And They're Off

In the San Francisco Bay Area, racing fans also recently received some bad news. An environmental-impact study by a local consulting firm determined that there would be no great cultural loss if Bay Meadows Race Course, which has conducted racing for seven decades, is replaced by offices, condominiums and retail shops. Bay Meadows Land Co., a private company owned by the United Bank of Switzerland, has proposed tearing down the racetrack and developing the San Mateo property.

Rich Heritage

The race isn't over yet, however. This year, Monmouth Park will host the Breeders' Cup for the first time in its history. This park opened July 30, 1870, on what is now the site of the Fort Monmouth parade ground, but it was closed sporadically over the decades. In 1946, the state legislature passed a bill providing for state regulation of racing and the new Monmouth Park reopened on June 19 that year, as 18,724 fans made their way onto the grounds in Oceanport, N.J.

And there are still other gems to visit. As Monmouth Park employee George Bernet, a former editor at the Daily Racing Form, says, "The resort tracks are the ones to see -- Saratoga, Belmont, Monmouth, Del Mar, Keeneland, Churchill and Santa Anita. Woodbine, located outside of Toronto, is the only real Canadian track left and home of the oldest North American stakes, The Queen's Plate."

Many of these tracks offer fans a behind-the-scenes look at a typical day.

Monmouth has its very early Dawn Patrol tours of the stable area and jockeys room on Fridays and Saturdays. California's Santa Anita has Clockers Corner, where you can have breakfast and watch the workouts, and Del Mar even has a summer camp for kids.

At many of these tracks, there are fascinating on-location museums to explore as well.