Paul Revere and the King !
Not Just Sunday but ForeverThe Weymouth Fair was part of the Massachusetts Fair Circuit. It usually ran in mid summer, in the eastern part of the state. Weymouth was the first fair that went out of business and it's been forty years since a race has been run there. Wondering about the Paul Revere part? Well he never rode there nor is this about the King of England.
The king is Carlos Figueroa, a trainer who dubbed himself "King of the Fairs". The story begins on August 12th 1963 at Weymouth Fair, when Figueroa enters a horse named Shannon's Hope, who finishes fifth that day. Shannon's Hope races at Weymouth again on the 13th, 15th, and 17th the last day of the Weymouth meet, a race which he wins. He shows up at Marshfield on the 20th for another win. Then he is entered on three straight days the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th winning all three, for an amazing five consecutive wins, and eight starts in thirteen days. The Massachusetts SPCA gets wind of Figueroa's antics, and want's to know what he's up to, so he gives them a history lesson.
Figueroa uses the ride of Paul Revere as his example. He might have been up on his history, but seemed a little shaky on his geography. He stated that Revere at 190 pounds rode his horse, whipping and screaming from Boston to South Carolina, and nobody said anything to him. In fact they made him a hero. Figueroa claimed they should have made him a hero, he said "Paul Revere never won five races in eight days". The fairs will be missed!
Today the Weymouth Fairgrounds has joined tracks like Centennial Race Track, Garden State Park, Tropical Park and Jefferson Downs as the site of a housing project. So if you go to the old Weymouth track, you won't find a racing oval, but you will find the "Old Fairgrounds" where you can purchase an up-scale residence.