Historic horse-racing tracks struggle to stay in the race.

Story by Steve Viuker / Apr. 30, 2004

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Churchill Downs (Greater Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau)

On the first Saturday in May, the gates open at historic Churchill Downs for the annual Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby. The scene is spectacular: big money, celebrities galore, a packed racetrack, and millions of viewers watching and betting. The Derby is followed, less than a month later, by the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico and the Belmont Stakes in New York.

But behind the glamour and pageantry of these races is an industry that is struggling. Many racetracks have been either demolished or are on life-support, despite the fact that they are among the most historic structures in American sports, almost equal in stature to Wrigley Field or Fenway Park.

In the 1740s, Maryland governor Sam Ogle imported thoroughbreds to the colony and formed the Maryland Jockey Club, the oldest sporting organization in the United States, effectively establishing thoroughbred racing in America. Many fans saw Baltimore's historic Pimlico racetrack while watching the movie "Seabiscuit," based on the best-selling book of the same name.

"The movie had some flaws," says Baltimorean Chick Lang, who witnessed the real Seabiscuit race at Pimlico. "But it gave people an idea of the popularity of racing in that era. Racing is a different sport today. Back then, there was no simulcasting or Internet betting. You went to the track and you bet nine races and left."

Lang's family tree dates back to the turn of the last century in the annals of racing immortality—his grandfather trained a Kentucky Derby winner, and his father was victorious aboard Reigh Count in the 1928 Derby race.

"There was a tradition of a father taking his son to the races, and it continued generation after generation," Lang says. "That isn't true anymore."

Fathers hoping to bring their sons to the same racetracks their boyhoods may have some difficulty. Longacres in Seattle is now a Boeing office complex; AKSARBEN (Nebraska spelled backwards) in Omaha is a college campus; and Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, N.J. will soon be redeveloped as a residential and office complex.

Earlier this year, the end of an era was officially ushered in for the historic Playfair Race Course in Spokane, Wa. Almost bankrupt, then-operator Lilac City Racing held a liquidation of the track's fixtures and equipment. More than 700 bid-numbers were issued for the auction, and memorabilia from the track were among the first-selling items. Playfair, which first held live races in 1901, has not been operational since December 2000, and will be demolished and redeveloped this summer.

The poster child for threatened racetracks is Hialeah Park in Miami. Home to the Flamingo Stakes, Hialeah, which opened in 1925, was once a prime destination for the moneyed set. Trains from Palm Beach brought the Vanderbilts and other old-money families to the track. Current owner John Brunetti does not hold much hope that racing will ever return to Hialeah, saying that the chances of such are "less than 50-50." Brunetti battled to keep Hialeah open for much of the past decade but lost the fight after state lawmakers deregulated racing dates. With little hope of dates being regulated again, and with nearby Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course giving up race dates for Hialeah, Brunetti is faced with the possibility that racing will never return to the track, which has not conducted live races since 2001. The track is situated on more than 300 acres—ideal real estate for commercial development.

More than 3,000 miles west, in the San Francisco Bay Area, racing fans recently received some bad news. An environmental-impact study by local consulting firm EDAW Inc. determined that there would be no great cultural loss if Bay Meadows Race Course, which has conducted racing for seven decades, is replaced by new offices, condominiums, and retail shops. Local preservationists and Keep Bay Meadows, an advocacy group that was formed by racing fan Linda Schinkel of San Mateo, have argued against the development. The EDAW study stated that the art-deco-style grandstand and other buildings on the property do not qualify as architectural landmarks or historical resources. "The mere fact that important events took place at a property is not sufficient to meet the criteria for listing," the report stated. Bay Meadows Land Co., a private company owned by the United Bank of Switzerland, has proposed tearing down the racetrack and developing the San Mateo, Ca., property, in what would be the largest recent project in the city's history. The company already has built townhouses, offices, and stores on an adjoining tract of land.

As for New Jersey's Garden State Park, 10 minutes outside of Philadelphia, its new owners have announced that the track's main pavilion will be transformed into a community and cultural center, which will be used by the Cherry Hill Orchestra and other civic, school, and community groups. Some parts of the historic facility will be retained, including the main entrance's gatehouse. The original Garden State facility, which opened in 1942, was destroyed by fire in 1977 and was rebuilt in 1985 under the direction of financier Robert Brennan, then-chairman of the International Thoroughbred Breeders.

Churchill Downs, which will host the 130th Kentucky Derby on May 1, will fare better. Under the guidance of Tom Meeker, the racetrack has undertaken a massive renovation project, including the construction of 66 premium suites east of the famed Twin Spires, the creation of a large club and meeting space adjacent to the suites, the renovation of the first- and second-floor Jockey Club, the renovation of the first floor of the grandstand, and the installation of new elevators and new central plant facilities.

"Tom Meeker has done a wonderful job," says Chick Lang of the improvements. "He is the best racetrack executive today, and I'm very optimistic about the future of Churchill Downs under his leadership."

Steve Viuker is a writer living in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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