A Friday night of horse racing at Bay Meadows is like no other day.

Much of the difference between night and day at Bay Meadows, whose normal racing week runs Wednesday-Sunday, stems from the many specials and the club-like atmosphere that envelops the grandstand during Friday night racing.

Bay Meadows Race Track in San Mateo hosted its second “Friday’s Alive” night of racing on April 8. They had not raced under the lights since the first Friday of the current meeting on Feb. 4.
But, “Friday’s Alive” is now underway again and with it are the many promotions that college students can take advantage of. These promotions include $1 general admission for people 30 and younger, and $1 hot dogs, sodas and beers from 7-8 p.m. From 8-10 p.m., the beers cost $2.

There is also live music on the stage in the Grandstand Mezzanine. The band Big Fun performed April 8, and in coming weeks Tainted Love, Pride & Joy, and The Cheeseballs will also come to Bay Meadows to rock the grandstand.

Walking through the grandstand of the 70-year-old racetrack on a Thursday afternoon, for example, one quickly realizes that the crowd is mostly men over 50 years of age. The grandstand’s seats are more than 95% empty, and the place is quiet except for the momentary rooting of the betting public during a race and the sound of the track announcer calling the race to the approximately 1,000 or 1,500 in attendance.

Everything is the opposite when Friday night racing comes around.

When the horses run under the lights on Fridays, the place takes on such a new dimension that regular racegoers might not even know they are at Bay Meadows. The horses still run, of course, but they run against the backdrop of a louder grandstand with more young people, who are there to win a few bucks while enjoying their Friday night.

“This is not like the daytime racing,” said Ben Schefers of San Francisco. “The novelty of the racetrack on Friday nights is very fun. Even though I have lost all the bets I made so far, I’m optimistic things will turn around.”

And even if things did not turn around for Schefers, he and his two buddies who accompanied him had other things to fall back on in order to forget about the losers he backed.

“The cheap drinks and fees to get in make this a great way to spend an affordable night out with friends,” said Schefers.

The younger crowd on the Friday night card got into every race down the stretch. Some yelled such encouraging remarks to their charges like “C’mon 4,” or “Take the turn baby!”

During the seventh race, two horses battled head-to-head down the stretch. With each stride the two animals took, the crowd got louder and louder until it peaked when the two horses hit the line together, with the #2 horse, Lindero, coming out on top.

When “Friday’s Alive” was started in 1993 by current Bay Meadows Racing Association President F. Jack Liebau, his goal was to attract a younger crowd to a sport that has a fan base of mainly people over 50 years old.

On Friday nights, many in attendance are there for the cheap beer, to listen to the band, hang out with friends while possibly eyeing the singles scene, and bet on some horses.
Except for the horses and the cheap beer, it sounds like a normal Friday night excursion to a club or bar.

Several people echoed the thoughts of Bryan Boettger of San Francisco, who was there with two of his friends.

“We were looking for something different,” said Boettger. “The energy of the people here is great, and so is the mixture of people.

“It’s better than what I would normally do on a Friday night, because this is a cheaper way to hang out with friends and have fun.”

For Mike Fong of Torrance, Calif., who came to the races on Caltrain with Boettger, Bay Meadows offered a safe way to spend a Friday night.

“The hot dog and beers are cheaper than a Giants game,” said Fong. “It’s safer than clubbing, because I keep myself out of trouble here.”

Shawn Thomas of Oakland might have said it best when describing his night at Bay Meadows.

“This is just like going out to any other place on a Friday night,” said Thomas. “It just involves horses and cheap beer.”

“Friday’s Alive” at Bay Meadows will continue each Friday through April 29.