So Bay Meadows began what is probably, almost certainly, most definitely going to be it’s last full season of racing on Wednesday. (In the photo above, shot by Times photographer Mathew Sumner, Oakland resident Bill Jones, 86, makes his picks Wednesday afternoon.)

Track officials have declined to completely rule out the possibility of racing continuining into 2009, but demolition of the track is presently scheduled to begin sometime this fall.

So, anyway, we thought this would be a good time to post the rather lengthy item from Saturday’s print Insider column on Bay Meadows’ involvement in the fight over Props 94-97 and the Indian gaming compacts for those who didn’t see Saturday’s paper.

Here it is, with just a couple small edits to update the chronology:

The battle over four Indian gaming compacts got a bit nastier last week, when a union supporting the agreements filed a complaint with the state attorney general against the owner of Bay Meadows race track.

In a letter dated Jan. 29, the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association urged the attorney general to investigate whether Terry Fancher, whose real estate fund owns both Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park in Inglewood, made false statements to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has invested $177 million in the fund.

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