Northfield Park racecourse can be found a short distance from the city of Cleveland in the state of Ohio. It has a chequered history, originally opening as Sportsman's Park in 1934, and at one time offering motor racing, with even the thought of greyhound racing contemplated. It benefitted significantly from a refurbishment programme in 1984 and now has a range of forward thinking projects attached to it. Northfield Park is a commercial harness racing track in North East Ohio and came in to being on 23rd August 1957 with the main purpose of extending the racing season. It was one of 3 tracks in the state, the others being Grandview Raceway, which was owned by Michael J Walter, and in the North, Painesville Raceway. It was Michael J Walter, the owner of a thoroughbred stud farm called Pickwick Farm, who decided to develop Northfield Park to go alongside his Grandview Raceway. The Northfield Track remained in Walter's hands until it was sold to Carl Milstein in 1972. The 4 furlong oval dirt track, with 135 metre home straight, has as its principal race The Battle of Lake Erie, and can accommodate up to 16,000 people, including a grandstand with capacity to seat 4,300, and a Clubhouse seating up to 1,500. Its other feature races are the Miller Lite Cleveland Classic and The Courageous Lady.
The Battle of Lake Erie winners since 1986
1986 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Falcon Seelster driven by Harmer
1987 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Quite A Sensation driven by Trevor Ritchie
1988 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Jaguar Spur driven by Dick Stillings
1989 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Jaguar Spur driven by Dick Stillings
1990 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Dorunrun Bluegrass driven by Herve Filion
1991 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Dare You To driven by Pete Wrenn
1992 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Odds Against driven by Mike LeChance
1993 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Cambest driven by W Hennessey
1994 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Arrive At Five driven by John Campbell
1995 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Lusty Leader driven by Joe Essig
1996 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Riyadh driven by Jim Morrill
1997 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Village Connection driven by Luc Oullette
1998 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Western Dreamer driven by Stephane Bouchard
1999 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by BJs Whirlwind driven by David Miller
2000 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Dragon Again driven by John Campbell
2001 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Gallo Blue Chip driven by Walter Case
2002 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Peruvian Hanover driven by Ron Pierce
2003 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Peruvian Hanover driven by Jim Pantaleano
2004 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Royal Mattjesty driven by Stephane Bouchard
2005 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Maltese Artist driven by Brett Miller
2006 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Buckeye One driven by Dan Clements
2007 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Maltese Artist driven by Brett Miller
2008 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Bono Bests driven by K Kash
2009 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Foiled Again driven by Matt Kakaley
2010 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Hypnotic Blue Chip driven by Jody Jamieson
2011 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Foiled Again driven by Matt Kakaley
2012 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Foiled Again driven by Matt Kakaley
2013 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by A Rocknroll Dance driven by Kayne Kauffman
2014 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Clear Vision driven by Chris Page
2015 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Foiled Again driven by Matt Kakaley
2016 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Wiggle It Jiggleit driven by Montrell Teague
2017 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by All Bets Off driven by Matt Kakaley
2018 The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Bit of a Legend N driven by Jordan Stratton
A tribute to Felix Fatica from his loving wife Darlene Fatica
Felix Fatica was 23 when he launched his career as a jockey, going to Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, near Chicago, travelling from his home in Cleveland, starting out older than most of his contemporaries. He had been a secretary at Lincoln Electric and then served for a time in the Army. At Arlington he became a Bug Boy, living above a Tack room, and gained his inaugural win on a horse named Dawn of Chi at Sportsman's Park, appropriately enough near Chicago. His future wife, Darlene, was just one year old when Felix began his journey as a jockey, he being 22 years older than her. Indeed, she had just graduated from High School when he rode his last race. In later shared moments together Felix recalled that his favourite horse was Sol Invictus, a multiple winner for him, but he also had a fondness for Risky Rebel, who loved the mud, which was just as well as he won at Waterford Park, well-known for being muddy. Besides Sportsman's Park (now demolished), he rode at Ascot Park in Cuyahoga Falls (an industrial park now), Cranwood Park, (an industrial park now), Randall Park, Sunshine Park which is now Tampa Bay Downs, Thistledown Race Track, Tropical Park and Waterford Park. Felix’s daughter, Nancy, was born across the Ohio River in Steubenville, which also happened to be the birthplace of Dean Martin.
In 2002, still little, still thin, but still handsome, he returned to his beloved Arlington Park. In 2020 Darlene lovingly recalls, 'I sang to him as he passed away, which is how we had begun our journey together in the first place. We met in the Brecksville Broadview Heights Community Chorus, I was singing, 'All I ask of you', from Phantom of the Opera. We married 6 months later on October 19, 1996. Sadly, Felix died during Covid. When I finally was able to get into his room, he of course, was unconscious & breathing fast & shallow. I told him to slow his breathing & go into the arms of the Angels. I then sang to him a song from the end of the musical, 'Civil War' where an Angel comes to take the fallen home. As I sang, he slowed his breathing. When I was done, he took 3 more breaths and passed away.' I was so thankful for the time I was able to spend with him in his last few moments on this earth.
