The history of Tanforan Racecourse dates back to 1899. It was situated on Rancho Buri Buri in San Bruno, California. Its first meeting is recorded as taking place on Saturday 4th September 1899 and there were 78 days racing in that first period, with the meetings being run by the Western Turf Association. The track closed in 1911. However, its main claim to fame is that two meetings were held in 1923 and again in 1924 by a group of sporting members who still wanted to maintain racing in the state despite anti-gambling laws being introduced. The meetings were led by Adolph Spreckels and John Marchbanks and they called themselves the Pacific Coast Jockey Club. The track closed again in 1924 and did not reopen until 1932. Many famous horses visited Tanforan, including Phar Lap, Seabiscuit and Citation. During the Second World War the track was used to intern Japanese soldiers. The principal race was the Tanforan Handicap, which was won in consecutive years in 1955 and 1956 by Bobby Brocato. The last meeting was held on 31st July 1964 and the track closed and was burned down. The former racecourse site is now covered by the shopping centre, marked by a plaque confirming it was the site of Tanforan Racecourse together with a statue of Seabiscuit.
