Detroit Race Course

Last updated

The Detroit Race Course was a complex in Livonia, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit and part of the metropolitan area. It consisted of a regulation racing track and associated stables for horses, and facilities for trainers, exercise workers, and jockeys. It was opened in 1950 primarily as a venue for racing thoroughbreds. The track owners also leased the complex to Wolverine Raceway for Standardbred harness racing events. [1] The large complex had stables with a capacity for 1200 horses.

Contents

History

Until the late 1980s, the Detroit Race Course (DRC) and others, with its racetrack betting, were the only sites in Michigan for legalized gambling. In this period, efforts to introduce other types of gambling at the DRC were unsuccessful. Interest in horse racing declined in the late 20th century. In 1985 the business was sold to Ladbroke, a UK-based hotel and gambling company. [2] It discontinued harness racing that year.

The DRC and gaming environment was adversely affected by the opening in 1994 of Casino Windsor across the river in Ontario, Canada. The casino was owned by the province and was a rousing success, attracting millions of visitors annually, many from the Midwest. The complex is owned by Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation of the provincial government. Following a major expansion in 2008, it is now known as Caesars Windsor.

In response, in 1996 the Michigan state legislature and governor passed a law to establish gaming in the state, beginning with casinos to be constructed in Detroit, the largest city and across from Windsor. Two casinos opened in 1999 and the third in 2000. They were intended in part to help generate revenues for the city of Detroit, which had struggled financially.

The last horse races on the flat at DRC were run in 1998. In May 1998 Ladbroke announced the sale of Detroit Race Course. Based on the new 1996 law, which authorized betting at tracks for simulcast events, Millennium, the new owners, used the complex as a venue for viewing simulcast video racing, with associated betting, into 1999. Attempts failed to gain voter approval for expanded forms of gaming at racetracks, such as slot machines. That summer Millennium demolished the facilities to redevelop the property for commercial uses.

As noted, the legislature in 1996 approved casinos in the state. Three have opened in Detroit: the MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino in 1999, and Greektown Casino-Hotel in 2000. In addition, by 2019 there were two dozen casinos elsewhere in the state owned and operated by federally recognized Native American tribes.

Thoroughbred racing was reintroduced at Hazel Park Raceway in 2014 after 30 years. Harness racing continued at other sites in the state, and now, one last harness racing facility operates, Northville Downs at Northville, Michigan. Sports Creek Raceway, a harness racing track near Swartz Creek, Michigan, operated from 1986 to 2015.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwood Raceway</span>

Greenwood Raceway was a horse racing facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parx Casino and Racing</span> Horse racing venue and casino in Pennsylvania, US

Parx Casino and Racing is a Thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of Philadelphia. Owned and operated by Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., Parx features 24-hour gaming with over 3,200 slot machines, 188 live table games, a poker room with 48 poker tables, live racing and simulcast action, sports betting, several dining options and bars, and the Xcite Center. Parx also offers online gambling and online sports betting along with off-track betting at two locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally's Dover</span> Hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware

Bally's Dover Casino Resort, formerly Dover Downs, is a hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware. It has a .625-mile (1.006 km) harness horse racing track, which is surrounded by Dover Motor Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete track used for NASCAR motor racing events. The complex is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Bally's Corporation, excluding the motor racing circuit, which is owned by Speedway Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canterbury Park</span> Horse racing facility in Minnesota, US

Canterbury Park, is a horse racing track in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Canterbury Park Holding Corporation hosts parimutuel wagering on live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing at its facilities in Shakopee and parimutuel wagering on races held at out-of-state racetracks that are simulcast to the racetrack. In addition, the Canterbury Park Card Casino operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is also regulated by the Minnesota Racing Commission. Casino games include blackjack, baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, and poker. Canterbury Park also derives revenue from related services and activities, such as concessions, parking, admissions, and programs, and from other entertainment events held at the racetrack. Furthermore, Canterbury Park is pursuing a strategy to enhance shareholder value by developing approximately 140 acres of underutilized land surrounding the racetrack in a project known as Canterbury Commons. The company is pursuing several mixed-use development opportunities for the underutilized land, directly and through joint ventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turfway Park</span> Horse racing track in Florence, Kentucky, US

Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), and Winter/Spring —and offers year-round simulcast wagering from tracks across the continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn Entertainment</span> American gambling company

Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gambling. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, under brands including Hollywood Casino, Ameristar, and Boomtown. It also owns the Canadian digital media company Score Media and Gaming.

<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 parimutuel gambling at the core.

Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering company among its portfolio of businesses.

Saratoga Casino Hotel is an establishment in Saratoga Springs, New York. Saratoga Casino Hotel is home to a 1⁄2-mile standardbred race track, with a racino and hotel located inside the racetrack's grandstand. Saratoga Casino Hotel is not connected to the historic Saratoga Race Course thoroughbred race track located across the street on Nelson Avenue.

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), known as the Ontario Jockey Club from 1881 to 2001, is the operator of two horse racing tracks, a casino and off-track betting stations in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It also owns and operates the Canadian digital television service HPItv and operates Canada's only online wagering platform for horse racing, HorsePlayer Interactive. WEG is responsible for operating Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, and it also runs Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario. It employs over 2,300 people in its operations. WEG also ran the Turf Lounge on Bay Street in Toronto from 2003 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rideau Carleton Raceway</span> Canadian horse racing and gambling complex

Rideau Carleton Raceway is a Canadian horse racing and gambling complex located at 4837 Albion Road in Ottawa, Ontario. The facility began operation in 1962 and specialises in Standardbred harness racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Casino at The Meadows</span>

The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, formerly The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, originally (1963) just The Meadows horse-racing track, is a Standardbred harness-racing track and slot-machine casino which is located in North Strabane Township, Pennsylvania, United States, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Pittsburgh. After 44 years as a racetrack, the casino was added in 2007. The real estate has been owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties since 2016, with the business operations owned by Penn Entertainment since 2018, including a long term lease agreement to Gaming and Leisure Properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connaught Park Racetrack</span> Defunct horse racing track

Connaught Park, later known as Hippodrome d'Aylmer, was a thoroughbred, steeplechase and harness racing track, later having a casino and live betting parlor, that operated from 1913 until 2009. The track was located in the Aylmer, Quebec district of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, near Ottawa, Ontario. It had two tracks: a one-mile dirt track used until 1954 for thoroughbred racing, and a half-mile dirt track, used for harness racing. Racing ended in 2008 after its owner declared bankruptcy. The site was sold in 2009 for a housing development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazel Park Raceway</span> Horse racing track located in Hazel Park, Michigan, open from 1949 - 2018

Hazel Park Raceway, located in Hazel Park, Michigan, in the metropolitan Detroit area, was a horse race track. From 1949 it offered live thoroughbred racing every Friday and Saturday night May through mid-September, and also offered harness racing. Beginning in 1996, it offered simulcast wagering seven days a week all year long on thoroughbred and harness races from across the US and Canada. Admission and parking were free. For a period, this was the only track in Michigan to offer live thoroughbred racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosecroft Raceway</span> Harness racing track in Fort Washington, Maryland, US

Rosecroft Raceway, nicknamed the "Raceway by the Beltway" for being close to Interstate 495, is a harness racing track in Fort Washington, Maryland. It first opened in 1949 and was owned by William E. Miller, a horse trainer and breeder. Rosecroft quickly became Prince George's County's political and social center, drawing thousands of people there each racing day. In the early 1950s, average attendance was more than 7,000 per day. After Miller died in 1954, his son John owned Rosecroft until his death in 1969. Rosecroft hosted memorial stake races annually for both William and John until 1995. Following the death of John Miller, Earle Brown controlled operations until he moved to a different position in 1980; William E. Miller II took over following Brown.

Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway is a racino in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was originally established in 1959 as Raceway Park in Toledo, Ohio, hosting car racing and thoroughbred racing. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment.

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 services 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.

Horse racing in the United States dates back to 1665, which saw the establishment of the Newmarket course in Salisbury, New York, a section of what is now known as the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor, Richard Nicolls. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County, New York, region of Greater Westbury and East Garden City.

Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Massachusetts include casinos, sports betting, parimutuel wagering on horse racing, the Massachusetts Lottery, and charitable gaming. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulates commercial operations under state jurisdiction.

Sports Creek Raceway was a harness racing track located on a 100-acre site near Swartz Creek, Michigan.

References

  1. ↑ Wolverine Raceway [ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Reminiscing/ Detroit Race Course". Longshot's Blog. 2009-11-19.

42°22′48″N83°19′22″W / 42.38000°N 83.32278°W / 42.38000; -83.32278

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.