Historic Track

Last updated

Historic Track
Historic Track, Goshen, NY.jpg
A trotter working out on the track
Location Goshen, NY
Nearest city Middletown
Coordinates 41°24′08″N74°19′10″W / 41.40222°N 74.31944°W / 41.40222; -74.31944
Built1838
Part of Church Park Historic District (ID80002735)
NRHP reference No. 66000560
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLMay 23, 1966 [2]
Designated CPNovember 17, 1980

The Historic Track (officially Goshen Historic Track) is a half-mile (900 m) harness racing track in Goshen, New York. It was opened in 1838 and has been in operation ever since, the oldest continuously operated horse racing track in North America. [3]

Contents

Informal horse races had been held along neighboring Main Street, now part of NY 207, since the 1750s. The current track site was first used in 1838 when a ⅓-mile (530 m) circle around a circus ground near the south end of the track was cleared and prepared for regular racing. Later it would be succeeded by an oval track perpendicular to the current one, then a long square track around the whole site, until the current track was built in 1873. [4]

In June 1873, Ulysses Grant, then President of the United States, attended races at the track [5] as he was in town to check on the two children of the late John Aaron Rawlins, for whom Grant served as legal guardian. [6]

Mural of track in Goshen post office Historic Track mural in Goshen post office.jpg
Mural of track in Goshen post office

Regular events were held at the track until the late 1970s, when the parimutuel machines were taken out. Today the track operates a three day racing festival around the July 4th weekend, and more recently an additional day of racing around Labor Day. [7]

The track was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as 'Historic Track' later in the same year, when the National Register was created. [2] The grandstands seat 2,200 fans. [8] In 1980, it was identified as a contributing property to the Church Park Historic District. The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, run by a separate organization, is located nearby.

In 2017 a fire, possibly started in the blacksmith's shop, destroyed some of the barns and stables on the property. The horses housed in them were saved; the blaze did not affect the grandstand or any of the other buildings on the property. [9] Replacement barns for those that burned were dedicated in 2019. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goshen (village), New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Goshen is a village in and the county seat of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,777 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Middletown-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goshen, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Goshen is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 14,571 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the Biblical Land of Goshen. It contains a village also called Goshen, which is the county seat of Orange County. The town is centrally located in the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont Park</span> Horse racing track in Elmont, New York

Belmont Park is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown. It was opened on May 4, 1905, and is one of the best well known racetracks in the United States. The original structure was demolished in 1963, and a second facility opened in 1968. The second structure was demolished in 2023, and a third version of Belmont Park is expected to open in 2026.

Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap as well as hosting the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2023. In 1984, Santa Anita was the site of equestrian events at the 1984 Olympics. Since 2011, the Stronach Group are the current owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadowlands Racetrack</span> Horse racing track in New Jersey, US

The Meadowlands Racetrack is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness racing. It is known popularly in the region as "The Big M". Meadowlands has year-round horse racing as well as a number of bars and restaurants.

Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums. Garden State Park's 600 acre land area is roughly bounded by Route 70, Haddonfield Road, Chapel Avenue, and New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Rail Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame</span> Museum in Goshen, New York, US

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is a museum in Goshen, New York. The museum collects and preserves the history of harness racing and serves as a hall of fame for the American Standardbred horse.

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

Good Time Park was a mile-long race track in Goshen, New York that hosted the Hambletonian harness race from 1930 to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulysses S. Grant Home</span> Historic house in Illinois, United States

The Ulysses S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois is the former home of Ulysses S. Grant, the Civil War general and later the 18th president of the United States. The home was designed by William Dennison and constructed in 1859 - 1860. The home was given to Grant by residents of Galena in 1865 as thanks for his war service, and has been maintained as a memorial to Grant since 1904.

<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. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The facility is served by the Miami Metrorail at the Hialeah Station at Palm Avenue and East 21st Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Goshen, New York)</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Goshen, New York, United States, is located on Grand Street downtown in the village of Goshen. It serves ZIP Code 10924, roughly contiguous with the village and town. The brick Colonial Revival building was completed in 1936, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Park Historic District</span> Historic district in New York, United States

The Church Park Historic District is a historic district and part of downtown Goshen, the seat of Orange County, New York, United States. It takes its name from the large triangular park formed at the center of the village by Main Street, Park Place and South Church Street. It is defined as bounded by Green Street on the south, Main Street, Webster Avenue, and then back across Main at Erie Street across the Historic Track to Kelsey Lane, South Church Street, South Street and back to Green. There are 107 buildings and three objects within the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Fish House</span> Historic house in Manhattan, New York

The Hamilton Fish House, also known as the Stuyvesant Fish House and Nicholas and Elizabeth Stuyvesant Fish House, is where Hamilton Fish (1808–93), later Governor and Senator of New York, was born and resided from 1808 to 1838. It is at 21 Stuyvesant Street, a diagonal street within the Manhattan street grid, between 9th and 10th Streets in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. It is owned by Cooper Union and used as a residence for the college's president.

<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">Peabody City Park</span> United States historic place

Peabody City Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2012, and the sixth NRHP listing in Peabody, Kansas, United States. The park is approximately 3 blocks by 2 blocks in size and located in southwest Peabody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aiken Mile Track</span> Historic horse-racing track in South Carolina, United States

Aiken Mile Track, located in Aiken, South Carolina, was built around 1936 during the heart of the Great Depression. Horses and horse racing is known as the “sport of kings.” Within that context it is significant that such a track should be built during a time of nationwide double-digit unemployment, and noteworthy in the sense that it contributed to Aiken's success as an equestrian center and “Winter Colony” during those difficult days. The landmark consists of outbuildings as well, including numerous barns. It is an accessible landmark, no more than a few miles from downtown Aiken. Aiken Mile Track was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 1985.

Monroe Race Track was a 1/2 mile harness racing facility that opened in 1908 in Monroe, New York to a crowd of 2,200 people. The first president was Max O. Schaefer, general manager of the Monroe Cheese Company, and later president of the Velveeta Cheese Company. The track became a part of the Orange County Harness Racing Circuit which included Endicott, Middletown, Goshen, and Monroe until 1927, when Monroe was dropped by the circuit and was replaced by Elmira, New York which had just completed construction of a new 5,000 seat grandstand. In 1964 the grandstands were demolished and the track faded into history.

The Montana State Fairgrounds Racetrack, also known as the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds Racetrack and as Helena Downs, is a historic horse racing track located on the outskirts of Helena, Montana, in the United States. Constructed in 1870, the track was part of the Montana State Fairgrounds, now the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. The racetrack was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 2006. Portions of the track were demolished from 2006 to 2008 due to new construction on the fairgrounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescent Farm</span> Historic farm near Canton, Georgia

The Crescent Farm, near Canton, Georgia on Georgia State Route 5 southeast of Georgia State Route 140, is a historic property that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The listing includes two contributing buildings and a non-contributing structure, on 4 acres (1.6 ha).

<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".

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 "Historic Track". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 14, 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
  3. "Goshen Historic Track" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2007. (20.3 KB), retrieved from ustrotting.com July 23, 2007.
  4. Interpretive panel near track entrance, visited July 25, 2007.
  5. Cronin, Brian PJ (May 17, 2022). "A Guide to Goshen NY". Upstater. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  6. "ULYSSES S. GRANT". William G. Pomeroy Foundation. February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  7. "Harness Horse Racing Track | Goshen Historic Track New York". Goshen Historic Track. May 29, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  8. Richard Greenwood (December 9, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Historic Track" (pdf). National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. Norton, Erika (August 24, 2017). "Fire destroys barns, stables at Goshen Historic Track". The Chronicle. Straus News. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  10. "New barn and stalls rise from the ashes of Historic Track fire". www.warwickadvertiser.com. Retrieved July 11, 2024.