 | |
| Owner | Dick Hutchinson (1948–unknown) Dick Hutchingson, Jr. (unknown–1976) Greta, Joseph Shamy (1976–1979) Frank DeFrancis (1980–1989) |
|---|---|
| Type | Horse racing |
| Genre(s) | Standardbred |
| Seating type | Grandstand |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1948 |
| Opened | 1948 |
| Closed | 1990 |
| Demolished | 1990 |
Freestate Raceway (originally Laurel Raceway from 1948 to 1979) was a horse racing track in Maryland. It opened in 1948 and closed in 1990.
In September 1947, a meeting was held about bringing a harness racetrack to Maryland, specifically Prince George's County and Howard County. [1] Rosecroft Raceway was chosen for the Prince George's County license, and Freestate was chosen for the Howard County one. [2] Freestate was originally called Laurel Raceway from its opening to 1979. In 1948, Freestate Raceway began its first horse racing season. It was founded by Dick Hutchinson. [3] Freestate was the first track to allow pari-mutuel wagering on a harness race. [4] According to the United States Trotting Association, the racetrack broke several records in its inaugural season, including opening night attendance (12,000), total mutual handle ($3,703,949), and highest attendance (16,000). [5] The owners hosted the Howard County Fair on the grounds in 1948 and 1949 which allowed an exception in post-war rationing of roofing materials that were restricted for agricultural uses only. The fair featured "The Great Zacchinni" human cannonball act. [6] The owners of Freestate decided to increase the purse money, the number of seats, and several other things to greatly improve the racetrack for the 1949 season. [5]
Operations at the track ended in 1975, followed by a fire that destroyed the clubhouse and grandstand in March 1976. [7] Hutchingson's son, Dick Hutchingson, Jr., sold the racetrack to Greta and Joseph Shamy in April 1976. [8] Later, the Vice President of the track Mike Brown was indicted for arson at the clubhouse. [9] The racetrack was estimated to be in $6 million in debt in 1979, and in the same year, Joseph Shamy was arrested in 1979 for "raiding the track's treasury to pay personal debts." [8] Shamy was convicted of racketeering and embezzling $1.2 million from the track which defaulted on a $4.5 million loan from the National Bank of Washington and payments to riders. [10]
The following year Frank DeFrancis purchased the racetrack from National Bank of Washington. [11] [12] The first thing DeFrancis did was change the name to Freestate Raceway. [8] Before Freestates first meet under DeFrancis, he did a lot of work to track, including fixing up the grandstand, creating a driver's lounge, and promoting under the slogan "Where Fun Comes in First". [11] After losing money for the first few years, DeFrancis persuaded the Maryland General Assembly to lower the tax on the track's handle. [13] Starting in 1982, Freestate Raceway began to host the Potomac Stakes, Maryland's most successful race. Each time this race happened, the attendance and handle rose dramatically; in 1984, a record $1,094,054 was wagered on the night of that race. [14] In his first six years of operations, Freestate's average attendance increased from 4,477 to 5,453. [15] In 1988, Roosevelt Raceway, which hosted the Messenger Stakes, closed operations, and the race way given to Freestate for the remainder of Freestate's history. [16] In 1989, DeFrancis died, and Freestate was sold to become an industrial park the following year. [17] The park is a 320,000-square-foot shopping center with a grocery store and an adjacent Carmax dealership. [18]
North Laurel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The published population was 4,474 at the 2010 census. This population was substantially less than the CDP's population in 2000, and was the result of an error in defining the boundary prior to tabulation and publication of 2010 Census results. The corrected 2010 Census population is 20,259. North Laurel is adjacent to the City of Laurel, which is located across the Patuxent River in Prince George's County.
Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Howard counties. Founded as a mill town in the early 19th century, Laurel expanded local industry and was later able to become an early commuter town for Washington and Baltimore workers following the arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1835. Largely residential today, the city maintains a historic district centered on its Main Street, highlighting its industrial past.
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Whiskey Bottom Road is a historic road north of Laurel, Maryland that traverses Anne Arundel and Howard Counties in an area that was first settled by English colonists in the mid-1600s. The road was named in the 1880s in association with one of its residents delivering whiskey after a prohibition vote. With increased residential development after World War II, it was designated a collector road in the 1960s; a community center and park are among the most recent roadside developments.
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.
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