This is the twenty second of a major series of articles concerning racetracks in the USA. We continue our review of USA racetracks with a look at Indiana’s closed venues from past years and county fairground tracks.
Indiana – closed venues
Cambridge City, Indiana
There is a lot of racing history in eastern Indiana, the half mile Cambridge City track held harness races and was used as a training facility when the meet was over, also famous for the Lackey Horse Sale.
Cambridge City is better known for racing immortal Single G, “the horse that time forgot”. Single G foaled in 1910 (Anderson Wilkes/Little Gyp) was bred by W. B. Barefoot, Cambridge City and L. D. Commons, Converse, Indiana, being named for the white marking on his forehead. He was sold as a two year old at the Lackey Horse Sale of March 1912 for $275 purchased by Will Hill who owned a poultry businesses in Cambridge City and Muncie, Indiana. Hill was away on company business the day of the sale having his friend H. S. Beard bid on Single G – “money was no object, Hill wanted the colt.”
Single G was trained on the Cambridge City track and during his fourteen year race career he won on ninety eight occasions, finished second on thirteen and third fourteen times. In 1950 he was named pacer of the first half of the twentieth century 1950 ahead of Dan Patch and Billy Direct.
In November 1892 Frederick J. Hayden sold a portion of his property that lay on the northern outskirts of Fort Wayne to the newly formed Fort Wayne Driving Association in November 1892. The 100 acres were originally a portion of the vast land holdings amassed by pioneer entrepreneur Samuel Hanna. In the late 1860s the property passed to his descendants after a long court battle over the distribution of Hanna’s estate. By virtue of marriage, F.H. Hayden came into possession of the property that contained the land sold to the Fort Wayne Driving Association.
The Fort Wayne Driving Association included wealthy Fort Wayne residents D.N. and S.M. Foster, Louis and Charles Centlivre, H.C. Rockhill, and Willis Bash. Building its first class trotting track which by 1894 had lived up to the hopes of its founders when Star Pointer later to become the first horse to break two minutes in North America recorded a time of 2:04.0 on the mile track. Robert J recorded a mile/race mile record of 2:03¾TT at Fort Wayne on 31 August 1894 while Cresceus was the fastest 3yo trotter of 1897 with his T2:11¼ at Fort Wayne on 10 August 1897.
During the 1890s Fort Wayne Driving Park was a popular gathering spot for the society-conscious and those fond of a bet. Grand Circuit racing took place between 1896 and 1898. In 1892 the Fort Wayne Trotting Association passed control of the grounds to the Fort Wayne Fair Association, a group formed to create the city’s first fair, a five day event held from 7 – 11 October 1892. It drew daily crowds of more than 10,000 spectators who viewed local businesses displays, admired the produce and stock shown by area farmers and bet on races featuring the best trotters in the area. Automobile racing also featured on 9 October for the first time on the Driving Park track.
The addition of automobile racing signalled the demise of harness racing at the Driving Park in the early 1900’s. Auto and motorcycle races were frequently held on the grounds being a highlight of the annual fairs that took place through September 1913. Interest in the annual fair had diminished by 1913 where housing was in demand in the growing city. The Fort Wayne Fair Association sold the land to a local development company and within days of the conclusion of the final fair, developers were grading streets such that by the end of October 1913 the track and fairgrounds were quickly consigned to memories in the growing and successful city of Fort Wayne.
Richmond
The Richmond Old Driving Track and fairgrounds was built in 1890 by a group of locals. They selected a site on Augustus Scott’s farm located on what was the south and western part of the Hayes Regional Arboretum in east Richmond (by 2010 Kohl’s/Menards shopping centre). The site was originally convenient to the heavily travelled National Road. It remains are still clearly visible in Richmond near the Hayes Regional Arboretum.
The tracks construction came about due to the success of two other tracks that were about 20 miles west in Hagerstown, a half mile track with covered grandstand and seating (hosted Wayne County Fair) and Cambridge City (see above). Large crowds attended these meetings which encouraged the Richmond group to build their state of the art mile race track.
Local County Surveyor Robert A Howard was assigned the job of designing and building the Richmond track. Howard secured a USA patent for the track he designed which was one mile in length featuring two parallel straights joined by half circles. The outside of the track on the approach to the curves and the curves themselves were built sloping, higher on the outside than the inside, giving suitable camber to the track, the first of its kind in North America. The original track surface consisted of shale and oil giving a spongy and springy feel to it which together with the straights, curves and camber contributed to its reputation as the fastest harness track of its day. Harness racing action ceased in 1908 although Richmond was later used as a training track.
A few years later Howard designed and built arguably the most famous race track of all with the construction of the 500 mile automobile racetrack, the original Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1908. The track material contributed to tyres being shredded during races, so three point two million bricks were brought in and laid out, leading to the tracks nickname of “The Brickyard.”
Terre Haute
The site of the famous harness racing track at Terre Haute is now one of Vigo County’s most recognisable landmarks, Memorial Stadium dedicated on 4 May 1925. Known as the ‘four cornered track’ due to its shape, it opened as a half mile track in 1852 then converted to a mile in 1886. It was the site of many world records in the late 1800‘s as outlined later, Dan Patch raced at Terre Haute on two occasions in exhibition miles – as a 6yo on 10 August 1902 (2:01.0) and as an 11yo on 25 July 1907 (2:02¼).
Terre Haute emerged as the hub of North American harness racing between 1886 and 1892. The four cornered track designed by surveyor George Grimes and superintendent Uriah Jeffers was finished on 12 August 1886 in time for the four day October race meeting. The first world record set at the track did not occur until 1889 although national periodicals lauded the quality of standardbred horses raised in the Wabash Valley.
On 11 October 1889 trotting stallion Axtell driven by Bud Doble lowered his own three year old trotter’s world mark to T2:12.0 in a time trial at Terre Haute. The following day the New York Times editorial commented :
“The performance of Axtell yesterday at Terre Haute is, perhaps, the most remarkable in the annals of the trotting turf. It is commonly by fractions of a second the “record” is lowered, yet Axtell has in the same heat lowered the record for three-year-olds by a second and three-quarters and the record for stallions of any age by more than a second. It is to be borne in mind that the trotter is an animal of comparatively slow development and that he both matures later in respect of speed and lasts longer than the thoroughbred. Axtell’s mile in 2:12 is, therefore, much less significant as a performance than as a promise, and indicates that the horse, if everything goes well with him, will hereafter perform far more wonderful feats.”
Axtell had reduced his personal best mile time from T2:24 to T2:12 during the summer of 1889. While some questioned whether the four cornered track was a full mile, surveys determined the track was seven feet longer than the official one mile distance. The same day that Axtell set his T2:12 record, his owner Charles W. Williams sold him to a syndicate which was headed by William Putnam Ijams of Warren Park Farm, Terre Haute (other members : John Conley, Chicago; Fred T. Moran and Alfred E. Brush, both of Detroit) for $105,000. This was $30,000 more than the highest price ever paid for a horse of any age, breed, sex or gait anywhere in the world to that time.
After Ijams offered $100,000 for Axtell, John E. Madden and Andrew Welch countered with an offer of $101,000. Overhearing the conversation Conley made the $105,000 offer which secured Axtell for his syndicate. The syndicate borrowed $1,000 from Californian trainer Bud Doble to seal the deal with payment of $54,000 made to Williams the following day plus a note signed to pay $50,000 in a years’ time with six percent interest. Unfortunately Axtell was injured early in the spring of 1890 becoming lame and never racing again. Retired to stand at stud at Warren Park his $1,000 service fee was twice that charged in England for St Simon the most sought after thoroughbred stallion in the world.
Crowds flocked to the Terre Haute track which produced fast times and a number of world records especially after the sulky conversion from high wheels to bicycles in 1892, the year Nancy Hanks and Mascot set identical world trotting and pacing records of 2:04.0 on 28 and 29 September during Grand Circuit racing to cement Terre Haute’s fame.
In the twelve years between 1889 and 1900, at least twenty six world records were set at the four cornered track. Among these were Whirligig’s 2:10.0 fastest 3yo pacer and filly time set on 13 August 1894. Four days later on 17 August Alix recorded the fastest three heats by a mare (a month later she broke Nancy Hank’s world record at Galesburg, Illinois 19 Sept 1894, T2:03¾). The September 1894 Terre Haute meet produced a number of records :
- 13 September – Robert J’s overall world pacers record of 2:01½ smashed Mascot’s September 1892 Terre Haute mark; same day John R. Gentry bettered Mascot’s mark becoming the fastest stallion ever, 2:03¾; Fantasy ran the fastest ever mile by a 4yo mare, 2:06.0
- 14 September – Alix time trialled in T2:04.0 matching Nancy Hanks time
- 17 September – three days later pacer Joe Patchen equalled Alix’s performance
Star Pointer recorded a time of 2:00½ in October 1897 at Terre Haute after becoming the first pacer in under two minutes, 1:59¼ Readville, Massachusetts, 28 August 1897. The seven year old gelding The Abbot driven by Edward “Pop” Geers broke Alix’s world record at Terre Haute on 25 September 1900, T2:03¼. Coney (2:03¾) broke Free Bond’s existing world pacing record to wagon (2:04¼) prior to The Abbot’s record. Coney was already owner of the amateur record of 2:02¾. The records established by The Abbot and Coney were among the last recorded at Terre Haute’s famous four-cornered track.
Other noteworthy performers at Terre Haute included greats Sunol, Nelson, Allerton, Guy Wilkes, Hal Pointer, Direct, Carbonate, Flying Jib, Guy, Nightingale, Bingen, Single G, Peter the Great, Direct Hal, The Harvester, Lou Dillon, Cresceus, The Abbot, Axworthy, Dan Patch …….. .
Indiana – live harness racing venues –
State Fair Circuit Tracks : most 2023 dates not available as yet.
Clinton County Fair, Frankfort
Located on forty eight acres on the outskirts of Frankfort, Indiana, the Fairgrounds property boasts a year-round event centre, one of the fastest half mile harness racing horse tracks in the state, an activity hall and several livestock barns. The first Clinton County Fair was held by the Agricultural Society of Clinton County in 1853. In 2022 harness racing was held on two late June dates, two dates in early July with an additional date during September.
Elkhart County Fair, Goshen (Indiana)
Harness Racing was conducted on the half mile track over two days at the July 2022 County Fair with an additional days racing in early October (July 2023).
Fayette County Fair, Connersville
Fayette County conducts the oldest free Fair in the State of Indiana. Harness Racing was held in the Roberts Park half mile amphitheatre one evening during the County Fair in September 2021 with two days racing earlier in August.
Harrison County Fair, Corydon
The Harrison County Fair has been held for over 150 years on the County Fairgrounds, making it the oldest county fair in the state of Indiana to be continuously held at the same location. Harness racing was scheduled on their half mile track over two afternoons during the June 2022 County Fair with a further days racing in late September.
Harrison County Fairgrounds-
On 1 June 1853, a society was legally formed to organize the Jay County Fair with the first fair held on 4/5 October 1853. No fairs were held during the 1860’s and it wasn’t until 1872 that the fair was held at its current location on 2-4 October. In 2023 the Jayland Trotting Association will hold a days racing on the half mile track during the annual fair in July (3rd) with further days racing held in August and September.
Miami County Fair
Held at the Converse Indiana Fairground, the Converse Fair was initially named the Xenia Fair back in 1871. Harness racing has been associated with both names. The location of the Converse Fair has much to do with the early success of the fair with four counties forming the hub : Wabash, Grant, Howard and Miami.
For more than 100 years, drivers and standardbred horses have utilised the half-mile limestone track to compete in the harness racing sport. Converse hosts the first race of the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit every year, normally two afternoons in early June. Further meetings in 2022 were held in mid-June (two day) and early October (single day).
Newton County Fair
Twenty years after the county was organised in September 1882, the Patrons and Farmers Agricultural Fair was held near Herriman’s Tile Factory in Washington Township. This Fair continued annually through 1887.
In 1920 and 1921, a Newton County Fair was organized by members of the County Farm Bureau (called the Newton County Stock Show, Kentland). There were no grandstands or buildings, exhibits were set up in tents, and bleacher seats were brought from Indianapolis to provide seating for the small crowds at these early fairs. It was obvious a larger venue was required following the success of the first two fairs and in 1922 the third annual Newton County Fair was held at the County Farm.
A number of weather events have occurred over the years to test the event organisers – in the spring of 1988, high winds tore off almost three quarters of the Grandstand roof which was replaced with the grandstand shortened by twenty four feet; 12 March 1991 an ice storm knocked out power to much of southern Newton County for two weeks which gave the Fair Association the opportunity to replace twelve power poles and upgrade the camper wires; wind a week later destroyed the horse barn.
Horse related new construction on the fairgrounds has included :
1970’s Horse and Pony Barn
1982 New seating and flooring installed in Grandstand
1988 Grandstand Roof Repair
1989 Grandstand Box Seat Renovated
1991 Horse & Pony Barn Replaced; removal of the concrete stage in front of the grandstand
1992 Track improvements made
2011 New Grandstand
2013 Harness Race Barn
Harness racing was conducted on 9 July 2022 when an eight race programme was held with a noon start on the half mile track. The fairs 104th running is scheduled for July 2023.
Noble County Fair
Held since 1855, the Noble County Fair in Kendallville includes live entertainment on two stages, a variety of livestock shows, harness racing, demolition derby, midway rides, games …… . The 2022 fair’s harness racing day took place on 9 July on the half mile track.
Shelby County Fair
Harness racing was held on the half mile track at Shelbyville late June (two days), mid-July (two days) and late August (single day) in 2022. The Shelbyville Fairgrounds track opened in 1874.
Next Article : Indiana – part two
Peter Craig
15 March 2023
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
