230 RACEALONG 



action for their money. The horses pass the grand 

 stand twice in each heat while almost every move 

 of the drivers can be seen from start to finish. So 

 far as the public is concerned the only item in favor 

 of the mile track is the fast time while with the 

 horses there is less chance of interference. The 

 difference in the time has been fixed at four seconds 

 for the average horse. 



There was a day when almost every city had a 

 mile track in its immediate vicinity. Today city 

 blocks and suburban homes stand on the stretches 

 over which the old time champions struggled for 

 supremacy. 



A review of the states shows that many mile 

 courses are now memories. At one time Maine had 

 Rigby Park at Portland and a kite track at Old 

 Orchard. Both have disappeared. In Vermont there 

 was a kite track at White River Junction. It was 

 succeeded by a double oval which is now a flying 

 field. Granite State Park still survives in New 

 Hampshire. It is a training track. Rockingham Park 

 at Salem has been dismantled. In Massachusetts, 

 Beacon, Mystic, Readville and Hampden Park have 

 been written off the books. Readville had a unique 

 record. Star Pointer started the two-minute list 

 there when he paced in 1:5914 ^^ 1897. Lou Dillon 

 also trotted the first mile in two minutes over it 

 in 1903. 



Rhode Island passed to half-mile track racing 

 when Narragansett Park was closed. The first mile 

 in 2:10 was trotted over it in 1884 by Jay Eye See. 



