. With a new clubhouse, private turf club, and grandstand extension, its capacity was doubled to 40,000. Also including a new saddling paddock, fireproof horse barns, and new landscaping, the renovation prompted the Stockton Record to proclaim Bay Meadows "one of the most elaborate racing plants in the world." With racing schedules spread between northern and southern California, Bay Meadows consistently drew high-quality horses and jockeys, and the crowds followed. However, gradually the southern California season grew more profitable and longer in length, and attention shifted away from the Bay Area. By the early 1980s, Bay Meadows was struggling. In 1986, a four-year remodelling project commenced in a bid to rekindle the track’s 1930s glamour. The renovation proved no magic fix – in the face of stockholder infighting, competition for fixtures, and the declining popularity of the sport, the track experienced difficulties throughout the 1990s. Investors vied for control of the land, and by the 2000s rumours circulated about Bay Meadows’ closure. The death knell came with a 2006 mandate from the California Horse Racing Board requiring that major dirt tracks in the state be replaced with synthetic surfaces. Unable to meet the installation costs of up to $10 million, Bay Meadows was scheduled for demolition. On Aug. 17, 2008, 8,000 patrons attended the final day of live racing at the track and bid farewell to California’s oldest continuously-operated racecourse." [https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/looking-back-lost-tracks-san-francisco-bay-area/ 10/13/2017] "The first California-bred to earn $1 million and the winner of 34 stakes races in his seven-year career, Native Diver became one of the most popular and successful geldings in American racing history. Bred and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Louis K. Shapiro, Native Diver was sired by Imbros out of the Devil Diver mare Fleet Diver. Native Diver won his first three starts as a 2-year-old for trainer M. E. "Buster" Millerick by a combined 23¾ lengths, including his first career stakes start, the El Camino Handicap at Tanforan. The following year, Native Diver set the first of his six track records in the Hillsdale Handicap at Bay Meadows, covering six furlongs in 1:08?. During his career, Native Diver won six races carrying 130 pounds or more, including three track records under that weight. For three consecutive years, 1965 through 1967, Native Diver won the Hollywood Gold Cup, running it faster each time. Other notable wins for Native Diver included multiple editions of the San Francisco Mile, San Diego Handicap, Inglewood Handicap, Palos Verdes Handicap, San Carlos Handicap, Albany Handicap and Los Angeles Handicap. At the age of 8 in 1967, Native Dancer won six stakes races, including the Del Mar Handicap, in which he equaled a track record. However, Native Diver became ill following the race and died of intestinal colic. He was buried at Hollywood Park near the grandstand. Overall, Native Diver posted a record of 37-7-12 from 81 starts and earned $1,026,500. When Hollywood Park was closed, Native Diver’s remains were exhumed and moved to Del Mar Racetrack." [https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/native-diver 10/13/2017] "In the 1960s, Native Diver won all five of his Bay Meadows starts in a career that saw him become the first California-bred horse to notch $1 million in earnings." [http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2008/08/06/bay-meadows-has-hosted-some-of-the-legends-of-horse-racing/ 10/13/2017] |
Search Terms |
Bay Meadows Bay Meadows Race Track Horse Horse Back Riding Native Diver Neves, Ralph |
Subjects |
Gambling Horse racing Horseback riding Horses Race horses Racetracks Racetracks (Horse racing) |
People |
Millerick, M. E. Neves, Ralph Shapiro, L. K. Shapiro, Mrs. L. K. |
Credit line |
Courtesy of the Estate of Paul Gillespie |