Grand Circuit

Last updated
Goldsmith Maid, perennial fan favorite trotter Goldsmith Maid.jpeg
Goldsmith Maid, perennial fan favorite trotter

The Grand Circuit, also known as the "Big Wheel", [1] is a group of harness racing stakes races run at various race tracks around the United States. [2] Run on one-mile tracks, [3] it is "the oldest continuing horse-racing series in the United States."

Contents

The series was started in 1871 by Colonel Billy Edwards, of Cleveland, Ohio, L.J. Powers of Springfield, Massachusetts, E.A. Buck of Buffalo, New York, and later C.W. Hutchinson of Utica, New York. [4] The first meeting of the Circuit was held in 1873 in Cleveland, followed by races in Springfield, Buffalo, and Utica. [1] The original four-location competition was named "The Quadrilateral Trotting Combination," but was renamed when additional legs were added. [5]

In 1914 the Grand Circuit consisted of six tracks, located in: Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky; Detroit, Michigan; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Prior to this there were more, including Narragansett Park in Providence, Rhode Island; Charter Oak Park in Hartford, Connecticut; Readville Race Track in Boston, Massachusetts; Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire; Fleetwood Park Racetrack in New York, New York; and Poughkeepsie, New York, but anti-gambling laws during the early part of the 20th century caused them to drop out. [6]

As of 2004, it was run annually on a circuit of 20 tracks; [4] as of 2023, the circuit was run at 22 tracks. [7]

Tracks as of 2023

As listed by the United States Trotting Association, in 2023 the Grand Circuit Races were held at the following 22 venues: [7]

Former tracks

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harness racing</span> A form of horse racing that uses a two-wheeled cart

Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia and New Zealand, races with jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters are also conducted.

The Hambletonian Stakes is a major American harness race for three-year-old trotting horses, named in honor of Hambletonian 10, a foundation sire of the Standardbred horse breed, also known as the "Father of the American Trotter." The first in the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters, the Hambletonian is currently held at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on the first Saturday in August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino</span> Racino in Yonkers, New York, U.S.

Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York, near the New York City border. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International.

Liberty Bell Park was an American race track in Northeast Philadelphia that held harness racing from 1963 to 1985 and Thoroughbred horse racing from 1969 to 1974.

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.

Batavia Downs is a harness racing track and casino in Batavia, New York. It is located in Genesee County between Buffalo and Rochester just off of the New York State Thruway. It opened on September 20, 1940, and is the oldest lighted harness racetrack in the United States. The track is exactly .5 miles (0.80 km) long.

Bay State Raceway, later known as New England Harness Raceway, Foxboro Raceway, and Foxboro Park was a harness racing track located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States that operated from 1947 until 1997. It stood next to Foxboro Stadium and the site of Gillette Stadium. Track owner E. M. Loew gave the land for Foxboro Stadium to New England Patriots owner Billy Sullivan in order to keep the team in New England.

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

Forbury Park Raceway was a horseracing venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin until its closure in 2021. It was located close to the Pacific Ocean coast in the suburb of Saint Kilda.

<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">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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter Dominion</span>

The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand.

Freestate Raceway was a horse racing track in Maryland. It opened in 1948 and closed in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Readville Race Track</span> Historic race track in Massachusetts

The Readville Race Track located in Readville, Massachusetts had a famous and exciting history for Harness Racing, Motorcycle Racing, Auto Racing and early military combat Aviation. When the track officially opened on August 25, 1896, it quickly became one of the premier venues for harness racing in the United States. It was known as one of the country's fastest courses and many records were broken there. In 1903 history was made at Readville when a five-year-old mare named Lou Dillon became the first trotter to run a two-minute mile. On August 25, 1908 the most spectacular event in all harness horse history was staged, the $50,000 American Trotting Derby won by Allan Winter.

Allan James Wilson was a Canadian-born American horse racing executive.

The Breeders Crown Open Trot is a harness racing event for Standardbred trotters. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and Pacers. The Open Trot for horses age four and older was first run in 1985. It is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America. The 2017 race will be held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleetwood Park Racetrack</span> 19th-century racetrack in New York City, US

Fleetwood Park was a 19th-century harness racing (trotting) track in what is now the Morrisania section of the Bronx in New York, United States. The races held there were a popular form of entertainment, drawing crowds as large as 10,000 from the surrounding area. The one-mile (1.6 km) course described an unusual shape, with four turns in one direction and one in the other. For the last five years of operation, Fleetwood was part of trotting's Grand Circuit, one travel guide calling it "the most famous trotting track in the country".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narragansett Park (1867–1924)</span>

Narragansett Park was an American horse and motor racing venue in Cranston, Rhode Island.

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

Charter Oak Park was an American harness racing track in Hartford, Connecticut that was open from 1874 to 1893, when an anti-gambling bill resulted in its closure. It reopened in 1897 and remained in operation until 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kite Track</span> Harness racing track in Maine

The Kite Track was an American harness racing track in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

References

  1. 1 2 Hinkle, Charlie (May 23, 1954). "Racing's Grand Circuit Opens Colorful Season". Dayton Daily News . p. 12. Retrieved November 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Siegel, Paul D. (2002). How to Own Winning Standardbred Racehorses. Neehah, Wisconsin: The Russell Meerdink Company Ltd. p. 20. ISBN   0-929346-72-6 . Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. ↑ Hoffman, Dean (2012). Harness Racing in New York State. Charleston, SC: The History Press. ISBN   978-1-61423-629-0 . Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Grand Circuit". Encyclopædia Britannica . March 4, 2004. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  5. ↑ Fasig, William Benjamin; Gocher, William Henry (1903). Fasig's Tales of the Turf. Hartford, CT: W.H. Gocher. p. 25. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  6. ↑ Kline, Tedd H. (November 28, 1914). "The Handwriting on the Wall". The Breeder's Journal. 3 (11): 6–9. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "All Age 2023 Grand Circuit Races" (PDF). United States Trotting Association. November 25, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Trott, Frank (January 28, 1940). "American and National Trots Set for Gansett". The Boston Globe.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Goshen in Grand Circuit Racing". The New York Times. January 11, 1911.
  10. 1 2 3 "Grand Circuit Sets Dates for Season". The New York Times. January 5, 1927.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hambletonian Set Aug. 7". The New York Times. December 13, 1945.
  12. ↑ Baumgartner, Paul (June 18, 1989). "Financial success attracts horsemen". The Plain Dealer.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Dates Announced for Grand Circuit Meet". The New York Times. January 6, 1926.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Trott, Frank (February 2, 1941). "Hambletonian Stake Date Set by Grand Circuit for August 6". The Boston Globe.
  15. ↑ "Meadowlands Joins Circuit". The New York Times. February 24, 1977.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Blake Named Head of Grand Circuit". The New York Times. December 12, 1965.
  17. ↑ "Speed starts to show as Mohawk's horses await Grand Circuit". The Globe and Mail. June 19, 1978.
  18. 1 2 "Great Campaign Planned by The Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe. January 25, 1904.
  19. 1 2 "Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe. January 13, 1905.
  20. 1 2 "10 Grand Circuit Tracks". The New York Times. April 11, 1942.
  21. ↑ "Tioga Downs to host stakes series". Press & Sun-Bulletin. July 22, 2006.
  22. 1 2 "2 Courses Added to Grand Circuit". The New York Times. December 13, 1953.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Gocher, William Henry (1903). Fasig's Tales of the Turf. Hartford: W. H. Gocher. p. 21. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  24. 1 2 "An Ideal Chain". The Boston Globe. January 28, 1903.
  25. 1 2 3 "Will Open July 23". The Boston Globe. January 10, 1906.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "New York in Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe. January 12, 1910.
  27. 1 2 3 "Readville is Out of Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe. January 15, 1913.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Grand Circuit Dates". The New York Times. January 14, 1914.
  29. 1 2 "Yonkers is Invited Into Grand Circuit". The New York Times. December 13, 1950.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Trott, Frank (January 29, 1917). "Fourteen Weeks of Great Racing Assured". The Boston Globe.
  31. 1 2 3 "Grand Circuit Meet for Elkwood Park". The New York Times. May 3, 1908.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Trott, Frank (January 28, 1929). "Fifteen Weeks of Mile Track Racing". The Boston Globe.
  33. 1 2 "Dates for 1933 Set for Grand Circuit". The New York Times. November 22, 1932.
  34. ↑ "On The Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe. July 17, 1894.
  35. 1 2 3 "Readville Meeting Will Open Aug 26". The Boston Globe. January 9, 1918.
  36. 1 2 "Columbus is Out of Grand Circuit". The New York Times. December 19, 1925.
  37. 1 2 3 "Grand Circuit Dates". The New York Times. January 13, 1909.
  38. 1 2 "Famous Fort Miami Track at Toledo Out of Grand Circuit-Syracuse Abandons Harness Racing For Runners". The Boston Globe. January 6, 1931.
  39. ↑ "Brighton Beach Out Of The Grand Circuit". The New York Times. December 16, 1904.
  40. 1 2 3 Trott, Frank (January 18, 1932). "East Again Strong in Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe.
  41. ↑ "Phellis Trotting Head". The New York Times. December 21, 1944.
  42. 1 2 3 Trott, Frank (January 22, 1912). "Rockingham Gets Date". The Boston Globe.
  43. ↑ "Changes in Grand Circuit". The New York Times. January 13, 1915.
  44. ↑ "Grand Circuit 14 Weeks' Show". The Boston Globe. January 12, 1916.
  45. 1 2 Trott, Frank (January 12, 1925). "Readville Has Its Usual Dates". The Boston Globe.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 "Blake New Chief of Grand Circuit". The New York Times. December 12, 1946.
  47. ↑ "Devereaux Again to Head Stewards". The New York Times. January 10, 1923.
  48. 1 2 3 "13 Dates Are Set in Grand Circuit". The New York Times. January 6, 1931.
  49. ↑ Martinez, Marcia (April 14, 2016). "Harness horse owners skeptical about Department of Ag's pledge on state fair purses". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  50. 1 2 3 "Grand Circuit Gives West Three Meets Late in Fall". The Boston Globe. January 28, 1936.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 "Old Orchard Back on Grand Circuit Program in '49". The Boston Globe. Columbus, Ohio. AP. December 15, 1948. p. 27. Retrieved November 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  52. ↑ "13 Weeks of Racing for Grand Circuit". The New York Times. May 22, 1937.
  53. 1 2 "Grand Circuit Schedule to Open at Old Orchard". The Boston Globe. January 23, 1944.
  54. ↑ Milbert, Neil (March 26, 2010). "World Trotting Derby a victim of budget cuts". The Chicago Tribune.
  55. ↑ "Grand Circuit Racing at Foxboro This Year". The Boston Globe. June 10, 1956.
  56. ↑ "Chicago Downs Meet Sets Pace". Daily Defender. September 5, 1956.
  57. ↑ "Arden Downs Pace to Thorpe Hanover". The New York Times. October 13, 1957.
  58. ↑ "Suffolk Downs Harness Racing Opens Monday". The Boston Globe. October 23, 1960.
  59. 1 2 3 4 Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division. pp. 49–50. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  60. 1 2 Kiser, Jack (March 24, 1984). "Brandywine Opens Meet, Might Be Its Last Season". Philadelphia Daily News.
  61. ↑ Jerardi, Dick (August 21, 1985). "Harness Racing Goes on Trial at Garden State". Philadelphia Daily News.
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.