The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



133 



splendid racing. It was over this track that 

 Joe Patchen placed the then world's pacing 

 record for a two-lap course at 2:04 1-4. 



In the early nineties the equity of Combi- 

 nation Park passed to George A. Graves, who 

 still owns the property. For a number of years 

 the Fellsway Driving Club has decided its 

 matinees over the course, and in 1914 a suc- 

 cessful race meeting was held. 



Beacon Park, which was located in Allston, 

 was first known as the Riverside half-mile 

 track, and was opened to the public in 1S64. 

 "Uncle Jock" Bowen was the first public 

 trainer to locate there, and drove in the first 

 race which was decided over the course. In 

 1865 "Uncle Jock" drove Capt. McGowan 

 over this track twenty miles in 58:25, which 

 is still the world's record for that distance. 

 In the early seventies Riverside track was re- 

 built into a mile track and was rechristened 

 Beacon Park. 



Many of the old-time champions and he- 

 roes of the turf contested in the races at this 

 track, among them Judge Fullerton, Ameri- 

 can Girl, St. Julien, who later became the 

 world's champion trotter with a record of 

 2:131-4, taking the crown from Goldsmith 

 Maid, whose mark of 2:14 had long been the 

 best ; Fearnaught, Driver, Wedgewood, Santa 

 Claus, Clingstone, Parana, Edwin Thorne, 

 Fannie Witherspoon, Pilot Knox, etc. 



Beacon Park was well patronized by the 

 public trainers at one time, there being located 

 there Jack Trout, for two years lessee of the 

 property, also George H. Hicks, lessee of the 

 property for ten seasons, "Young Hiram'' 

 Woodruff, Jimmie Cahill, Charles Yapp, John 

 Ramsey, J. J. Bowen, Ed. Cogswell, etc. 



It was in these days of the old Beacon 

 when the South Boston Driving Club and the 

 East Boston Club held two matinee days of 

 racing, one in the Spring and the other in the 

 Fall of each year. The Boston Driving Club 

 and Athletic Association were lessees of the 

 track in 1880, when St. Julien went his mile 

 above mentioned. William Balch gave several 

 of his $10,000 stallion races at the Beacon; a 

 notable one was between Santa Claus and 

 Wedgewood in 1881. David H. Blanchard, 

 too, gave several noted races at the old track, 

 one of which was a $10,000, 2:17 trot, the 

 first event of the kind having payments made 

 on the instalment plan. This race was won by 

 Edwin Thorne, who defeated Clingstone, 

 Helena, Santa Claus, Fannie Witherspoon, 

 Parana, and Humboldt. 



The last great race of importance at Beacon 

 Park was the stallion race, which created so 

 much talk, between Alcryon and Nelson. This 

 was in the early nineties. 



A few years later the property was pur- 

 chased by the Boston & Albany Railroad, for 



use as freight yards. Beacon Park was never 

 as fast as Mystic, Charter Oak or Narragan- 

 sett, the tracks that were in the big Eastern 

 Circuit, when the big meetings of the year 

 came in June at the two Boston tracks. 



The Readville track was first known as 

 the Norfolk Trotting Park, a half-mile track 

 that was opened to the public in about 1867. 

 For a number of years thereafter the Norfolk- 

 County Fair gave its exhibitions annually. The 

 fair was principally supported by residents of 

 Dedham. 



In the year 1872 J. Henry Nay located at 

 Norfolk Park, and in later years was lessee 

 of the property, which control he maintained 

 until 1805, when the New England Trotting 

 Horse Breeders' Association purchased the 

 property and constructed what is now known 

 as Readville track. 



The opening of the mile track at Readville 

 was the following year. In 1905 the State 

 authorities stopped speculation on the racing 

 events, the Breeders' Association up to this 

 time running three meetings each year. The 

 grandstand was destroyed by fire in 1907. 



Andrew Welch purchased the property in 

 1909, and the last public meeting held at' the 

 track was the Grand Circuit of 19 12, except- 

 ing one day of racing in 1914. 



While under the direction of Secretary 

 Charles M. Jewett there were decided at Read- 

 ville some of the banner racing events of the 

 whole country, which included the Massachu- 

 setts, Blue Hill, Puritan and Neponset stakes, 

 the great $20,000 Charley Herr-Cresceus race 

 in 1902, the $50,000 American Trotting 

 Derby of 1908, the largest money event ever 

 known to the trotting turf, and which was 

 won by Allen Winter. 



Referring to this Derby handicap, Mr. Jew- 

 ett has said that while the public opinion was 

 that it cost the Breeders' Association a con- 

 siderable amount of money, yet the facts of 

 the case are that it netted a profit of about 

 $6,000, and this notwithstanding that charged 

 to the event was the cost of the temporary 

 grandstand and all other items possible, be- 

 cause of a guarantee made by six of the di- 

 rectors, when the race was instituted, that 

 the loss, if any, would be equally divided be- 

 tween them. 



Readville track at the present time (1914) 

 is used only as a training ground. Mr. Welch, 

 who still owns the plant, has contemplated 

 selling the property to a land syndicate, and 

 when this comes about, which will undoubt- 

 edly be at a sooner or later period, of course, 

 Readville race track will have been doomed, 

 and will go the way of Mystic and Beacon 

 Parks. 



The Old Cambridge Park, near Porter's 

 station, was a mile track. It was completed 



