There are 207 tracks listed on this site and a few more that could be added, if your interested in looking at piles of rocks, open fields, open deteriorating malls, closed deteriorated malls, condos, apartment complexes, dreary industrial parks and even NFL Stadiums(or soon to be). Throw in a couple of tracks that might be running and thankfully a whole bunch of casinos, where you can actually lose some hard earned cash. How long would it take?
There are many variables here, many people are just into thoroughbreds, others harness racing, some just live racing. Me , if it has or had an oval and animals ran around it, I'm in, hell I'm going to even throw in dog tracks, but I do draw the line at Jai-Ali (if that still exists) and barrel racing.
While this will be a virtual tour, you would probably have to hit megabucks to do it for real, if you only wanted live racing, add a few years. McChump Racing Tours boasts of visiting 152 tracks (no harness) but that effort spans 16 years. That record could be quite safe, as you probably can't come up with that many tracks today. So stay tuned as I make the virtual drive to Presque Isle, Maine to start the journey.
Just to give an example of how easy this would be, from Presque Isle, Maine to San Diego, California it's roughly 3,300 hundred miles, a fifty hour non stop drive. It is also an identical distance and time to Seattle, Washington. Hope you got plenty of vacation days.
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It took a little while, but I finally created a map that shows what this trip would involve. I did add a few destinations including a few dog tracks that still exist (mostly in Florida). So all that remains is to pick the most logical route.
Interesting facts
Most Northern Track: Chippewa Downs
Most Southern Track: Tropical Park
Most Eastern Track: Presque Isle Fair (Maine)
Most Western Track: Humbolt County Fair (Ferndale, California)
My Facts
Horse Tracks Visited (US) 139 Live Racing 86
Dog Tracks Visited 15 Live Racing 13
Just a few things before we start, to try to put a price on this trip I am using a per-diem number of .50 per mile, this will cover gas, tolls, fast food, if you like fine food, you might want to bump up that number. I am also using a price from a mid range motel for nightly lodging.
The plan is to hit as many live tracks as possible, this would be a once in a lifetime trip, but there is no way you will find live racing at every track that is still in business. That will take a lot more time and money, and don't forget you will pass by many or be in the vicinity of many cultural sites, like Old Ironsides, Plymouth Rock, The Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and my favorite The Beer Can House in Houston. Stopping at these places, takes time and money. The beauty of going to racetracks is that you rarely have a problem finding a parking spot, or having to pay for it. Enough rambling Guess it's time to go!