9 Ak-sar-ben
What went wrong here: In
1992, The Knights of Aksarben donated the track to another non profit
the Douglas Racing Corporation. It seems they intended to keep on
racing, in 1993 they added a seven furlong chute to the track and if
they meant to sell it off for the land they sure took their time about
it. By 1990, gambling wasn't the demon it once was, as politicians
realized that gambling meant revenue's and bordering states
legalized casinos, dog and horse racing. For the first time
Aksarben was facing competition that looks like what did them in.
As the Ak-sar-ben faithful filed out of the track on August 8, 1995
little did they realize that they would not be filling back in again. The track opened in 1919, as a non
profit organization under the guidance of the Knights of Aksarben. A few
years later a Coliseum was added to the site and at one point served as a
teletheather and betting area for the overflow crowds that attended the
races.
Aksarben, was the only mile track in Nebraska, running during the late
spring and early summer, it only needed an open air grandstand, which was
fairly good sized. The Grandstand had seating for 11,500, another 700 in
the clubhouse. There was also lots of room for horses with stalls for
1,500 runners and you could park your car in the infield. The tracks
signature race The Cornhusker debuted in 1966, when Bill Hartack rode
Royal gunner to victory. The Cornhusker, gained in stature and peaked as a
Grade II in the eighties. The 1982 version set an attendance record when
31,000 fans turned out to watch Willie Shoemaker finish dead last on
favored Brents Trans Am. In 1990 the Cornhusker was downsize to a Grade
III, as the racing sun begin to set in Omaha. It was not uncommon to see
million dollar handles on the weekends, on June 6, 1985 the track record
was set when over three million was bet. Not bad for a track
with a purse value index of 8.
What made Aksarben a hit, was probably it's
downfall, for years it was the only game in town, drawing bettors from
other states, but in the nineties the landscape started to change when
Iowa and Kansas legalized pari mutual racing. Ironically one of those
venues Prairie Meadow, located in Des Moines is now the home of The
Cornhusker. Wonder if anyone from Omaha shows up. In 1995, the racetrack
shut down, the Coliseum followed in 2002 and the facility was leveled in
2005. Now, all that's left of the "jewel of the midwest" is a plaque
honoring 1935 triple crown winner Omaha.
Racing has barely
survived in Nebraska, in the sixties there were seven tracks in the state.
Today only Fonner Park and Columbus run some sort of meet, but slots were
finally legalized, so who knows, racing could see a revival and maybe a
new Ak-sar-ban. Don't hold your breath!
Brandywine |
Liberty Bell |
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8 (Tie) Brandywine and Liberty Bell
What went wrong here: By
the mid eighties interest in harness racing was waning, competition for
the wagering dollar in the Mid-Atlantic was intense and a long
standing alliance was broken by Liberty Bell, with head to head
competition. These would kill Liberty Bell, but something else would
get Brandywine.
Its hard to separate these two tracks who were only forty miles
apart, as they basically were the same place. Brandywine was the first
to appear in 1953. It had things pretty much it's own way till 1963
when pari mutual racing became legal in Pennsylvania and Liberty Bell
came along. Both tracks co-existed for years with Liberty Bell running
a spring and fall meet, with Brandywine having the summer to itself.
They both had thoroughbred sized grandstands, that in there prime drew
thoroughbred sized crowds and had some of the premier harness races in
the country. Liberty Bell even enjoyed the benefit of
thoroughbred racing during it's dark time for a few years, but
there would be too much to overcome.
In 1984, Liberty Bell broke the treaty and started racing year
round, which meant head to head competition with Brandywine and under
Pennsylvania law a new thoroughbred track was built in Philly,
costing Liberty Bell that revenue. The final blow came when Garden
State Park re-opened across the river with nighttime thoroughbred
racing and a fall harness meet, it looks like Brandywine won the
war.
Brandywine would go on to survive it's sister track by four years,
but could not escape the same fate. Liberty Bell went away but the
problems with harness racing, that beautiful large track with it's
hefty purse structure were taking a toll, Brandywine had one chance to
survive. Track owners kept the place running with the expectation of
getting a slot parlor, but in 1989 that bid was defeated and it was
curtains for "The Big-B". Ironically the measure passed five years
later and saved what was left of racing in Delaware.
Today the site of Liberty Bell is a mall, while Brandywine's is a
housing development. A new track Harrah's Chester was built in
Pennsylvania, about half from each track it replaced. Now called
Harrah' s Philly, it carried on most of the major races run at Liberty
Bell and even kept the Battle of Brandywine alive for a while, but all
of those races seem to be discontinued at present.
7 Longacres
What went wrong here: Looks
like a familiar story, an aging site, declining in popularity, where
the land is more valuable then the racetrack. With the rise of major
sports teams in Seattle came the fall of Longacres, Boing made the
owners an offer they couldn't refuse and that was the end of an era.
With a backdrop of Mount Rainier and surrounded by it's signature
Lombardi Poplars, Longacres was listed as one of the top ten tracks in
the country. Built in 1933 it was intended to honor the French
track Longchamps, over the years Longacres was know as an innovator
and after many renovations had a grandstand capacity of 17,000. Those
renovations left the grandstand with many nooks and cranny's for
horseplayers to hang out. The facility was sold to Boing Aircraft in
1990 and they let the track race for two more years, so it's fans knew
the last day of racing and could have a proper sendoff. September
9, 1992 was the last day of racing at Renton, the final race was won
by Idaho native and future hall of famer, Gary Stevens.
In a twist of fate Boing also had to sell the property, they never
developed the entire site and part of the track is still visible as
are some of the Lombardi Poplars, looking a little unkempt from their glory
days, the rest of the one time jewel, is just a giant parking lot.