Readville Race Track

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Readville Trotting Park

The Readville Race Track located in Readville, Massachusetts had a famous and exciting history for both Harness Racing and later Motorcycles and Auto Racing.[1] 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.

Originally the site of Camp Meigs and training grounds for the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, in 1869 the Norfolk Agricultural Association purchased the land and built a half-mile track. Sold in 1895 to the The New England Trotting Horse Breeders Association, the track was renamed the Readville Trotting Park and expanded to a full mile with the addition of a 3,400 seat grandstand, a clubhouse, restaurant, hotel and stable area. Railroad service was added to accommodate Boston, New York and Connecticut spectators. By 1899 Grand Circuit harness drivers were competing for a record $10,000 purse. The New York Times proclaimed "The August 23rd race was, without question, one of the finest exhibitions ever seen on this or any other track...and the crowd was the biggest yet."

Barney Oldfield and the Green Dragon, Readville Race Track Sept 9, 1905

With the invention of the automobile, the public taste for racing shifted. In 1903 the first auto race was held at Readville. By 1905 ticket sales for "gas burners", including steam cars, electric cars and motorized bicycles, eclipsed those of harness races with 12,000 spectators attending a milestone auto race on Memorial Day. The first recorded stock car race was held at Readville in 1906. At times huge dust clouds would form rendering goggles useless, and all the contestants faces would be covered in dirt. Horse and auto racing continued to coexist until the late 1920s when cars finally won out. In 1926 ownership passed from Charles W. Leonard to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. In the early 1930s the track was modified using fill from the newly constructed Sumner Tunnel resulting in a harder surface with steeper banks to accommodate higher speeds.[2] Until closing in May 1937 Readville hosted all the top drivers of the era.[3]

Notable Pace Horses

Allan Winter 1908

Early Gasoline Competitors

Paul Sartori rounds Readville in a 60 hp Mercedes June 1904
L.H.F. Baldwin and his 1907 Stanley Steamer

Early Steam and Electric Competitors

Harry Grant wins Readville twice in a 1908 Berliet

Notable Auto Race Drivers

Early Motorized Bicycle Competitors

Readville racer Teddy Carroll pilots an early Indian Powerplus

External links

References

  1. ↑ Temple, Robert (2010). The History of Harness Racing in New England. Xlibris. 
  2. ↑ Schwarzkopf, E.E. (July 3, 1909). Automobile Topics Illustrated. Automobile Topics Illustrated. 
  3. ↑ Barrett, Walter Jr. "Readville: The Story of the Readville Race Track". Self Published. Retrieved 1998. 
  4. ↑ Humberston, Maggie of the Indian Motocycle Collection, Wood Museum of Springfield History, Springfield, Massachusetts.
Sports venues in the Greater Boston area
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Boston
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Defunct
Never built

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