Bowles Agawam Airport

Last updated
Bowles Agawam Airport
Summary
OperatorPrivate
Location Agawam, Massachusetts
Built1927-1930
In useMay 1930-1934
1944-1981
OccupantsPrivate
Elevation  AMSL 192 ft / 59 m
Coordinates 42°3′19.45″N72°39′21.85″W / 42.0554028°N 72.6560694°W / 42.0554028; -72.6560694
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
1,000305

Bowles Agawam Airport was an airfield operational in the mid-20th century in Agawam, Massachusetts. [1]

Contents

History

In 1927 Robert Hall founded The Springfield Aircraft Co. at the airport. He designed several racing aircraft there that went on to national races. [2]

May 29, 1930, and June 1, 1931, saw "grand openings" of Bowles Agawam Airport with the latter date including a visit from 100 biplanes of the United States Army Air Corps Eastern Air Arm. [3]

A scheduled air service operated out of Bowles for approximately one year, before ending.[ citation needed ]

The airport also had plans in the early 1960s to become a commercial airport and host airlines for the city of Springfield, but plans were shelved. The airport and racetrack were demolished in the late 1980s and the area is now an industrial park. [4] [3] Airlines now serve Springfield through Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Horse racing track

Agawam Park, a pari-mutuel horse racing track, including grandstand and stables, was built adjacent to Bowles Airport. Seabiscuit won the Springfield Handicap at Agawam in track record time in October 1935. [5] The racetrack operated until pari-mutuel betting was outlawed by referendum in Hampden County in November 1938. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agawam, Massachusetts</span> City in Massachusetts, United States

Agawam is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,692 at the 2020 census. Agawam sits on the western side of the Connecticut River, directly across from Springfield, Massachusetts. It is considered part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is contiguous with the Knowledge Corridor area, the 2nd largest metropolitan area in New England. Agawam contains a subsection, Feeding Hills. The Six Flags New England amusement park is located in Agawam, on the banks of the Connecticut River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabiscuit</span> American champion thoroughbred racehorse (1933–1947)

Seabiscuit was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse special at Pimlico and was voted American Horse of the Year for 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffolk Downs</span> Former race track in East Boston, Massachusetts

Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to create housing and a shopping district. The final day of live racing at the track was June 30, 2019, with the facility hosting simulcast race wagering thereafter. The only remaining live horse racing in Massachusetts is at Plainridge Park Casino, which has harness racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester Regional Airport</span> Public airport in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Worcester Regional Airport is three miles (5 km) west of Worcester, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and Leicester, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once owned by the City of Worcester, the airport has been owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) since June 2010.

Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwood Memorial Airport</span> Airport in Norwood, Massachusetts

Norwood Memorial Airport is a public airport 2 mi east of Norwood, in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to the offices of prominent local business people and several maintenance facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Mar Fairgrounds</span> Event venue in Del Mar, California, United States

The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a 370-acre (1.5 km2) event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with founding member Bing Crosby providing leadership.

Off-track betting is sanctioned gambling on greyhound racing or horse racing outside a race track.

Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is a racino including a standardbred racetrack located in Anderson, Indiana, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The facility features live harness racing from April through November, casino gaming, restaurants, a gift shop, and entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stronach Group</span> North American entertainment and real estate company

Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hialeah Park Race Track</span> United States historic place

The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Another listing for it was added in 1988. The Hialeah Park Race Track is served by the Miami Metrorail at the Hialeah Station at Palm Avenue and East 21st Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France Galop</span>

France Galop is the governing body of flat and steeplechase horse racing in France. It was founded on May 3, 1995, as the result of the amalgamation of four different industry organizations. Prominent owner/breeder Jean-Luc Lagardère was elected the organization's first president.

A STOLport or STOLPORT was an airport designed with STOL operations in mind, usually for an aircraft class of certain weight and size. The term "STOLport" did not appear to be in common usage as of 2008, although was commonly used by pilots flying into Biggin Hill during 1986/87 when the London City Airport was opened restricting approaches and ceilings to the north of Biggin. A STOLport usually has a short single runway, generally shorter than 1,500 m (5,000 ft). STOLports are only practicable by certain types of aircraft, especially smaller propeller aircraft, with performances that are compatible with the shorter runway length, steeper approach/departure paths, etc. at individual STOLports. In the United States, short runway facilities are simply known as airports, and the term "STOLport" has not been commonly used since the early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narragansett Park</span>

Narragansett Park was an American race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toledo Executive Airport</span> Airport in Wood County, Ohio, USA

Toledo Executive Airport is seven miles southeast of Toledo, in Wood County, Ohio. It is an FAA designated reliever to Toledo Express Airport (TOL), Toledo's primary airport. Toledo Executive Airport was renamed from Metcalf Field in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Greyhound Protection Act</span> Ballot measure in Massachusetts eliminating commercial dog racing

The Greyhound Protection Act is a Massachusetts statute that gradually eliminated commercial dog racing by 2010. It was enacted as Question 3 on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Thorp</span> American football player and coach (1884–1942)

Thomas Joseph Thorp was an American college football player and coach, sports writer, and football and horse racing official. He served as the head football at Fordham University from 1912 to 1913 and New York University (NYU) from 1922 to 1924, compiling a career coaching record of 21–17–4.

Franklin Park also known as the Franklin Trotting Park, Franklin Driving Park, Old Saugus Race Course, and the Old Saugus Race Track was an American Harness racing track located in Saugus, Massachusetts.

Xpressbet, LLC is a subsidiary of Stronach Group Company founded in 2002 and based in Washington, Pennsylvania. The company provides pari-mutuel action services that enable account holders to watch and wager on thoroughbred, harness, and quarter horse racing virtually. The company also provides handicapping resources, such as daily picks, wagering guides, newsletters, blogs, and columns. Xpressbet, LLC provides wagering service to nearly 200 racetracks in North America, Australia, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East. It also offers back-end or white label wagering services for other Account Deposit Wagering (ADW) suppliers.

Agawam Park was an American horse racing track in Agawam, Massachusetts, that was open from 1935 to 1938, when Hampden County, Massachusetts, voted against parimutuel betting.

References

  1. "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Western Massachusetts". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  2. "The Original Bulldog". 4 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Freeman, Paul (24 December 2014)."Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Western Massachusetts, Bowles Agawam Airfield" Accessed 11 June 2015.
  4. Agawam Centennial Committee (June 1955). Agawam, Massachusetts Over the Span of a Century. Agawam Centennial Committee. pp. 9–11.
  5. "Seabiscuit, 1938 Horse of the Year" Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine . www.spiletta.com. Accessed 11 June 2015.