Their Stealing the Thunder !
If you have never
been to this small harness track you better hurry. Located in
Prestonburgh, Kentucky (the star of Eastern Kentucky) in the foothills
of the Appalachian Mountains, it will hold it's final meet in 2015. The
folks at Keeneland are buying their license, putting it out of
it's misery.
The Keeneland people will use the license to build a Quarter Horse Track in Corbin, Kentucky that will host a "boutique" Quarter Horse meet. The meet will just be a necessary evil to satisfy the requirements for the real reason for it's existence. Along with the track there will an instant betting parlor, which is Kentucky's version of slot machines. No matter how it turns out, it won't be hard to surpass the attendance and handles at Thunder Ridge.
A while back someone sent me an E-Mail telling me that I had missed Thunder Ridge on my site, I did know of it's existence but being lazy I omitted it from the Kentucky tracks. I have now kept my promise to add this track. I have never been to Thunder Ridge but I would like to make it there before it is demolished. To get the flavor of Thunder Ridge check this article, courtesy of Bill Finley of Harness Racing Update. I guess the closest I've come to a place like Thunder Ridge, was Quinte Raceway in Bellville, Ontario. After every race a young boy would ride to the infield tote board on his bicycle and hand post the mutual prices. I will admit they did have a program and a few more people in attendance.
It may not have been the Meadowlands, and is probably a head scratcher why it even existed in the first place, but to the people who raced there over the years, it will be missed.