This is the twenty fifth of a major series of articles concerning racetracks in the USA, continuing our review with a look at Delaware’s current live harness racing venues.
Current venues –
Dover Downs (DD) –
Dover Downs is an hotel, casino and harness racing track located within the city limits of Dover, Delaware on the east side of Route 13 (North Du Pont Highway). Harness racing takes place on a five eighths mile (.625 mile, 1.006km) dirt track held on the infield of the Dover International Speedway, a one mile (1.6km) concrete banked oval track used for NASCAR motor racing events, tracks nickname being ”The Monster Mile”. The Dover Downs facility complex is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Bally’s Corporation (speedway is the property of Dover Motorsports).
Created in 1967 with the concept of it being a multi-sports facility, opening thoroughbred meeting at Dover Downs was held on 8 March 1969. An all-time attendance record crowd of 8,641 fans watched Pinehurst ridden by Fred Kratz win the first ever race. Thoroughbred racing only lasted a few years with the final race held on 18 April 1974. The first harness race meeting took place on 10 November 1969. The speedway track opened in conjunction with the horse racing tracks in 1969.
The racino hosts live harness racing from November through until early April (31 Ocotber 2022 – 30 March 2023). The Race & Sports Book offers sports betting on live and simulcast horse racing along with single game and parlay betting on professional and college sports (excluding Delaware college teams), automobile racing, baseball, basketball, boxing/mixed martial arts, football, golf, hockey, and soccer.
The original dirt track surface was a five eighths mile oval with a 480ft straight. The thoroughbred facility included six furlong and one and one sixteenth furlong chutes. The main track now is still five eighths mile but with a 500 ft straight, 60ft wide. This provides for eight starters behind the mobile gate, races are held at night under lights, general and clubhouse admission and car parking are free (12,000 vehicles), seating capacity of 4,600 made up of Grandstand and Clubhouse capacity.
A record crowd of 5,971 fans for a Dover Downs harness meeting attended on 4 February 1973. By the 1990’s it was suffering after the State of Delaware approved slot machines. On 13 December 1995 Dover Downs received approval to conduct video lottery operations as a “Licensed Agent” under the Delaware State Lottery Code. This allowed the inclusion of casino games at its facility which turned it into a racino. The Casino at Dover Downs opened on 29 December 1995 with five hundred slot machines. Steelman Partners were the original architects and interior designers for the casino.
On 30 March 2002 parent company Dover Downs Entertainment spun off the horse racing track and casino as an independent publicly traded company, Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc (DDE). The former parent company changed its name to Dover Motorsports.
A track betting record of $1,658,450 was established on 4 January 2006 and Dover Downs ventured into online gambling in late 2013. Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment completed a reverse merger in 2019 with Twin River Worldwide Holdings (later Bally’s Corporation), a Rhode Island based company with several casino and racetrack properties. Dover Downs shareholders were left with a seven percent stake in the combined company. In 2021, Bally’s Corporation sold the land and buildings to Gaming and Leisure Properties for $144 million, leasing them back for $12 million annually.
Dover Downs signature event the Progress Pace (eliminations, final and consolation) commenced in 1996 with many top sophomore (3yo) colt pacers participating – winners include Armbro Operative (inaugural race), Dream Away, Art Major, Heston Blue Chip, Sunshine Beach, McWicked, Downbytheseaside, Wiggle It Jiggleit. Other stakes races regularly held include :
- Matron Stakes since 1997 for two and three year old pacing/trotting colts and fillies; among winners are horses of the calibre of McArdle, Washington VC, Kababra/Amigo Volo/Nuncio (at two and three), Chapter Seven, Lucky Chucky, Pegasus Spur, Cattlewash, Bettors Wish, Downbytheseaside, Wiggle It Jiggleit, Heston Blue Chip, Rocknroll Heaven, Dali, Grinfromeartoear, Crazed, Great Success, Party Girl Hill, Mission Brief
- Delaware Breeders Stakes since 2001 for two and three year old pacing/trotting colts and fillies
There have been two 1:48.0 horses at Dover Downs – Heston Blue Chip 12 December 2002 and Bandito 3 April 2014. A number of Australasian bred horses have recorded a 1:50.0 time together with three two year old pacers. The only 1:51 trotter to date has been Mission Brief whose T1:50.2 was the fastest by a three year old trotter in North America in 2015 (12 November).
Casino and Hotel facilities –
The primary features include a five hundred room hotel, dining options, over 91,000 square ft gaming room, over 2,700 slot machines, forty table games and the Rollins Centre, an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) multipurpose ballroom featuring entertainment as well as hosting business conferences, conventions and banquets.
Casino
The casino’s slot machines and gaming tables are supplemented by an eighteen table poker room. Table games include craps, roulette and card games such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, three card poker, pai goq poker, high card flush, 21+3, heads up poker and Mississippi stud.
Ground breaking began in May 2006 on a $52 million “Phase II” hotel expansion that added 191,500 sq ft of hotel space, 268 additional rooms including fifty two luxury suites, eleven spa suites and a 6,000 sq ft full service spa. Dover Downs Hotel & Casino broke ground in May 2007 on a $56 million “Phase VI” expansion project adding a new main casino entrance, a 20,000 sq ft gaming floor with an additional five hundred slot machines, Fire and Ice casino lounge with seating for two hundred, three branded restaurants, retail shops and a gourmet coffee cafe. This made Dover Downs Hotel and Casino the largest hotel in Delaware. Toppers Spa/Salon opened in the hotel on 29 December 2007.
Offering accommodation with five hundred rooms facing both the racetrack and the city. Amenities include a full-service spa, fitness room, indoor swimming pool, room service and concierge. Dover Downs offers space for meetings, banquets, conferences, and conventions, with over 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) of function space, Rollins Centre ballroom, several meeting rooms and three hospitality suites offering views of the racetrack.
Dining, entertainment and shopping
Entertainment options include entertainers, comedians, concerts, and musical acts. Dining options include upmarket restaurants, casual establishments, coffee shop and buffet. It is also home to a variety of bars and nightclubs. Upmarket shopping is offered at The Colonnade.
The Winner’s Circle Restaurant features a buffet and multi-tiered seating giving patrons a great view of the harness racing track finish line.
Harrington Raceway –
Harrington Raceway is one of North America’s oldest racetracks with race meetings being held every year since 1946. Harrington Raceway & Casino, a racino is located on the Delaware State Fairgrounds, one mile south of Harrington on US Route 13, sixteen miles (26km) south of Dover and sixty miles south of Wilmington.
The racino is owned and operated by Harrington Raceway, Inc, majority-owned by the Delaware State Fair, a non-profit organization. The casino formerly known as Midway Slots at Harrington Raceway has over 1,800 slot machines, table games, simulcasting and sports betting from across the country. The racino promotes and hosts concerts and other similar entertainment revues. There are multiple dining options available including a buffet.
Harrington Raceway provides approximately sixty (63 – 2023) days of live racing per season split between spring and autumn meetings from 10 April to 18 October 2023 (few meetings only in July) with races generally held Monday through Wednesday evenings. Between the spring and autumn meets, the track holds one day of racing on Governor’s Day during the Delaware State Fair each summer (late July). This programme showcases the best Delaware bred horses, with it being one of the most popular days with the largest stake money of the year.
The track was built for the first Kent and Sussex County Fair held in 1920. Harness racing and other types of races were conducted annually as part of the fair which changed its name to the Delaware State Fair in 1962. In 1934 the fair became part of the Central Fair Circuit an organization coordinating harness racing dates at the mid-Atlantic regional fairs.
When Delaware legalised pari-mutuel betting on harness racing in 1945, the County Fair directors arranged for the Kent and Sussex Racing Association to conduct an annual race meeting. The Harrington raceway track opened on 15 August 1946 with the association commencing its first fifteen day meeting with pari-mutuel betting on 11 October 1946.
The Harrington track is a half-mile oval with a 100 ft wide home straight of 440 ft length which allows eight starters behind the mobile gate. Its parking capacity is unlimited while its grandstand can cater for 3,200 patrons and its clubhouse has a limit of four hundred.
The racing association began considering plans to modernize or rebuild the facility in 1964. It had been designed for the summer months when the fair was held and was unable to keep patrons warm during colder autumn months when the racing meet was held. Plans to construct a new track to the south of the existing facility were formalized in 1966. They were soon cancelled due to the high cost involved. In its place a $1m project to build an enclosed clubhouse with enhancements to the grandstand including improved heating was planned. Stock was issued to the public to fund the project. In 1967 with the improvements underway, the track’s name was changed from the Kent and Sussex Raceway to Harrington Raceway, although this name was already in common use informally. The enhancements were completed in time for the 1968 seasons opening.
A record attendance of 4,077 was recorded on 29 September 1974. However attendance and betting started a steady decline during the 1970’s and by the early 1990’s the track was losing money and close to closure. Inter track simulcast betting introduced in 1991 assisted the betting but was not sufficient to make the track profitable.
Delaware legalised slot machines at horse tracks in 1994. Harrington was not expected to install slot machines although discussions were held about developing a slot facility. Slots were considered incompatible with the fairgrounds family friendly environment. Harrington was entitled to a share of the slot revenues from Delaware’s other racetracks if it didn’t offer slots. In March 1995, the fair’s board of directors voted thirty three to thirty two to build a slot parlour. The facility was financed and developed by Full House Resorts with Gtech Corporation joining Full House as a joint venture partner in the development.
The Midway Slots and Race Book, Harrington’s slot machine parlour opened on 20 August 1996. The $10m facility had 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) of space with five hundred slot machines, simulcast betting facilities and a buffet restaurant. The Full House/Gtech joint venture had a fifteen year agreement to manage the facility. The video lottery machines installed were allowed by Delaware’s new gaming legislation with revenue from these machines enabling Harrington Raceway to increase stakes offered.
A record was set on 29 September 1997 with $658,826 bet by patrons.
The lightning fast half mile oval was reconstructed prior to the 2003 spring meet by veteran track masters Dan and Greg Coon. Renovations resulted in wider gentler turns making the track safer for horsemen and faster, producing many track and national seasonal records on the half mile racetrack.
Gtech sold its share in the slot parlour joint venture to Harrington Raceway for $12m in 2004. A $50m expansion and renovation of the slot parlour was begun in 2006. The Midway Slots name was dropped in 2007 with the entire property becoming known as Harrington Raceway & Casino. Harrington took over the day to day operations of the gaming facility from Full House. The track expansion was completed in 2008 with a new restaurant, lounge, coffee shop, high stakes gaming areas and expanded buffet added together with an increase in the casino slot machines from approximately 1,600 to 2,100.
Further table games were added in 2010 after they were legalised earlier in the year. Harrington Raceway took full control of the casino when the management agreement expired in 2011.
Clubhouse dining provides trackside viewing during live racing with betting stations available nearby. A buffet is available on live racing nights or orders can be placed off the Murphy’s Race and Sports Book menu.
Harrington has hosted the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Stakes for two and three year old pacing/trotting colts and fillies since 2001 and the Bobby Quillen Memorial for open pacers since 2007 with winners including Foiled Again (three times), Betterthancheddar, Wiggle it Jiggleit, NZ bred Bit Of A Legend. These are but two of their more prominent feature races.
Current Harrington Raceway Records include gelding Wiggle It Jiggleit’s track record for a pacer of 1:49.0, 11 May 2015 (3yo), 1:50.0 (4yo, 19 Sept 2016); 1:49.2 Betterthancheddar (4yo horse) 17 September 2012, Clear Vision (aged gelding) 16 September 2013 and aged gelding trotter Traverse Seelster’s T1:53.3 25 June 2014.
Next Article : Pennsylvania – part one
Peter Craig
5 April 2023
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
