Group of harness racing stakes races
Goldsmith Maid , perennial fan favorite trotter
The Grand Circuit , also known as the "Big Wheel",
[1] is a group of
harness racing
stakes races run at various race tracks around the United States.
[2] Run on one-mile tracks,
[3] it is "the oldest continuing horse-racing series in the United States."
The series was started in 1871 by
Colonel Billy Edwards , of
Cleveland, Ohio , L.J. Powers of
Springfield, Massachusetts , E.A. Buck of
Buffalo, New York , and later C.W. Hutchinson of
Utica , New York.
[4] The first meeting of the Circuit was held in 1873 in Cleveland, followed by races in Springfield, Buffalo, and Utica.
[1] The original four-location competition was named "The Quadrilateral Trotting Combination," but was renamed when additional legs were added.
[5]
In 1914 the Grand Circuit consisted of six tracks, located in: Cleveland, Ohio;
Columbus , Ohio;
The Red Mile in
Lexington, Kentucky ;
Detroit, Michigan ;
Grand Rapids , Michigan; and
Kalamazoo , Michigan. Prior to this there were more, including
Narragansett Park in
Providence, Rhode Island ;
Charter Oak Park in
Hartford, Connecticut ;
Readville Race Track in Boston, Massachusetts;
Rockingham Park in
Salem, New Hampshire ;
Fleetwood Park Racetrack in New York, New York; and
Poughkeepsie , New York, but anti-gambling laws during the early part of the 20th century caused them to drop out.
[6]
As of 2004, it was run annually on a circuit of 20 tracks;
[4] as of 2023, the circuit was run at 22 tracks.
[7]
Tracks as of 2023
As listed by the
United States Trotting Association , in 2023 the Grand Circuit Races were held at the following 22 venues:
[7]
Former tracks
Cleveland Driving Park (1871–1904)
[23]
[19]
Buffalo Driving Park (1871–1878, 1880–1884, 1886–1894, 1898–1902)
[23]
Hampden Park (1871–1877, 1880–1881, 1883–1893)
[23]
Utica Driving Park (1871–1879, 1881–1884, 1886–1888)
[23]
Rochester Driving Park (1875–1895)
[23]
Poughkeepsie Driving Park (1875–1877, 1882, 1889–1890, 1894, 1906–1909, 1916, 1918–1922)
[23]
[25]
[26]
[30]
Homewood Park (1881–1882, 1884, 1890–1893)
[23]
Narragansett Park (1883–1885, 1899–1905, 1907)
[23]
[31]
Charter Oak Park (1876–1892, 1894, 1897–1925, 1929–1932)
[23]
[32]
[33]
Island Park (1884–1889)
[23]
Detroit Driving Club (1886)
[23]
Fleetwood Park Racetrack (1888–1890, 1893–1897)
[23]
Point Breeze Park (1890–1894)
[23]
Hamtramck Park (1893)
[23]
Union Park (1894–1896)
[23]
Grosse Pointe Track (1894–1917)
[34]
[35]
Columbus Driving Park (1896–1925)
[23]
[36]
Indianapolis (1896)
[23]
Fort Wayne Driving Park (1896–1898)
[23]
Glens Falls Mile Track (1897–1901)
[23]
Readville Race Track (1897–1908, 1910–1912, 1918–1925)
[23]
[37]
[26]
[27]
[35]
Rigby Park (1898)
[23]
Vigo County Fairgrounds (1900–1902)
[23]
[24]
New York State Fairgrounds Racetrack (1901–1930, 1933–1941)
[23]
[38]
[33]
Chester Park (1901–1906)
[23]
Brighton Beach Race Course (1902–1904)
[23]
[39]
Kenilworth Park Race Track (1903–1908)
North Memphis Driving Park (1904–1905)
[18]
[25]
Elkwood Park (1908–1909)
[31]
[26]
Kalamazoo Recreation Park/Exposition Park (1908–1931)
[31]
Fort Erie Race Track (1909–1914, 1932–1934)
[37]
[28]
[40]
Forest City Fairgrounds (1909–1939, 1945)
[37]
[41]
Indianapolis Speedway (1911)
[9]
Comstock Park (1911–1915, 1927, 1929–1930)
[9]
[30]
[10]
[32]
Pittsburgh Driving Club (1912–1914, 1916)
[42]
[28]
Rockingham Park (1912–1913, 1932–1934)
[42]
[28]
[40]
Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway (1912–1914, 1927, 1929)
[42]
[28]
[30]
Windsor Fair Grounds (1913)
[27]
[28]
[10]
[32]
Montreal Exposition Grounds (1915)
[43]
Piedmont Driving Club (1916–1922, 1925–1928)
[44]
[45]
Belmont Driving Park (1917–1922)
[30]
Maumee Downs (1918–1930, 1932–1941, 1947–1951)
[35]
[38]
[40]
[46]
Devonshire Raceway (1923–1924)
[47]
Aurora Downs (1925, 1929–1930, 1947–1950)
[45]
[36]
[32]
[46]
Ideal Park (1926)
[13]
Monroe Driving Park (1926)
[13]
Orange County Fair Speedway (1926)
[13]
Coney Island Race Track (1929)
[32]
Thorncliffe Park Raceway (1931)
[48]
London Fairgrounds (1931)
[48]
Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack (1931–1941, 1946–2015)
[48]
[14]
[11]
[49]
Good Time Park (1935–1956)
[50]
Ohio State Fairgrounds (1936–1937)
[50]
Milwaukee Fairgrounds (1936, 1941–1948)
[50]
[51]
Kite Track (1936–1939, 1942–1946, 1949)
[20]
[46]
[51]
Reading Fairgrounds (1937–1943, 1946–1955)
[11]
Agawam Park (1937–1938)
[52]
Mineola Race Track (1940)
[8]
Narragansett Park (1940)
[8]
Kentucky State Fairgrounds (1940–1941)
[8]
Roosevelt Raceway (1941–1987)
[14]
Buffalo Raceway (1941, 1966–????)
[14]
New Jersey State Fairgrounds (1944–1945)
[53]
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack (1944–2009)
[53]
[54]
Santa Anita Park (1946, 1948, 1950, 1952)
[11]
Maywood Park (1947–1950)
[46]
Hollywood Park (1947, 1949, 1951, 1953–????)
[46]
[51]
Fairmount Park Racetrack (1949–1950)
[51]
Missouri State Fair Speedway (1949–????)
[51]
Wolverine Raceway (1951–????)
[29]
Hazel Park Raceway (1954–????)
[22]
Bay State Raceway (1956–????)
[55]
Sportsman's Park (1956–1997)
[56]
Arden Downs (1957–1962)
[57]
Suffolk Downs (1960)
[58]
Rosecroft Raceway (1961–????)
[59]
Baltimore Raceway (1961–????)
[59]
Monticello Raceway (1961–????)
[59]
Grandview Raceway (1961–????)
[59]
Liberty Bell Park (1963–1983)
[16]
[60]
Phoenix Trotting Park (1966)
[16]
Pompano Park (1966–2021)
[16]
Atlantic City Race Course
Brandywine Raceway (1971–1985)
[60]
Garden State Park Racetrack
[61]
Los Alamitos Race Course
Freestate Raceway
Batavia Downs
Hippodrome de Trois-Rivières
Miami Valley Gaming
See also
References
^
a
b Hinkle, Charlie (May 23, 1954).
"Racing's Grand Circuit Opens Colorful Season" .
Dayton Daily News . p. 12. Retrieved November 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Siegel, Paul D. (2002).
How to Own Winning Standardbred Racehorses . Neehah, Wisconsin: The Russell Meerdink Company Ltd. p. 20.
ISBN
0-929346-72-6 . Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ Hoffman, Dean (2012).
Harness Racing in New York State . Charleston, SC: The History Press.
ISBN
978-1-61423-629-0 . Retrieved July 2, 2020 .
^
a
b
"Grand Circuit" .
Encyclopædia Britannica . March 4, 2004. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^ Fasig, William Benjamin; Gocher, William Henry (1903).
Fasig's Tales of the Turf . Hartford, CT: W.H. Gocher. p. 25. Retrieved July 2, 2020 .
^ Kline, Tedd H. (November 28, 1914).
"The Handwriting on the Wall" . The Breeder's Journal . 3 (11): 6–9. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
^
a
b
"All Age 2023 Grand Circuit Races" (PDF) .
United States Trotting Association . November 25, 2023.
Archived (PDF) from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024 .
^
a
b
c
d Trott, Frank (January 28, 1940). "American and National Trots Set for Gansett". The Boston Globe .
^
a
b
c
d "Goshen in Grand Circuit Racing". The New York Times . January 11, 1911.
^
a
b
c "Grand Circuit Sets Dates for Season". The New York Times . January 5, 1927.
^
a
b
c
d
e "Hambletonian Set Aug. 7". The New York Times . December 13, 1945.
^ Baumgartner, Paul (June 18, 1989). "Financial success attracts horsemen". The Plain Dealer .
^
a
b
c
d "Dates Announced for Grand Circuit Meet". The New York Times . January 6, 1926.
^
a
b
c
d Trott, Frank (February 2, 1941). "Hambletonian Stake Date Set by Grand Circuit for August 6". The Boston Globe .
^ "Meadowlands Joins Circuit". The New York Times . February 24, 1977.
^
a
b
c
d "Blake Named Head of Grand Circuit". The New York Times . December 12, 1965.
^ "Speed starts to show as Mohawk's horses await Grand Circuit". The Globe and Mail . June 19, 1978.
^
a
b "Great Campaign Planned by The Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe . January 25, 1904.
^
a
b "Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe . January 13, 1905.
^
a
b "10 Grand Circuit Tracks". The New York Times . April 11, 1942.
^ "Tioga Downs to host stakes series". Press & Sun-Bulletin . July 22, 2006.
^
a
b "2 Courses Added to Grand Circuit". The New York Times . December 13, 1953.
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z Gocher, William Henry (1903).
Fasig's Tales of the Turf . Hartford: W. H. Gocher. p. 21. Retrieved October 4, 2022 .
^
a
b "An Ideal Chain". The Boston Globe . January 28, 1903.
^
a
b
c "Will Open July 23". The Boston Globe . January 10, 1906.
^
a
b
c
d "New York in Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe . January 12, 1910.
^
a
b
c "Readville is Out of Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe . January 15, 1913.
^
a
b
c
d
e
f "Grand Circuit Dates". The New York Times . January 14, 1914.
^
a
b "Yonkers is Invited Into Grand Circuit". The New York Times . December 13, 1950.
^
a
b
c
d Trott, Frank (January 29, 1917). "Fourteen Weeks of Great Racing Assured". The Boston Globe .
^
a
b
c "Grand Circuit Meet for Elkwood Park". The New York Times . May 3, 1908.
^
a
b
c
d
e Trott, Frank (January 28, 1929). "Fifteen Weeks of Mile Track Racing". The Boston Globe .
^
a
b "Dates for 1933 Set for Grand Circuit". The New York Times . November 22, 1932.
^ "On The Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe . July 17, 1894.
^
a
b
c "Readville Meeting Will Open Aug 26". The Boston Globe . January 9, 1918.
^
a
b "Columbus is Out of Grand Circuit". The New York Times . December 19, 1925.
^
a
b
c "Grand Circuit Dates". The New York Times . January 13, 1909.
^
a
b "Famous Fort Miami Track at Toledo Out of Grand Circuit-Syracuse Abandons Harness Racing For Runners". The Boston Globe . January 6, 1931.
^ "Brighton Beach Out Of The Grand Circuit". The New York Times . December 16, 1904.
^
a
b
c Trott, Frank (January 18, 1932). "East Again Strong in Grand Circuit". The Boston Globe .
^ "Phellis Trotting Head". The New York Times . December 21, 1944.
^
a
b
c Trott, Frank (January 22, 1912). "Rockingham Gets Date". The Boston Globe .
^ "Changes in Grand Circuit". The New York Times . January 13, 1915.
^ "Grand Circuit 14 Weeks' Show". The Boston Globe . January 12, 1916.
^
a
b Trott, Frank (January 12, 1925). "Readville Has Its Usual Dates". The Boston Globe .
^
a
b
c
d
e "Blake New Chief of Grand Circuit". The New York Times . December 12, 1946.
^ "Devereaux Again to Head Stewards". The New York Times . January 10, 1923.
^
a
b
c "13 Dates Are Set in Grand Circuit". The New York Times . January 6, 1931.
^ Martinez, Marcia (April 14, 2016).
"Harness horse owners skeptical about Department of Ag's pledge on state fair purses" . The State Journal-Register . Retrieved October 18, 2022 .
^
a
b
c "Grand Circuit Gives West Three Meets Late in Fall". The Boston Globe . January 28, 1936.
^
a
b
c
d
e
"Old Orchard Back on Grand Circuit Program in '49" . The Boston Globe . Columbus, Ohio. AP. December 15, 1948. p. 27. Retrieved November 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "13 Weeks of Racing for Grand Circuit". The New York Times . May 22, 1937.
^
a
b "Grand Circuit Schedule to Open at Old Orchard". The Boston Globe . January 23, 1944.
^ Milbert, Neil (March 26, 2010). "World Trotting Derby a victim of budget cuts". The Chicago Tribune .
^ "Grand Circuit Racing at Foxboro This Year". The Boston Globe . June 10, 1956.
^ "Chicago Downs Meet Sets Pace". Daily Defender . September 5, 1956.
^ "Arden Downs Pace to Thorpe Hanover". The New York Times . October 13, 1957.
^ "Suffolk Downs Harness Racing Opens Monday". The Boston Globe . October 23, 1960.
^
a
b
c
d
Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division . pp. 49–50. Retrieved October 18, 2022 .
^
a
b Kiser, Jack (March 24, 1984). "Brandywine Opens Meet, Might Be Its Last Season". Philadelphia Daily News .
^ Jerardi, Dick (August 21, 1985). "Harness Racing Goes on Trial at Garden State". Philadelphia Daily News .