The San Francisco call., 1896-05-29
BAY DISTRICT
IS OBL|TERATED,.
It's Stables and Fences Are
Now Mere Wood
piles.
THE WORK OF A NIGHT.
Gang Plows Have Hopelessly De.
stroyed the Once Famous
Course.
OBJECTED TO MORE RACING.
Bay District People Have Forever
Precluded Another Meeting on
the Grounds.
OBJECTED TO MORE RACING.

The directors of the Bay District track
haved caused to be wiped away everything
that would give use or identity to their
old pleasure ground and made another race
there an almost literal impossibility.
Wednesday the multitude that loved it
beheld its final burst of gaiety and the last
habitue that boarded a Geary-street car
never to ride that way again to see race
heard the sound of the axes and the grind
ing of the plows that were fast biotting the
place of SO many memories from the eyes
of all men.
The last winner had scarcely touched
the line Wednesday before a host of men
were battering away at the fences and a
dozen or more gang-plows, each pulled by
ten or twelve horses, were pushing their
noses into the smooth track upon which
money and care had been expended for
years.
And so the last event on old Bay District
was really not the farewell handicap of the
fleet steeds after all. 1t was the race of
the plebian horde, always to be found,
striving neck and neck for firewood. AS
soon as the boards were knocked from the
fence they were loaded into the wagons of
people who were not ashamed to accept
frewood free when il was offered them.
The work of demolition was continued
all night long, and all night long Rich
mond was filed with the noise of lumber
ing wagons. The workmen did their WORK
we'll. The sun went down on a finely
equipped racing ground; it saw in the
morning a grandstand and clubhouse
standing forlornly in a new unenclosed
park of San Francisco.
Where the racetrack was long and deep
burrows are now, and one may stand on
the clubhouse steps and gaze unobstruct-
pdiU tho that form tu
abutted ct the grounds.
1t seems that charity in the matter of
fuel was not the only incentive the Bay
District people had in removing evidences
of a former racecourse. Two years ago
Warren &5 Malley, contractors, signed TO
do the grading on the site where the course
stood. A year ago they were prepared to
do the work, but by stipulated sum paid
monthly the California Jockey Club pre-
vailed upon the contractors to extend the
time until June l.
Mr.. Williams endeavored to get a re-
newal- of the lease for another year, bat
was unsuccessful He learned that a plan
was in progress in which Warren g. Malley
were interested after the Jockey Club
had abandoned the track. He therefore,
in order to thwart the accomplishing of
this rumored scheme, gave orders to Su-
perintendent Fieldwick to give everybody
as much lumber as they would tear down.
Intelligence of this was noIsed about in
the neighborhood and as Wednesday after
noon wore away a crowd Of fuel-boomers
were in line, ready to make the first haul
''There have been rumors floating
around" said Louis Lissak, "about bicycle
races or some other kind of races which
were going to take place there after the
Bay District people had left. But we
didn't take any chances at ali. Whether
there would have been races or not l can't
say. 1t was not the intention of the di-
rectors that there should be, however
The result is that not six inches of the
fence is left standing, and the track-well
l guess it will take some little time and
money to put the whole thing in order
again. The people around there have got
enough frewood for hauling it away to
last them all next winter No, you see it
would hurt the standing of good racing to
have cheap races there like they do in st.
Louis. We didn't propose anything of
the kind should happen, and don't think
Nj ~