Many people of a certain age remember the Atlantic City Race Course when it was an exciting, vibrant and fun place to go.
Today the clubhouse and grandstand are rotting and rusted, and the property is overrun by weeds. It’s hard to believe that these depressing and embarrassing remains are all that’s left of what was once one of the premier and most innovative thoroughbred racetracks in the country.
Yes, it was famous. The legendary Kelso made his 2-year-old debut at the course in 1959. In 1964, director Alfred Hitchcock shot several scenes for his film, “Marnie,” there. Championship boxing and wrestling matches were also presented at the racecourse between races. And in 1969, it hosted an estimated 100,000 people for the Atlantic City Pop Festival. At its height, the grandstand, which could hold 10,000 fans, was frequently filled. When needed – and because of the big crowds it was needed often – there was standing room available for an additional 25,000.
The Atlantic City Race Track, as it was called when it opened in July of 1946, attracted national publicity even before opening day, as celebrity investors included bandleaders Harry James, Sammy Kaye and Xavier Cugat; as well as Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra. Iconic Philadelphian and Olympic champion rower John B. Kelly Sr. was among those who helped facilitate the track’s design and construction. Kelly’s daughter, actress Grace Kelly, was among the celebs who, along with 28,000 horse racing fans, turned out on opening day.
Major races, including the prestigious All American Handicap, Jersey Derby, Matchmaker Stakes and the Jersey Shore Stakes, were held there. It also debuted the United Nations Handicap in 1953, an international race that attracted champion horses from Europe.
The track was known for game-changing innovations. It was among the first thoroughbred tracks to install lights, introducing popular night racing and creating a convenient, alternative attraction for visitors to the Jersey Shore.
In 1983 it became the first U.S. track to offer simulcasting, allowing fans to watch and wager on an entire daily program from another track – the Meadowlands – creating a new and lifesaving business model when live racing attendance at ACRC was in decline.
The Atlantic City Race Course featured a distinctive, 1⅛-mile dirt oval track that was 100 feet wide, with an impressive stretch run of nearly 960 feet. The main track enclosed a spacious 1-mile, 100-foot-wide turf course, regarded as one of the finest turf courses in the country. It helped establish the track as a premier location for East Coast grass racing.
The Clubhouse Restaurant was a popular place to eat, although it’s been written that many of the track’s attendees had their refreshments, before and after the races, at nearby Zaberer’s.
The long, slow and sad decline began not long after the advent of legalized gaming in Atlantic City in 1978. Though attendance was dropping year after year, the race course hung on.
In 1998 the track cut back on the number of races, and there was some talk that it would close, but it continued to operate for a few years, presenting what the track owners called “short, fair-like meets,” presented so the race course could hold onto its simulcast license.
In 2001, it was sold to the owners of Philadelphia Park Racetrack and became primarily a simulcast facility, with a greatly reduced live schedule. In 2006, the track, under the aegis of an outfit called Greenwood Racing, at first increased the number of racing days to 20 per year. But by 2009, only six race days were held annually. In its heyday, the track operated 50-60 days a year with eight or more races a day.
The venue was hanging on by a thread in 2010 when plans were announced for a major redevelopment project that included a grandstand renovation, six office buildings, an aviation research park, a new transit center, green space with a lake, and new roads in and out. Though the course got $1 million from something called the Casino Simulcast Fund, nothing ever happened with any of the grandiose plans.
The last day of racing was held at the Atlantic City Race Course on Jan. 16, 2015. Since then, the property has been in a state of steady decline and allowed to fall into disrepair.
As reported in these pages and elsewhere in July, Amazon has announced plans to build a fulfillment center on the 84-acre property. While that is good news for the actual property and the jobs that will be created, if anyone wants to enjoy the excitement of live horse racing, Monmouth Park, in Oceanport, is the closest spot to do so. And that’s about 90 minutes from Atlantic City.
There’s no doubt that Monmouth is a great place, but it’s no Atlantic City Race Course.
