THEY TORE UP losing tickets and swore they won $14,000. Drained cases of Modelo and ate $9 hot dogs. Debated jockeys’ forms and what a superfecta bet might entail. The people who came to the last day of Berkeley’s sole horserace track filled the metal fold-down seats in stands saturated with salt air breeze. Several longtime bettors said they saw the Golden Gate Fields’ busiest crowd that Sunday.

Just before World War II, Golden Gate Fields ran its inaugural meet (season of races) in 1941. The Navy took over the track during the war. Horses returned in 1947. Along with the fillies and colts (female and young male horses), scandal and rumors came to the Berkeley track.

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Anna Leah comes to Local News Matters from over fifteen years in documentary film – including a docu-series examining the national reach of conspiratorial thinking, never-before-seen materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, and a history of currency. Currently, she is earning a master’s degree in feature writing, investigation, and data at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism (part of CUNY – the City University of New York). She focuses on building empathy with people who are often overlooked or oversimplified. More at annaleah.com.