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Old 08-20-2021, 01:35 PM   #121
Henry Gondorff
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If I could go back in time to visit one track it would probably be Hialeah.
Closest I ever got to Hialeah was in the 70’s when mom & dad went there and left me and sister at the motel pool for the afternoon. I was 14, had 1 of dad’s beers that day and passed out in the room. Still remember that trip (Spring break ‘77) when the a.m. radio played Hall & Oates ‘Rich Girl’ 6x per hour. Never ever made it to Hialeah myself.
Good Times with good memories.
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Old 08-20-2021, 02:01 PM   #122
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Not many...

Hollywood Park... so great to see the great jockeys and trainers -- my local track at the time was Delta Downs, very few great jockeys or trainers so I was in awe at Hollywood.

Trinity Meadows... interesting place, you had to buy a membership card to purchase beer.

Evangeline Downs (sorta)... I went to the original track, then they renamed it the "New Evangeline Downs" and I went there. I haven't been since it moved to Opelousas.

I live near the former sight of Arlington Downs -- I didn't notice anyone mention it, it was before my time so I never went there. It was in the vicinity of today's entertainment area, where the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers play and the amusement park and water park are.

Someone mentioned Jefferson Downs. I remember watching it from Delta. It was a bullring and they would run quite a few races over 1 1 /2 miles, sometimes over 2 miles. The view was from pretty high and I could never figure out how many laps they were going or when the last lap began. lol

Speaking of Delta, I would tell some of what I saw there, but nobody would believe me.

Mr. Stauffer, I appreciate your contributions both to this thread and to horse racing. You, sir, are a legend. And that's quite an impressive list of tracks you went to and worked at.
First off stop with the Mr. & Legend stuff. I'm just Vic or Goof or any number of other things I've been called by my brethren on these pages.

But it's a calmer, gentler time now and I enjoy contributing to PA.

Thanks for the kind words.
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Old 10-26-2021, 09:45 AM   #123
Boomer
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Okay, In no particular order and memories attached to each.


Geez....Is this list the sign of a degenerate or what? I was lucky enough to do lots of business and personal travel and often planned trips around racetracks. This is just harness and thoroughbreds, I I added greyhound tracks it would get ridiculous


1. Roosevelt Raceway...Where it all began, where it ISN'T today.

So true....where my life as a degenerate began...Apt logo for generations of us.


2. Freestate/ Laurel Raceway...not to be confused with Laurel racecourse. Nothing special about this place other than it was close to Columbia MD where I moved in the late '70s


3.Bowie Racecourse...Cold Weather racing....Follow the signs to Glen Bernie...Spent many weekends there with my neighbor Victor. Tough being single and having another horse player living right next door. Days at Bowie nights at the PUB in Columbia MD ( when Freestate was coosed of course)


4. FreeState/Foxboro race course....Stopping ground down Route 1 in the 6 months I lived in Easton Ma.



5. Hinsdale...Would make the trek to Hinsdale many Sundays from Ma. when I lived there. One day they had the NH lottery Grand Prize there and finalists were given number 1-8 with the grand prize going to the winner of the designated race.


6. Rockingham Park...One of my favorites. Always combined a family trip here with time at Canobie Lake


7. Scarboro Downs...recently closed. I would rent a cabin for a month at Old Orchard Beach. Days at the beach...Nights at Scabby Downs. WATCH THE MOSQUITOS


to be continued....
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Old 10-26-2021, 10:06 AM   #124
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....continued


8. Suffolk Downs. No trip to Boston was complete without a trip to Suffolk Downs. I would book a room at the Holiday Inn up the road and make sure I booked the last flight out of Logan so I could spend a few races at Suffolk.


9. Marshfield Fair...I remember playing a wheel spinning game and winning a Cabbage Patch Kid. I could not bring only 1 home so I had to find 2 other to bring to each of my kids. Problem was they were hard to come by.


10. Northhampton Fair 3 County Fair...Always combined with a trip the Basketball Hall of Fame.


11. Great Barrington Fair....Loved the infield and close-up paddock. Who needed Saratoga? Head up the Taconic and spend a great day in the country



12. Atlantic City Racecourse....trotter and flats...Loved all the brick. Had character


13. Hialeah...During it's demise it was still beautiful. I recall the rail being so dead all jocks stayed 15 paths ( at least) off the rail


Heading out West


14. Hollywood Harness and Flats watched races upstairs at top of the stretch. There was an elderly black fellow with a booming voice who would break out into a chorus of "HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD" whenever he hit a race. On a sad note I was also there when harness drive Shelly Goudreau died on the track due to a spill.


15 Pomona...Moved to California in 1981 and this was my first stop. I lived this bullring. First time I saw mixed breed racing. First time I tried Nachos with Jalapenos...Yummy


16. Longacres....Loved the place


17 Yakima Meadows...Derby Day 1989....What a great surprise driving here and suddenly heading down into the Yakima Valley and this quaint racetrack.


to be continued
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Old 10-26-2021, 10:30 AM   #125
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....continued


18. Bay Meadows.... First time to a 1/4 horse meet and I hit the p6.



19. Agua Caliente...was like going back in time. Live white tiger on the lawn and adjacent racebook was totally unaytomated. Hand writte ticked and guy up on a plank posting results with chalk.


moving back inland


20. Prescott Downs...What a great town Prescott is. Everyone at the track had cowboy hats and boots on. To get from the parking lot to the track you rode in a tractor. Lots of fun


21. Sydney Harness...Victoria British Columbia....Weekend in Victoria B and B. Fun little track


22. Trinity Meadows... brief paramutual meet seemed to have proceeded the building of other track in Texas. Lots of locals, lots of noise , lost of fun


23. Centennial Racetrack...Colorodo...also lots of cowboys



Moving back to the midwest


24.Saginaw Racetrack...One of many fun little Michigan Tracks that unfortunately closed.


25....Sports Creek Racetrack....in Swatz Creek Michigan...Great bar in the middle of the grandstand. Man was it cold at that meet. Needed alcohol to stay warm.


26. Raceway Park...Another fun harness track in Toledo for minor league racing


27. Detroit...I recall seeing the backstretch from the hotel I booked near the track. There was a snowstorm and I was prating they would not canel. They didn't


28 . Maywood...1/2 mile track outside Chicago. Love 1/2 races...knowledgeable players


29 Balmoral...Mile harness racing outside Chicago. Took a long time to get there and that is all I recall


30. Sporstmans Park....Why was there a track across the street from Hawthorne?


31. Arlington Park....Tried to schedule trips to Chicago around the Friday Afternoon happy hour PostTime. Lots of happy people including me.


to be continued
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Old 10-26-2021, 10:46 AM   #126
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continued


32. Thunder Ridge Raceway....In the middle of appalachia. $5.00 win bet would make a horse 1-9 as 1/2 the field would not be covered. Not far from Loretta Lynn hometown and Jenny Riley Park. Unexpectedly great family trip


33. Bluegrass Downs...Old empty step back in time. But Paducah was a great little find. On the Mississippi River and a stop for the cruise boats. We were lucky to be there on a weekend chock full of street entertainment and live bands.


34. Windsor Ontario...not very impresssive, but we were stopped by US customs because the agent seemed pissed because we went across the border to gamble when they had a casino in downtown Detroit. Thet actually searched our car..


35 Beulah Race course...Beulah Twins of course. I was there on a pouring rain day and all the locals advised me to play only outside horses. Rail took every race.


36. Calder....Hot Hot Hot


37. Garden State Park...A shame, state of the art sound system plating great oldies.



38...Arizona...There were a couple of weekend meets in Arizona I went to but I cannot recall the names.


39. Harold Park Australia...Harness track. You can bet with bookies or parimutuel. I took a cab there from the intercontinental hotel in Sydney. But There were no cabs to get me back. Finally asked a guy on the street for a ride.


I am sure there are more that I forgot. What a life. But you don't hear me complaining.
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Old 10-26-2021, 12:19 PM   #127
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continued

38...Arizona...There were a couple of weekend meets in Arizona I went to but I cannot recall the names.
Fair circuit - maybe some of these will trigger a memory:
Flagstaff
Duncan (Greenlee County)
Globe
Sonoita (Bob Baffert's "home" track - held a Derby weekend meet)
Safford (Graham County)
Douglas (Cochise County)
St. John's
may have been one in Kingman

also Rillito (don't remember if I saw this in your list)
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Old 10-26-2021, 02:25 PM   #128
Boomer
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Fair circuit - maybe some of these will trigger a memory:
Flagstaff
Duncan (Greenlee County)
Globe
Sonoita (Bob Baffert's "home" track - held a Derby weekend meet)
Safford (Graham County)
Douglas (Cochise County)
St. John's
may have been one in Kingman

also Rillito (don't remember if I saw this in your list)

Drove past Rillito on my way to Sonoita, but it was closed.



Sonoita definitely....Been there twice. I actuallyt met a Dutch couple there that had been to Dubai earlier in the year and they confided they liked Sonoita better.


The other AZ track, I remember the route ( I think) I know I started in Vegas, and I think I drove through Joshua Tree. Would that make sense? Then I got to the track where thee3 average jock age had to be 60 years old or older.
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Old 10-26-2021, 06:00 PM   #129
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Originally Posted by BarchCapper View Post
Fair circuit - maybe some of these will trigger a memory:
Flagstaff
Duncan (Greenlee County)
Globe
Sonoita (Bob Baffert's "home" track - held a Derby weekend meet)
Safford (Graham County)
Douglas (Cochise County)
St. John's
may have been one in Kingman

also Rillito (don't remember if I saw this in your list)
Kingman: Hualapai Downs (Mohave County)

also

Holbrook (Navajo County)
Yuma (Yuma County)
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Old 10-27-2021, 09:43 AM   #130
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I sort of miss Yavapai, but only because listening to some OTB patrons try to pronounce it was good for a laugh from time to time.
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Old 10-27-2021, 10:27 AM   #131
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I sort of miss Yavapai, but only because listening to some OTB patrons try to pronounce it was good for a laugh from time to time.
Only the name is gone, it is now Arizona Downs.
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Old 10-27-2021, 03:56 PM   #132
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Green mountain was pretty cool. When I went there one night with my cousin following a losing day at Saratoga they were running the dogs then, it was probably late 80s. I never suspected it would be closing down shortly after and I was looking forward to going back someday. I remember it now and then and think that was a cool little track that I'd like to take my kids to sometime, but it's abandoned today. Hard to believe how fast life passes us by.
https://obscurevermont.com/the-old-g...peculiarities/

Yeah , it was nice. Had horses and the dogs with the occasional rock concert. Nothing but a grandstand 🏟 and tumble weeds now. In 2020 there was a suspicious “fire” that permanently did it in from any hope of return. The article talks about us folks from the “Flatlands” and if you have a NY plate on your car one of them might call you a “Flatlander”. But the place was beautiful back in the day.
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Old 10-27-2021, 07:13 PM   #133
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Suffolk, Rockingham, Hollywood and Beulah. Miss the local tracks and glad to visit Hollywood before it closed, after watching the Friday night shows on TVG so many times. Beulah was an interesting little track, nice paddock, seemed to be all ancient woodwork inside, and saw the Beulah twins.
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Old 11-02-2021, 02:59 PM   #134
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Garden State Park

Nostalgic charm, easy to sneak into, and during the chilly spring meet, my buddy Sam and I would blow doobes in the second floor outdoor grandstand.
Sam and I were having a killer meet when it burnt down
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Old 11-04-2021, 03:24 PM   #135
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Bowie Racecourse. It was a training center for a long time after it closed, that's gone as well.
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