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05-09-2005, 04:59 PM
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 80
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Closed Racetracks
This may not be the right forum, but here goes anyway.
Listed below are a number of racetracks that have closed over the last 50-70 years or so. At least, I think they have all closed. Some of these I have heard of, some not.
Can anyone list other tracks that have closed? Or have any of these tracks simply undergone a name change? (For example, is the current Philadelphia Park simply the old Keystone racetrack?).
There may be a source for finding out such things, but I have not seen one on the web.
Havre de Grace
Narragansett
Garden State
Bowie
Detroit Race Course
Tanforan
EMP (Empire City)
Kenilworth Park
Sportsman’s Park
Longacres
Marlboro
Keystone
Hagerstown
Epsom Downs (Houston)
Raceland (near Ashland, KY)
Washington Park Race Track (Chicago Heights, Illinois)
Jefferson Park (LA)
Latonia (Covington, KY)
Greenwood (Toronto, called "Woodbine", before current Woodbine opened)
Wheeling Downs (Wheeling WV)
Douglas Park (Lexington, KY)
Blue Bonnets (Montreal)
Tropical Park (Miami, FL)
Thanks....
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05-09-2005, 05:01 PM
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,015
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Aksarben
I think Mountaineer used to be Waterford Park
Last edited by Bobby; 05-09-2005 at 05:03 PM.
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05-09-2005, 05:13 PM
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: PA
Posts: 461
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Latonia was purchased and renamed to Turfway Park. It's in Florence, KY across the river from Cincinnati.
Keystone was purchased and renamed to Philadelphia Park. It's in Bensalem, PA.
Last edited by levinmpa; 05-09-2005 at 05:13 PM.
Reason: Misspelled a word. I hate that.
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05-09-2005, 05:13 PM
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#4
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@TimeformUSfigs
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Moore, OK
Posts: 46,830
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A few I know right away not on the list:
Birmingham Race Course
Shenandoah Downs
Jamaica
Trinity Meadows
Hialeah
Latonia didn't close, it is just called Turfway Park now. Keystone is now Philadelphia Park.
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05-09-2005, 05:17 PM
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: PA
Posts: 461
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And don't forget Agua Caliente. Although not an American track, in Tiajuana, Mexico, they used to get a big crowd on Tuesday's during the Del Mar season. Tuesday has always been a dark day, and those seeking action would drive across the border to AC. They were the founder of the 5-10, which we now call the Pick Six, carded on races 5-10.
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05-09-2005, 05:42 PM
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#6
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Registered Wacko
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Belmont-ish
Posts: 2,242
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Well, here are some tidbits of the aforementioned tracks:
Garden State - closed in 2002. Torn down to make way for condos.
Bowie - used as a training center. Grandstand was to have been torn down this spring.
Tanforan - burned down, never rebuilt. Now the site of a shopping mall.
Empire City - still open for harness racing, renamed Yonkers Raceway
Marlboro - original grandstand burned down, never rebuilt. Last hosted racing about 10 years ago for a short fair meet. Now an equine center used mainly by show horses.
Washington Park - burned down, never rebuilt.
Wheeling Downs - still open for greyhound racing & slots.
Blue Bonnets - still open for harness racing, renamed Hippodrome de Montréal.
Birmingham Race Course - still open for greyhound racing.
Agua Caliente - still open for greyhound racing and sports wagering.
Shenandoah Downs - training center next door to Charles Town. Grandstand & track to be razed later this year.
Jamaica - land partially used as the site of the Rochdale Village housing complex in Queens. Rest of land is vacant.
Hialeah - closed for racing. Facility used for concerts, weddings, etc.
Last edited by Zman179; 05-09-2005 at 05:45 PM.
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05-09-2005, 05:57 PM
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: florida
Posts: 18
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Long Island- New York
Roosevelt Raceway- Harness Nassau County
Parr Meadows- Quarter Horses Suffork County
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05-09-2005, 06:00 PM
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#8
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@TimeformUSfigs
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Moore, OK
Posts: 46,830
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I'd like to see a separate list of closed harness tracks, I'll start:
Brandywine
Liberty Bell
Free State
ALL OF THEM
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05-09-2005, 06:02 PM
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 404
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Green Mountain Park - Pownal, VT
Great Barrington Fair
Berkshire Downs
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05-09-2005, 06:05 PM
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,014
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Yakima, WA
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05-09-2005, 06:21 PM
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#11
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Registered Wacko
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Belmont-ish
Posts: 2,242
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Harness:
Foxboro MA, Lewiston ME, Quad City IL
Flats:
Marshfield MA, Erie/Commodore PA, Cahokia IL, Oriental Park Cuba, Santa Fe NM, Prescott AZ, Playfair WA, Richelieu Park Québec
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05-09-2005, 06:44 PM
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#12
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Traded By Cubs
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: 2 miles north of Wrigley Field
Posts: 5,339
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I believe Long Acres in Washington State. Market now served by Emerald Downs.
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05-09-2005, 06:46 PM
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#13
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Son O'War
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bettorthaneverstreet, Boston
Posts: 7,211
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by cj
I'd like to see a separate list of closed harness tracks, I'll start:
Brandywine
Liberty Bell
Free State
ALL OF THEM
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Melman won't like that 
Lincoln Downs, R.I. Used to be Tbreds, now it's a dogtrack in the middle of it.
__________________
...as I lied down last night and looked up at the moon and stars, I said to myself, where the hell did my ceiling go
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05-09-2005, 06:50 PM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 498
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I also believe Aksarben has been closed.
Tony
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05-09-2005, 06:51 PM
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#15
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Traded By Cubs
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: 2 miles north of Wrigley Field
Posts: 5,339
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The growing list does seem disturbing, doesn't it?
Just for perspective, at least in Chicagoland, and the Quad Cities, IL & IA, a large number of the old bowling alleys, a few golf courses and driving ranges have given way to commercial and/or residential development.
I'm only in my mid-40's, yet perhaps as many as 30% of the bowling alleys from my pre-30's past years are gone.
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