Dead Oak Tree !
If you want to bet
on a sure thing, than you can probably bet on the fact that both the Oak
Tree it was named for and the track itself are both dead. The track was
located on the grounds of the Oregon State Fair, in Salem. It featured
an open air grandstand and clubhouse, with a five eights mile oval.
As the story goes the Lone Oak that inspired the naming of the track goes back to 1846, when some guy moving half of a house passed by the tree standing alone and was obviously taken by it.
Lone Oak AdAs for Lone Oak the track which for almost all of it's existence was associated with The Oregon State Fair, it has been around before the turn of the 20th century. The track's modern era started in 1933 when pari-mutual betting was legalized in Oregon.
For years until it's demise in the year 2000, Lone Oak conducted the second longest race meet in Oregon, at one point running for thirty days. Over the years many improvements were made to the facility. In 1957 the track surface was expanded from a half mile to five eights.
Towards the end of it's run, the track was separated from the fair, this arrangement didn't last long as the the track soon went out of business. In 2001 the grandstand was demolished, a pavilion was put up in it's place, the track surface was turned into a parking lot. Allegedly the fair has not turned a profit since the races were cancelled.