Fleetwood Park Racetrack

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fleetwood Park
A good send off,-go!- Goldsmith Maid, American Girl, Lucy and Henry, trotting at Fleetwood Park, Morrisania, N.Y. July 9th 1872 LCCN2001700234.jpg
LocationMorrisania, Bronx, New York, US
Coordinates40°50′N 73°55′W / 40.83°N 73.92°W / 40.83; -73.92Coordinates: 40°50′N 73°55′W / 40.83°N 73.92°W / 40.83; -73.92
Operated byDriving Club of New York
Date openedJune 8, 1871
Date closedJanuary 1, 1898
Race typeTrotting

Fleetwood Park was a 19th-century harness racing track in what is now the Morrisania section of the Bronx in New York, United States. The races were a popular form of entertainment, drawing crowds as large as 10,000 spectators, who would come from Manhattan and Brooklyn. One travel guide described the 1-mile course as "the most famous trotting track in the country".[1]

The track operated under various managements between 1870 and 1898, most notably the New York Driving Club. The club was composed of many wealthy businessmen of New York, including members of the Vanderbilt and Rockefeller families.

Economic pressures forced the track to close in 1898, and within two years the property was being subdivided into residential building lots. One of the few remaining vestiges of the track's former existence is the meandering route of 167th street, which runs along a portion of the old racecourse.

The club[]

Grandstand and clubhouse

For most of the track's lifetime, trotting races were run on the 1-mile (1.6 km)[2] oval by the New York Driving Club.[3]: 704–705  In 1892 The Sun's Guide to New York described Fleetwood as "the most famous trotting track in the country". It noted, however, that interest in harness racing by horse owners had waned, the track had "gone into a decline", was not part of harness racing's Grand Circuit, and that the single annual meeting was "not an important meeting".[1] In 1893, however, the track was admitted to the circuit.[4][5][6]

Newspaper publisher and trotting aficionado Robert Bonner had his stables and Fleetwood Park Club nearby and at one point served as president of the New York Driving club.[3]: 705, 753 [7][8]: 165  Bonner was well known for paying large sums for horses. In 1884 he bought Maude S. from William H. Vanderbilt for $40,000 (equivalent to $1,200,000 in 2020).[9] Five years later, he purchased Sunol from Leland Stanford for a price which was only disclosed as higher than he paid for Maud S.[10]

Members of the club included William K. Vanderbilt (William H's son), William Rockefeller, William C. Whitney, Leonard Jerome,[11] and Nathan Strauss, with a total membership of over 500 by 1886.[12] Former US president Ulysses S. Grant often attended races at the track.[13]

Physical description[]

1885 map showing the irregular shape of the racetrack. Proposed streets are shown by dashed lines; what is drawn as Overlook Ave is part of modern-day 167th street. North of the track is the Ann E. Zborowski estate, now Claremont Park.
Modern map showing same area as 1885 map, for comparison. Path of the racetrack is shown in grey.

Fleetwood Park was located in the town of Morrisania, Westchester County (now the Morrisania section of the Bronx), adjacent to Railroad (now Park) Avenue between 2nd and 5th Streets. This corresponds to between Webster and Sheridan Avenues and 165th and 167th Street on the modern Bronx street grid.[13]

The covered grandstand, clubhouse, judges stand, and other buildings were clustered along the southwest corner of the track, adjacent to Sheridan Ave.[14] The clubhouse was a French Second Empire style building which overlooked the track.[11]: 4 

The New York Times described the track as "oddly-shaped";[15] a 1882 map shows it as roughly rectangular with a bulge on one side, yielding 5 turns, 4 to the left and 1 to the right, if run in a counter-clockwise direction.[14] Modern-day 167th street diverges from the otherwise rectilinear grid; the oblique portion of the street's route follows the northern leg of the racecourse.[11]: 4 

Timeline[]

Horses had been raced near this location as far back as 1750, on a race course built by Staats Long Morris, who took advantage of the relatively level land. It is unknown how long this track lasted, and there is no record of racing in the area until 1870 when William Morris leased part of his estate to two brothers, Henry and Philip Dater[11][13] for a 20-year term.[16]: 289  The Daters opened a track on June 8, 1871, but the venture failed and the property reverted to Morris in 1880.[11] The property was leased in 1881 to the New York Driving Club (Gentlemen's Driving Association in some sources)[17][18] who ran the track as Fleetwood Park.[3]: 705 

The New York Times observed in 1895 that the track had reached 25 years of continuous operation that year, outlasting many of the other trotting tracks of its day. The paper noted that $200,000 (equivalent to $5,400,000 in 2020) had been invested in grading the terrain of the Morris estate to make it suitable for racing. A depression at the southeastern end had been filled and rocks at the northern end had to be removed by blasting and cutting. In 1896, The Driving Club of New York renewed the lease with a $2,500 (equivalent to $78,000 in 2020) reduction in rent.[19]

Pressure from real-estate developers, however, led to the track being closed the next year with the last race meeting held on October 8, 1897.[20] The track was permanently closed on January 1, 1898 when the city began constructing streets on the property.[11]: 4 [3]: 705  In 1899 the Empire City Trotting Club began operations at Yonkers Raceway, which was built to replace Fleetwood.[21][22]

Within a few years of the track being closed, the property was being divided into building lots by real-estate developers.[23] In August 1900, the clubhouse was the only structure left standing, with the Union Republican Club considering moving the building to their property on 164th street.[24] The first part of the property to be developed was the block of Clay Avenue between 165th and 166th streets, with thirty two semi-detached houses and three apartment buildings erected between 1901 and 1910. This block is now the Clay Avenue Historic District.[11][25]

Transportation[]

Attendance at races was as large as 10,000 spectators, with the most convenient way to get to the track being trains from Grand Central to nearby Melrose station.[1] People also came by carriage from New York City, or steamboat from Fulton Market slip in Brooklyn and Peck slip in Manhattan to the Morrisania dock from which they made connections via horse-drawn coaches.[2]

A streetcar line known as the North Third Avenue and Fleetwood Park Railroad (later merged into the Union Railway) ran from 138th Street to the Fleetwood Park entrance.[26][27]: 169 

Fires[]

On June 15, 1873, an early morning fire in the stables destroyed 48 stalls, causing an estimated $12,000 (equivalent to $259,000 in 2020) of damage to the building, plus unknown damages to sulkies and other racing gear. Two horses worth a total of $11,000 (equivalent to $238,000 in 2020) were killed.[28]

Another fire occurred on October 15, 1893, discovered at 8 AM. Two horses perished in the fire, one worth $10,000 (equivalent to $288,000 in 2020). Another horse and his keeper were injured, Total damages to the buildings and horses was $20,000 (equivalent to $432,000 in 2020).[29][15] 40 stalls were destroyed, which the club rebuilt. An additional 25-30 stalls were added, bringing the total to about 300.[30]

Miscellaneous[]

In 1889, Fleetwood Park and nearby Claremont Park were considered as possible sites for a 1892 World's Fair.[31][32] The fair was to be the International Columbian Exposition, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus finding the new world. The alternative locations in New York were Inwood, Oak Point-Barretto Point, Port Morris, Cedar Park, and Morningside Park-Riverside Park-Bloomingdale Asylum. In 1890, however, the US Congress designated Chicago as the host city for the exposition.[33]

When races were not being held, the grounds were used for other activities, including youth baseball games.[34] There were also pigeon shooting contests involving live birds and shotguns.[35][36]

In December 1890, Charles H. Swords, a local resident, was found dead on the Fleetwood Park grounds. It was suspected that he was taking a short-cut through the park when he suffered a medical incapacitation, fell down an embankment, and eventually died from exposure.[37][38]

In 1896, the New York Driving Club was sued by Charles Schreiber, who leased some land adjacent to the race course for gardening. Schreiber claimed that runoff water from the track was damaging his garden. Schreiber won the case, for unknown damages.[39]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c The Sun's Guide to New York. Jersey City, NJ: R. Wayne Wilson and Company. 1892. p. 80. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Fleetwood Park: Ten Thousand Persons Witness the Grand Trotting Contest". The New York Herald. July 10, 1872. p. 5. ISSN 2474-3224. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Library of Congress: Chronicling America.
  3. ^ a b c d Wells, James Lee (1927). The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927. New York, The Lewis historical Pub. Co., Inc. LCCN 27024588 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "Grand Circuit Trotting". The New York Times. January 25, 1893. p. 3. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "Gossip of the Trotters; Making Fleetwood Ready for Grand Circuit Races". The New York Times. July 31, 1893. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  6. ^ "Flyers at Fleetwood Park". Los Angeles Herald. September 5, 1894. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  7. ^ "Twenty-Five Years Old; Fleetwood Park Has Reached Its Silver Anniversary". The New York Times. May 11, 1895. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Comfort, Randall. History of Bronx borough, city of New York. LCCN 06029984. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021 – via Hathi Trust.
  9. ^ "MAUD S. | Harness Museum". harnessmuseum.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "Bonner Buys Sunol". The New York Times. November 12, 1889. p. 5. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Dolkart, Andrew S. (1994). Clay Avenue Historic District (PDF). New York: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. LP-1898. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  12. ^ Ryder, Jill (May 1, 2017). The Carriage Journal: Vol 55 No 3 May 2017. Carriage Assoc. of America. p. 135.
  13. ^ a b c Ultan, Lloyd (September 26, 2013). "The Other Racetrack". Riverdale Review. p. 5. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(cartographic) Plate 35: Bounded by .....N. Third Avenue, 161st Street, Jerome Avenue, Harlem River and Depot Place., (1885)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Fleetwood's Prosperous Season". The New York Times. November 27, 1893. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Jenkins, Stephen (1912). The story of the Bronx from the purchase made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the present day. G.P. Putnam's Sons / The Knickerbocker Press. OL 16491842W – via Internet Archive.
  17. ^ "Gentlemen's Driving Association". The New York Times. April 4, 1882. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  18. ^ Ryder, Jill (May 1, 2017). The Carriage Journal: Vol 55 No 3 May 2017. Carriage Assoc. of America. p. 135.
  19. ^ "Active Trotting Men". The Journal. New York. February 3, 1896. p. 10. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021 – via Library of Congress: Journaling America.
  20. ^ Rider, Fremont (1923). Rider's New York City: A Guide-book for Travelers, with 13 Maps and 20 Plans. H. Holt. p. 519.
  21. ^ "Yonkers Raceway". www.yonkers-raceway.info. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  22. ^ "Horse Racing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  23. ^ "In the Real Estate Field; Operator Buyer of Blocks Sold by Elevated Railroad". The New York Times. March 10, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  24. ^ "Gosip of the Week" (PDF). Real Estate Record and Builders Guide. LXVI: 146. August 4, 1900. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Columbia University Library.
  25. ^ "Bronx Landmarks- Clay Avenue | HDC". hdc.org. March 6, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  26. ^ "The Huckleberry Road; Consolidation Agreement is Filed in Albany". The New York Times. July 6, 1892. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  27. ^ Hoardly, Lauterbach & Johnson, council (1900). Union Railway Company of New York City. ark:/13960/t26b1vk7c – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "Fire at Fleetwood Park Stables Loss $25,000". The New York Times. June 17, 1873. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  29. ^ "Valuable Horses Burned; Two Trotters Lose Their Lives at Fleetwood Park". The New York Times. October 16, 1893. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  30. ^ "Timely Trotting Topics; Improvements at Fleetwood Park". The New York Times. March 5, 1894. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  31. ^ "Another Good Fair Site; Advantages of Claremont and Fleetwood Parks. Lands Adapted by Nature and Approved by Engineers for Such a Purpose". The New York Times. July 21, 1889. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  32. ^ "Looking at Various Sites; Trying to Find a Place for the Great Fair". The New York Times. September 18, 1889. p. 8. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  33. ^ Kennedy, Robert C. "On This Day: Father Knickerbocker". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  34. ^ "Sports and Sportsmen". The Jersey City News. July 19, 1900. p. 4 (column 1). Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021 – via Library of Congress.
  35. ^ Sprechman, Jordan; Shannon, Bill (1998). This Day in New York Sports. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-57167-254-4.
  36. ^ Brentano's Aquatic Monthly and Sporting Gazetteer. August Brentano, Jr. April 1879. pp. 49–50.
  37. ^ "Swords's Death a Mystery". The Evening World. December 8, 1890. p. 1 (column 4). Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021 – via Library of Congress: Chronicling America.
  38. ^ "What a Death This Was". The Sun. December 9, 1890. p. 3 (column 2). Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021 – via Library of Congress: Chronicling America.
  39. ^ "Schreiber v. Driving Club of New York". The New York Supplement. Vol. 37. St. Paul: West Publishing Co. 1896. pp. 348–352. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
Retrieved from ""