Bay Meadows Race Track

Images by Konstandinos Goumenidis As the sun rises over Bay Meadows on Saturday, May 10, 2008, stable workers begin their long day of work. Stalls need to be freshened up, and the horses need to be groomed, feed, and warmed up before the first post. The stable workers are working as hard Saturday as they did on their first day — almost as if nothing is wrong — despite not knowing what their future will hold after the final official day of racing on Mother’s Day, May 11, 2008. “We have ten more days of live racing in August before the track closes” said publicity manages Tom Ferrall “we will race during the San Mateo County Fair with the last day being August 17th.” “I am one of the lucky ones,” Bev Ford said as she watched jockeys ride their horses during sunrise, “at least I am getting a pension. Some of the people here will lose their job and have nothing.” Ford works as an “outrider,” or a track worker who assists the horse if there is trouble. “I have worked here for 25 years,” said Mike Trujillo, a San Mateo resident and Hillsdale High School graduate. “Everyone knows me here, but I am going to move down south so I can still work on the track.”

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Keywords bay meadows horse racing san mateo konstandinos goumenidis francisco area