The Kentucky city of Louisville was the location of the excellent racetrack of Louisville Downs. It held its inaugural meeting on 14th July 1966, the start of 51 consecutive days of racing lasting until 10th September, Charming Lad winning that historic first race, and was to stage over 3400 days racing over the next 25 years. The 4 furlong oval limestone based track had a 183 metre home straight, built and managed by the promoter William H King, was well known for its array of unusual events. For this reason it was nicknamed the ‘Gay Nineties’ track, the crowds rolling in in their thousands into the elaborate Clubhouses and Grandstands with the total capacity to seat 4,621 people. |
Its principal race was the Kentucky Pacing Derby, for 2 year old pacers, which it hosted for the first time in September 1978. It formed the middle leg of the 2 year old Pacers Triple Crown. The curtain came down for the final time on 2nd September 1991 when the owners of Churchill Downs purchased the 87 acre site for 6 million dollars, demolishing the grandstand in 2015. |
