tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post113656108517731639..comments2024-02-27T17:43:37.207-05:00Comments on View From the Racetrack Grandstand: Enough is EnoughThat Blog Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15487597769210721585noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-53905938273496873152009-10-01T09:54:05.553-04:002009-10-01T09:54:05.553-04:00Georgetown Raceway brings back memories. As a youn...Georgetown Raceway brings back memories. As a young fan, living just 11 miles from Yonkers Raceway, I, with my father, preferred visiting "exotic" tracks, whose physical appearance, pre-simulcasting, was a mystery until we showed up. Situated 45 minutes South of Dover Downs, Georgetown was literally a 380 mile round-trip for us, which we did twice in 1971. At that time, and for most of their existence, EVERY purse was $ 500, crowds averaged about 1000, and daily handle was roughly $ 40,000-50,000. There were nights when first race post was held up because the track relied on some fans from South Jersey who took the ferry over, and fog sometimes delayed the boat. <br /><br />Since this was before Liberty Bell held a Winter meet, horses at Georgetown often came from Wheeling Downs (later a dog track), and one of the notable young drivers there was Roger Hammer. It was not unusual to see $ 500 claimers go 2:14-2:16 on a fast track.<br /><br />If anyone has anecdotes re: Georgetown or tracks such as Green Mountain and Hinsdale, it would be interesting to read them.JLBnoreply@blogger.com