Colins Ghost

With the opening of Belmont Park on Wednesday, I thought I would do a post about one of my favorite places.

The unique configuration of Belmont, its massive grandstand, beautiful paddock area, and, above all, the ghosts of racing’s past provides a setting like no other.

Image: Belmont Park, 1905 (New York Public Library)

The facility, as it now stands, was opened in 1968. The 1905 grandstand was much smaller.

When the decision was made to tear down the original grandstand and the track closed for renovations in 1963, New Yorker writer Audax Minor was less than enthused. Here is how he reported the end to what is now referred to as the Old Belmont Park:

“As you have probably heard, there will be no racing at Belmont Park this season – and for nobody knows how many seasons to come. The New York Racing Association announced last week that because of the ‘progressive deterioration of the steel structure’ – a Madison Avenue phrase if I ever heard one – the grandstand would have to be closed and the spring and autumn meeting transferred to Aqueduct. Demolition of the stand, it was said, is expected to begin soon. So be it.”

Images: Postcard of Belmont Park Race Course, circa 1920. View from the grandstand, 1913.

“Belmont Park may be reopened, but to those who have known the charm of the old place, it can never be the same. It is as though a national figure had suffered from some great tragedy; he survives, but he is different. If the track is rebuilt, it will surely be modern, functional, and without atmosphere – like any other mutuel track. There was something about Belmont that raised it above the level of other racecourses. It wasn’t merely the historic races that were run there, for richer stakes were to be run elsewhere, and it wasn’t just the excellence of the track itself, which gave every runner a fair chance. But Belmont seemed to show racing at its best, in a spacious setting. Whatever the reason, it also brought out the best in horses, and winning at Belmont was something that a stable could be justifiably proud of.”

Needless to say, the fears of Audax Minor did not come to be. While the facility changed, the power of the place remains. I guess there is something about Belmont Park that transcends bricks and mortar.

Check out Brooklyn Backstretch for more on historic Belmont Park

SOURCES, NOTES, AND OBSERVATIONS

Audax Minor, “The Race Track: Curtains for Belmont,” The New Yorker, April 20, 1963

Audax Minor was the pen name of George F.T. Rydall who wrote a regular racing column for the New Yorker from 1926 to 1978 (that is not a typo, over 50 years!). Read more about Minor here

The first image is from the New York Public Library. The postcard and the second image are from Ebay.

If any readers have memories of the Old Belmont Park, I would love to hear from you?

Speaking of the New Yorker — I am a subscriber but have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the magazine (it can be painfully elitist). The article on Larry Jones in this week’s issue is a reminder on why I subscribe. Rarely does a mainstream publication provide a fair-minded, thorough treatment of racing — the New Yorker has done just that. The author Peter J. Boyer has written an outstanding piece that avoids the silly caricatures of racing pervasive in the non-racing media. If you are a race fan – it is worth checking out.

THANKS FOR READING AND GOOD LUCK!

All eyes turn to Louisville and Churchill Downs this week as racing gets set for what looks to be a great Kentucky Derby this year. In Mays Landing, New Jersey, the once grand Atlantic City Race Course will wrap up its brief meet the day before the Run for the Roses.

When the track opened in 1946, it stood surrounded by trees and farmland, today the track stands surrounded by strip malls, box stores, and a housing development. Its days appear to be numbered.

I spent the afternoon at Atlantic City on Friday. I started my day with a visit to the Atlantic City Public Library to take a look at old editions of the Atlantic City Press.

On Monday July 22, 1946, the inaugural day of racing, the local paper dedicated twenty three pages of coverage to the new facility. The paper profiled everyone from Jack Kelly – the most familiar of the track’s founders – to the chief starter and track treasurer. The Press gave racing fans detailed explanations about how to wager and the mechanics of the pari-mutual systems, directions for getting to the track, bus and plane schedules, and everything anyone would need for attending the big day.

The Atlantic City Race Course was one of the places that set the stage for racing’s golden era. Walking around the run-down facility in 2009, one can sense what it used to be. The ebullient description below – from Atlantic City Press writer Whitey Gruhler – provides the modern reader with a glimpse of the excitement surrounding the track’s opening and why it holds a significant place in the history of thoroughbred racing:

“Horse racing, which has sprouted from the sport of kings into the king of sports, gets under way in Atlantic City this afternoon when the Atlantic City Racing Association begins the first portion of a 42-day meet at its $3,500,000 ultramodern track, located 14 miles distant, just off the Black Horse Pike.

“Begun soon after the end of war, the construction is a stately addition to the nation’s major racing wheel. Nestling deep in the woods, on the tract once known as the Atlantic Pines Golf Course, the magnificent edifice towers majestically above the sweet-scented pines like a glistening jewel in the morning sun – the last word in architectural splendor.

“Only a few finishing touches, the placing of a gadget here and there, remain for the army of workmen, who won their race against time by meeting the opening deadline.

“The entire plant sprawls over 657 acres and there is ample adjacent land should future expansion be necessary

“Keynotes of the enterprise are safety for man and beast and the ultimate comfort and progress. Never in the history of the sport has so much thought and consideration been given the grandstand patrons who have been provided with sun decks, fine dining terraces, beautiful lounges, the best of visibility, and many other conveniences heretofore limited to patrons of the clubhouse.

“A huge grandstand-clubhouse of concrete and steel accommodates 12,500 persons. It has a terrace for 5000 standees, and well graded terraces in front of the grandstand provide ample room for 35,000 more.”

**************************************************************

Five thousand fans attended the races this past Friday afternoon. Drawing a crowd of that size, with minimal publicity to a less then ideal facility, shows that an interest exists for live racing in the area. As I said last year, with a little more effort and a bit of renovation, Atlantic City Race Course could become a viable racing venue again.

Let’s hope they are still running in Atlantic City in 2010.

An advertisement for the track from 1962 shows the
crowded parking lot advertised to hold 10,000 cars.

That same lot as seen on April 24, 2009.

Every seat and every inch of the apron filled
with race fans. From a 1956 advertisement.

The sloped track apron that provided a great view for the tens of
thousands of fans who used to pack the track. April 24, 2009

SOURCES, NOTES, AND OBSERVATIONS

“New $3,500,000 Race Course One of the Best in the U.S.”, Atlantic City Press, July 22, 1946

Count down to less then one week to the Derby. It looks like a great field. I am leaning towards Firesian Fire and Pioneer of the Nile.

I will be posting a few times this week with Derby related “selections.”

Looking forward to my first trip of the season to Delaware Park on Derby Day. Missed opening day but was impressed by the card put together by Pat Pope, the new racing secretary. Delaware Park has become notorious for short fields over the last few years. Hoping to see that change with Mr. Pope now in charge of the condition book. Read more about his background here

THANKS FOR READING AND GOOD LUCK!

Sometimes interesting things just fall into your lap. I received an email from Ron Micetic – a reader who has a large and significant collection of rare race programs. One of his most prized programs is from War Admiral’s maiden race which took place at Havre de Grace in north east Maryland. He kindly sent me the digital images seen here (click for detailed view).

This, of course, peaked my curiosity so I pulled out my copy of Ed Bowen’s outstanding work on The Admiral for the Thoroughbred Legends series.

By 1936, when War Admiral hit the track, hopes that his sire, the immortal Man o’ War, would produce the next great colt had faded. Sixteen years after retiring from racing, most would have said Man o’ War had not lived up to expectations at stud. While siring 28% stakes winners in his first five crops, his production dropped off significantly in subsequent years.

War Admiral learned to be a racehorse at owner Samuel Riddle’s training center in Berlin, Maryland. When he was ready to race, War Admiral was sent to Havre de Grace. The Havre de Grace track – just a few hundred yards from the Chesapeake Bay – opened in 1912 and hosted a slew of important races. Racing in the small Maryland town attracted horses of great stature including War Admiral’s daddy in 1920.

On April 25th 1936, War Admiral broke his maiden in the opening race on Philadelphia Handicap Day at the track affectionately known to locals as “The Graw.”

This is how Walter Haight described War Admiral’s win in the opener:

“A first-time starter, War Admiral, battled Sonny Joe, another first-time starter, to a nose decision in the opening dash for juveniles. The winner, a son of Man o’ War, ran Romney Royal into defeat and then had enough left to outlast Sonny Joe, a Vanderbilt youngster. Ground Oak was third in the field of ten. War Admiral, ridden by Jockey Moose Peters, paid $17.”

It is telling that The Admiral paid $17 to win. Respect for Man o’ War’s legacy on the track didn’t carry over to his ability as a sire – especially among the gamblers.

War Admiral returned to Havre de Grace during his two year old season to win the Eastern Shore by five lengths. He started his historic three year old year at “The Graw” winning an allowance race and the Chesapeake Handicap before his Triple Crown sweep.