Roosevelt Raceway
Racetrack located in the town of Westbury in Long Island, NY (1940-1988) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 feet shorter). The harness racing facility operated from September 2, 1940 until July 15, 1988.[1][2] It was the original home of the Messenger Stakes, part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. The raceway hosted the event until it closed. It was also the first track to use the now universal "mobile starting gate". The operation was sold in 1984 on the condition it was to remain an operating racetrack, but the facilities deteriorated, attendance dropped off, and the plant was no longer profitable.
Location | Westbury, New York United States |
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Coordinates | 40.739722°N 73.597112°W / 40.739722; -73.597112 |
Date opened | September 2, 1940 |
Date closed | July 15, 1988 |
Race type | Harness |
Notable races | Messenger Stakes |
The site of Roosevelt Raceway is part of the Hempstead Plains, located in an unincorporated area of the Town of Hempstead, within the Westbury 11590 Zip Code. It is located near where the first English Governor of New York, Richard Nicolls, established the "Newmarket Course", the first horse racing track in North America (and the first organized sport of any kind) in the territory that would become the United States, in 1664.[3]