Driving Park (Rochester, New York)
Driving Park was a harness racing track in Rochester, New York which operated between 1874 and 1902.[1]
The track was an irregular oval with a distance of one mile, and was described as "the fastest mile track in the United States."[2] It was located on the north-west corner of Driving Park Avenue and Dewey Avenue, then called The Boulevard, in Rochester.
From 1875 to 1895 the track hosted a leg of the Grand Circuit.[3] For a time it was "the most famous racetrack in the world," but began to decline in the 1890s with the introduction of anti-gambling laws. In 1899 two of the three grandstands were destroyed in a fire, and the park was finally sold at auction in 1902.[2]
Today the former location of the park is a residential area.
References
[edit]- ^ "Rochester Driving Park". Democrat and Chronicle. 3 Aug 1874.
- ^ a b "Gypsies, Trotters and Races: the Rise and Fall of the Rochester Driving Park". ROCHESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY/LOCAL HISTORY & GENEALOGY DIVISION. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ Harris, Charles T. "The Grand Circuit In the High Wheel Era". mi-harness.net. THE HORSE REVIEW. Retrieved July 2, 2020.[dead link]
See also
[edit]43°10′52″N 77°38′24″W / 43.181°N 77.640°W
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