Does anyone here follow horse racing?

[sprinter14]

Just wondering ??

[SENDEM]

Yeap what do u need????

[sprinter14]

ohh, didn't really need anything. I talk horse racing sometimes to my buddies and its like I'm speakin a foreign laguage to them. haha I just wondered how rare it really is to be a horse race fan these days.

Do you go to tracks much or play simulcast??

My daughter and I are wanting to get a horse or two after my car racing career is over.

[SENDEM]

I used to Train Thoroughbreds an Quarter Horses. An have ran all over the Country. Its a blast we ran mainly in Ohio but the money went south an cut are loses an got out about 4 yrs ago. Still have alot of friends that have runners. The most memoriable time that we had, we ran a horse at Churchill Down on Kentucky Oaks day an rubbed shoulders with all the BIG TIME Trainer. It was a good day ran 5th in the Grade II Kentucky Cup Sprint with a Horse named YOUDRIVEMEBONKERS he was a dandy!

[The Enforcer]

When I was younger , We had Race Horses , We went to Beulah Park all the time to race and the County Fair Circuit, Still have about 20 Horse Blankets that we won over the years. Whemn My grandfather got Cancer He got rid of them all, But oneday when my Wifes out of school , We plan on getting a couple just to ride.

[SENDEM]

Thats been awhile ago ( fair circiut ) the only one that races at the fairs now is Van Wert, Oh the 1st weekend in Sept. Its been about 3 yrs since ive been up there but it was a BLAST!! An we won quite abit of races up there over the years. Did u ever go to Browns Downs on Rt 33 near Athens?

[sprinter14]

Van Wert runs thoroughbreds?? I didn't even know that!

How long has the Athens track been done racing? Is it still there?? or used for anything else?

[SENDEM]

As far as I know they still run at Van Wert on the Monday of Labor Day weekend. They run TB an QH both they normally have 11 or 12 races that day, its a good time an there is betting also. The Athens track was a bush track an is no longer there an hasnt been there since the late 80's the last time I rode there was in 89. Its a corn field now just about like every old track in southern ohio. Great Times!!!!

[The Enforcer]

Yep We ran at Van Wert for years , Won 4 of 6 there. It was one of the better racks we ran at , the worst being Coshocton, They once tried pulling the gate off the track after the start of the race with a little garden tractor , And it could barely move the Gates, Almost was a Big disaster.
We used to have a track on St Rt.13 outside Chauncey that we would race at on the weekends .

[SENDEM]

Hahaha the one ur talking about at chauncey is the same one that i was talking about in athens. That place is where i took my worst spills, I used a buddies of mines exciserise saddle on a young colt an he didnt have the stirups wired shut came out of the gates an blowed my right iron adjusted my weight over to the left side the colt stumbled an i blew the left about a jump past the wire an was headed into the real sharp turn right at the edge of the creek an i hit the ground broke 3 ribs an dislocated my shoulder, its funny now but it hurt like heck back then but the main thing is I won the race an the colt was fine

[The Enforcer]

Yeah Browns Downs, WOW I havent heard that name in a long time. I remember going down there with My grandpa , And Chuck Shields, and Chuck Adams to shoot ground hogs and fill their holes before the races. Those were great times . I remember one time we were there for a race and they loaded the gates up but before they could open them a young horse got spooked and peeled the jockey off and come out from under the gates , man that was scary.

[SENDEM]

Dont know if it was the same one cause there was alot of that going on back then I was on one that did the samething that fillys name was Twisties Red Request she was a fruit loop U guys are maken me want to get back in the buisness by bring up all these old memories

[sprinter14]

I didn't realize there were so many other thoroughbred tracks that ran this recently. Most fairgrounds only ran standardbred trotters or pacers. I know at the turn of the century it was common for there to be little hole in the wall race tracks here and there, but you guys can't be THAT old!! LOL

Obviously I'm into my car racing too. That's what I currently do. We have been working on a project to list all the tracks in Ohio that ran auto races over the years. It was very common in the old days to use horse tracks because they were already there with bleachers and everything. You may have helped us uncover a track we knew nothing about in Athens.

We have a listing for a "Buck's Racing Grounds".........was that the Athens horse track??

[The Enforcer]

Ive never heard of Bucks Racing Grounds, But there is a place called Bucks lakes thats on the outskirts of Athens near Shade , so maybe it was out towards there

[SENDEM]

I have a track on my farm that is still on the Standardbred National Reg from back in the 40's. An no Iam not that OLD !! U for ur car tracks there were alot of little tracks in southern Ohio 2 old ones that come to mind is Kitts Hill & Proctorville if that will help U.

[sprinter14]

Thanks Sendem, those are both fairly recent tracks, Kitts Hill is Champion Speedway that ran from 1968 to 1970. And Proctorville, I'm sure you are thinking of Riverside that had both a round track and dragstrip.

We are having trouble pinpointing some of the really old ones. There was another track in Proctoville about a 1/4 mile out Rt 217. It ran in the late 50's and early 60's and nobody seems to remember the name of the place.

The fairgrounds ran races in Proctorville as well. I own a famous old race car that won a lot of races there and also at the track at Camden Park.

Scioto County is full of old race tracks and several of those can still be seen to this day.

We have found ads and results of races in various places where there seems to have been no race track. It was very common prior to WWII for promoters to use horse tracks because they were already there! Bleachers and all. All you had to do was lease the place and advertise.

That's why I thought maybe Buck's was the horse track in Athens.

[SENDEM]

Your Welcome an Riverside is the one I was thinking about in Proctorville. My father-in-law has an old video tape that has alot of the old track an drivers on it. Ill watch it again an see if i catch any old track for U.

[ghostzapper]

I always have been a horseracing fan and still to the day!......love to bet and watch the ponies as much as possible........been going to such places as River Downs....Beaulah park....Kenneland...Churchill Downs.....Turfway Park and others since I was a little guy over 30 years ago!.......any exciting stories?

[SENDEM]

Nothing better than being at the race track in the real early morning watching the young colt an fillies galloping around the track an the sun just coming up, now thats a BEUTIFUL picture

[TheMalteseFalcon]

I always have been a horseracing fan and still to the day!......love to bet and watch the ponies as much as possible........been going to such places as River Downs....Beaulah park....Kenneland...Churchill Downs.....Turfway Park and others since I was a little guy over 30 years ago!.......any exciting stories?

That sounds like a dog track. Where is it?